Portuguese · Emotions & Descriptions

"Slow" in Portuguese: lento/a

lento/a

Say it: LEN-tooadjective/ˈlẽ.tu/

Note: adverb: devagar

Slow in Portuguese is lento or lenta. Match gender with the noun. The everyday adverb for go slowly is often devagar.

Traffic

O trânsito está lento na ponte.
Traffic is slow on the bridge.
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How to pronounce lento/a

Say it

LEN-too

/ˈlẽ.tu/

LEN-too

"Slow" in Portuguese: quick reference

PortugueseEnglish
lento / lentaslow

Default adjective.

mais lentoslower

Comparison.

devagarslowly

Common adverb.

fila lentaslow line

Waiting.

How to use lento/a in real life

  1. 1Traffic

    O trânsito está lento na ponte.

    Traffic is slow on the bridge.

    Commute.

  2. 2App complaint

    Essa rede está lenta demais para carregar o vídeo.

    This network is too slow to load the video.

    Feminine.

  3. 3Kitchen

    O forno é lento, então coloque o bolo mais cedo.

    The oven is slow, so put the cake in earlier.

    Appliance.

Mistakes English speakers make with lento/a

Incorrect: O elevador é slow.

Correct: O elevador é lento.

Use lento, not English slow.

Incorrect: Fala lento, por favor. (aiming at adverb)

Correct: Fala mais devagar, por favor.

For speak slowly, devagar is the natural adverb.

Good to know

Lento describes systems and people; devagar tells someone how to move or speak. Internet lenta is a national pastime complaint. In music, lento is also a tempo marking.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

Stuck in traffic

  1. ChatPal

    Por que o carro está tão lento?

    Why is the car so slow?

  2. You

    Porque o trânsito está lento em toda a avenida.

    Because traffic is slow all along the avenue.

  3. ChatPal

    Vamos pelo caminho mais lento, mas sem pedágio?

    Shall we take the slower route but without the toll?

  4. You

    Pode ser. Chegamos quando der.

    Sure. We’ll get there whenever.

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"Slow" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "Slow" in Portuguese

Gender?

Lento / lenta.

Slowly?

Often devagar.

Slower?

Mais lento / mais lenta.

Slow Wi-Fi?

Internet lenta / Wi-Fi lento.

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