13 Charming Portuguese Terms of Endearment: Speak Their Language of Love

Whether you’re chasing a Brazilian love interest or traveling to Portugal for fun, learning some Portuguese terms of endearment will help you better communicate with the locals. In this article, you’ll find 13 of the most popular Portuguese terms of endearment and how to use them properly.

13 Portuguese Terms of Endearment

Portuguese is one of the few world languages that embraces passion and is not afraid to express emotions. If you’re a non-native trying to learn a new language, it’s easy to mix up words and make mistakes. Add the racing heartbeat and flushed cheeks when declaring your love, and you’re bound to mess up.

One of the most interesting things about Portuguese is that it’s spoken in eight countries so many of the words can be used in a variety of locations across the globe. Also, you don’t have to be expressing your feelings to a person. You can also use Portuguese terms of affection to talk about the things you enjoy most in your life.

Here is the list of the 13 most popular Portuguese terms of endearment.

#1 - Amor

One of the most commonly used terms of endearment is amor, or love. You can use this word just like you would in the English language, since it’s a singular noun and represents not just romantic but platonic love, too. This means you can say "my love" in Portuguese as meu amor.
Example: Bom dia, meu amor. - Good morning, my love.

#2 - Amar

Unlike the noun amor, Portuguese has a verb meaning to love, or amar. When speaking, one can say the popular term te amo, or "I love you". You can say this to a friend, family member, or a boyfriend or girlfriend. This is a very traditional and simple way of expressing your love, so you can’t go wrong with it. But, if you are looking for extraordinary ways of voicing your feelings, look further into our list of the 13 most popular Portuguese terms of endearment.
Example: Eu amo seu amigo. - I love you, friend.

#3 - Adorar

If you adore something or someone, te adoro is the expression you can use to tell them you like them a lot. This doesn’t just mean people, but objects, places, and actions, too. You can use this word when you don’t want to say that you romantically love something, but that you just adore it. It can even be dancing or drinking tea.
Example: Eu adoro dançar! - I adore dancing!

#4 - Gursto Muito

Are you in the first stages of your relationship and don’t want to throw around the big “I love you” phrase? Portuguese has your back, with the term eu gosto muito de você, meaning "I like you a lot". This Portuguese love phrase sums up perfectly how you feel if you’re not just friends anymore, but still not in love with each other either. This term can also be used in reference to objects, places, or actions.
Example: Gosto muito de tomar coquetéis na praia. - I really like to drink cocktails on the beach.

#5 - Apaixonado

Apaixonado is a seriously romantic way of expressing your feelings. By itself, it means “in love”, but in the phrase estou apaixonado por você, it gets even better: I'm in love with you. So, if you’re looking for a romantic way to declare your love to that special someone, we recommend you use this saying.
Example: Estou apaixonado por você, Anna. - I'm in love with you, Anna.

#6 - Querido/Querida

As you can see, Portuguese terms of endearment are many, and one of them is "sweetheart", or querido. If your love interest is male, say querido, and if she is female, say querida.
Example: Você é meu querido. - You're my sweetheart.

#7 - Vai Namorar Comigo?

Developing a love interest also means asking them out eventually, and one can do so by saying vai namorar comigo? Will you go out with me? If they say yes, the next step is to think of what you’ll say when you pick them up!
Example: Você vai sair comigo na sexta-feira? - Will you go out with me on Friday?

#8 - Namorado/Namorada

After going out a few times, you can finally consider being in a relationship, or ficar, literally meaning “to see” someone. Then, your love interest will become your namorado if it’s a male, or namorada if it’s a female. You can also use meu amante in Portuguese to say “my lover”.
Example: Quer ser minha namorada? - Will you be my girlfriend?

#9 - Coração

This might be one of the harder to pronounce terms in our list of Portuguese love phrases, since you have to end the word with -ão, a nasal sound. Coração means heart, and just like in the English and Spanish language, we tie this saying to endearment too.
Example: Você assumiu o controle do meu coração. - You took over my heart.

#10 - Você me Completa

Through dating, you might feel a bond with your special someone, and you can express this by saying você me completa, or “you complete me”. You can be romantic with so many Portuguese terms of endearment that express your deepest feelings towards someone.
Example: Você me completa, meu amor. - You complete me, my love.

#11 - Você é o Mundo Para Mim

Another very popular and emotion expressing term is você é o mundo para mim, meaning “you are my world”. Usually, this is saved for serious romantic relationships.
Example: Te amo, você é o mundo para mim. - Love you, you are the world to me.

#12 - O Amor da Minha Vida

When truly in love, you can say you are with the love of your life, or o amor da minha vida. This Portuguese term of endearment is used as a pet name in Brazil.
Example: Você é o amor da minha vida. - You are the love of my life.

#13 - Não Consigo Parar de Pensar em Você

If you seriously can’t stop thinking about your Portuguese or Brazilian lover, you can declare it by saying não consigo parar de pensar em você, or "I can’t stop thinking about you".
Example: Estou ficando louco, não consigo parar de pensar em você. - I am going crazy, I can't stop thinking about you.

Final Thoughts

Through this article, you’ve learned how to express love for something or someone in Portuguese. We listed the 13 most important Portuguese terms of affection, which you can use when traveling to Portugal or Brazil, or expressing your love to your Portuguese or Brazilian love interest.

If you wish to learn terms of endearment in languages other than Portuguese, try a language learning software. That way you can learn how to tell someone that they are your sweetheart, or say that you adore that little dog, not just in Portuguese, but in other languages too.