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How to Say ‘I won't take up much of your time.’ in Portuguese

Não te roubo muito tempo.

nowng teh ROH-boo MWEEN-too TEM-poo

[nowng teh ROH-boo MWEEN-too TEM-poo]

💬 Usage Tip: After não, the te moves in front of the verb: não te roubo, but roubo-te without it. Words like não pull these little words forward.

Phrase Breakdown

Não te roubo

nowng teh ROH-boo

I won't steal from you

Say 'não te' as one smooth unit. The 'e' in 'te' is very weak.

Example

Prometo que não te roubo.

I promise I won't take from you.

Words in this phrase

Não

[nowng]

not / no

A common negation word meaning 'not' or 'no'.

Example

Não precisavas de trazer nada, e Não torna a frase negativa.

You didn't need to bring anything, and 'Não' makes the sentence negative.

[teh]

you

'Te' is the informal singular pronoun for 'you'.

Example

Fiz isso para te surpreender.

I did this to surprise you.

roubo

[ROH-boo]

I steal / I take

First person of 'roubar'; used idiomatically for taking up someone's time.

Example

Roubo-te só um minuto.

I'll only take a minute of your time.

muito tempo.

MWEEN-too TEM-poo

much time.

'Muito' has a slightly nasal sound: 'mwintu'. The final 'o' in 'tempo' sounds like 'u'.

Example

Já passou muito tempo.

A lot of time has passed.

Words in this phrase

muito

[MWEEN-too]

very / much

Used to intensify meaning or express quantity. In thanks, it means very much.

Example

Gosto muito de café com leite de aveia.

I like coffee with oat milk very much.

tempo

[TEM-poo]

time

Refers to the other person's availability or minutes spent with you.

Example

Agradeci o «tempo» que dedicou à nossa conversa.

I thanked the “time” that you dedicated to our conversation.

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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