💼📅3️⃣

How to Say ‘I've been working for three years’ in Portuguese

Trabalho há três anos

truh-BAH-lyoo ah TREHSS AH-noosh

[truh-BAH-lyoo ah TREHSS AH-noosh]

💬 Usage Tip: Portuguese uses the plain present trabalho "I work" plus há for something that started in the past and is still going. Swap it in: Moro há dois anos em Portugal "I've been living in Portugal for two years".

Phrase Breakdown

Trabalho

[truh-BAH-lyoo]

I work

First person of 'trabalhar', to work.

Example

Trabalho num escritório.

I work in an office.

há três anos

ah TREHSS AH-noosh

for three years

'Há' plus a time period means 'for' or 'ago'. The 'h' is silent: 'á'. The final 's' in 'três' blends into 'anos' as a 'z' sound: 'trê-ZA-nush'.

Example

Moro aqui há três anos.

I have lived here for three years.

Words in this phrase

há

[ah]

for (time duration)

Used with time to say how long something has lasted.

Example

Moro aqui há dois anos.

I've lived here for two years.

três

[TREHSS]

Three

Equivalent to the sum of one and two; one more than two.

Example

Eu comprei três livros na feira.

I bought three books at the fair.

anos

[AH-noosh]

years

Plural of "ano," used for talking about repeated yearly events.

Example

Há anos que participo nesta conferência.

I have been taking part in this conference for years.

Guides for Portuguese learners

The Portuguese You Actually Need in Your First Month in PortugalThe European Portuguese phrases for your first weeks in Portugal: paperwork, renting a flat, the bank, the health centre, cafés, trains and your new neighbours.

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