Difference between ser and estar

This page outlines the difference between ser and estar in Brazilian Portuguese.

In Portuguese, there are two ‘to be’ verbs: ser and estar:

Personal pronoun	Ser	Estar	Translation
eu	sou	estou	I am
você/ ele /ela	é	está	He /she /you are
nós	somos	estamos	We are
vocês	são	estão	You are (plural)
eles/ elas	são	estão	They are (masc/ fem)

So, what’s the difference between the verbs ser and estar?

The verb ser is used to talk about permanent states, whereas estar relates to things that are temporary. 

Sou uma pessoa feliz

I am a happy person

[permanent state]

Hoje estou feliz

I am happy today

[temporary state]

Ser applies when we talk about our professional occupation:

Eu sou um gerente de projeto

I am a project manager

[permanent state]

And about a person’s personality traits:

Ela é extrovertida

She is an extrovert

[permanent state]

It can also be used to express where someone is from (including their nationality) and for telling the time.

Below are some examples of adjectives when describing permanent states:

tall	alto
short	baixo
short (length)	curto
long	comprido
small	pequeno
big	grande
easy	fácil
difficult	difícil
fun/funny	divertido
annoying/boring	chato
fat	gordo
thin	magro
young	jovem
old	velho

However, when we refer to temporary states, we use estar:

Você está sendo chato hoje

You are being annoying

[temporary state]

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