The Meanings of “Já” in Brazilian Portuguese

Já is a great word in Portuguese and gets thrown in all over the place. Although it’s often translated as “already,” it does the work of various words in English. These are some of the main words it covers…

Already

A: “eles estão perto daqui” – ”they’re nearly here!”

B: “já?” – ”already?”

The present perfect tense (have + past participle) is used a lot in English but less so in Portuguese. And, in English it’s often used with already as in this example: “i’ve already eaten”. Brazilians would simply say in Portuguese “eu já comi” – “i already ate”.

Just

Just is a bizarre word in English and has probably over 10 meanings. Já can be used to mean “just” in the sense of a small space of time. “we’re just arriving” – “estamos chegando já já”. Often, as in the example given, já is repeated to emphasise how little the time is. Another example would be saying “já vou!” which is like how we would say in English: “i’m coming!” or “i’m on my way out!”.

Ever

My brother-in-law said this just the other week when we were eating out for Sunday lunch.”esse o restaurante mais nordestino que eu já vi”. In English we would say, “this is the most northeastern restaurant that I’ve ever been to”.

Yes

As you may have realized, Brazilians hardly ever answer questions affirmatively by saying “yes” – “sim.” So, if someone is asking you a question about whether or not you have already done something, a simple “já” would be an appropriate and sufficient answer. For example: “já comeu?” – “have you eaten?” ” já” – yes. There is no need to repeat the verb in your answer, and to say “sim, já.” would just sound redundant.

Portuguese Phrases With  “Já”

já sei! / eu já sabia!

-“eu já sabia” – literally, “i already knew” translates better as: “i knew it!” in English. And when somebody suddenly has a eureka moment – a good idea or a solution to a problem they will declare in Portuguese “já sei!” – literally: “already i know,” but really means, “I know!”… 

já é!

 -“já é!” – This is a great slang phrase which basically is just an affirmative. It means “alright” or “right on,” “sounds good” or “lets do it!” synonyms for -“já é!”  include: “demorô!”, “pode crer!” or “falô!” (*See an explanation of these phrases in my other posts about slang). Here’s an example using  já é:

“e aí, vamos ao cinema hoje?” – “so you wanna go see a movie today?” – já é! – let’s go!

já que…

-The phrase “já que…” in portuguese means “because” or “since.”