How do you say "How have you been?" in Portuguese?

"How have you been?" in Portuguese is "Como têm estado?". This phrase is commonly used in Portugal.

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How to Say ‘How have you been?’ in Portuguese

Q: What does "Como têm estado?" mean in English?

"Como têm estado?" means "How have you been?" in English. Usage tip: [Como têm estado?] asks about the recent period since you last met, more like "how have you been lately?" than just "how are you?". In European Portuguese, the unstressed vowels in [como] and [estado] often get reduced a lot in fast speech.

Como têm estado?

KOH-moo tayng esh-TAH-doo

[KOH-moo tayng esh-TAH-doo]

💬 Usage Tip: [Como têm estado?] asks about the recent period since you last met, more like "how have you been lately?" than just "how are you?". In European Portuguese, the unstressed vowels in [como] and [estado] often get reduced a lot in fast speech.

Phrase Breakdown

Como

[KOH-moo]

how

Question word used to ask about manner, condition, or wellbeing.

Example

Como correu a viagem até aqui?

How did the trip here go?

Têm estado

tayng esh-TAH-doo

Have you been / have they been

Present perfect form used to ask about an ongoing state over a period of time.

Example

Têm estado bem?

Have you been well?

Words in this phrase

têm

[tayng]

have

Plural auxiliary from 'ter', used to ask how people have been.

Example

Os avós têm passado mais tempo no campo.

The grandparents have spent more time in the countryside.

estado

[esh-TAH-doo]

been

Past participle used with 'ter' to ask about someone's recent condition.

Example

Todos têm estado muito calmos nestes dias.

Everyone has been very calm these days.

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