How to Say ‘It's worth it’ in Portuguese
Vale a pena
VAH-luh ah PEH-nuh
[VAH-luh ah PEH-nuh]
💬 Usage Tip: pena usually means "pity" or "feather", but vale a pena is a fixed phrase for "it's worth it". Its opposite is não vale a pena "there's no point".
Phrase Breakdown
Vale
[VAH-luh]
is worth
From valer; vale a pena means 'it's worth it'.
Vale a pena visitar Sintra.
It's worth visiting Sintra.
a
[ah]
the (feminine singular)
Same article "a" used before a feminine noun; often unstressed in speech.
A estação é ali à direita.
The station is right there on the right.
pena
[PEH-nuh]
trouble / effort
Literally 'pain' or 'pity'; in this expression, the effort.
Não vale a pena esperar.
It's not worth waiting.
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