Portuguese Phrase
Coloca seu cartão no caixa eletrônico.
Meaning
This is an informal command telling someone to insert their bank card into the ATM. It’s a direct, practical instruction you’ll hear in banks, shopping malls, or on signage.
When to use
Use this phrase when you are helping a friend or a family member at an ATM, or when you see a sign that gives a quick instruction. It’s casual, so reserve it for people you know well or for written notices that adopt a friendly tone.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Colocaseucartãonocaixaeletrônico
Imperative (tu) form
‘Coloca’ is the informal imperative of ‘colocar’ used with ‘tu’. In Brazil the informal ‘você’ is more common, so the formal imperative would be ‘coloque’.
Possessive adjective ‘seu’
‘seu’ agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies (cartão – masculine singular).
Contraction ‘no’
‘no’ = ‘em’ + ‘o’, the preposition ‘em’ (in/on) contracts with the masculine singular article ‘o’.
Noun gender
‘caixa eletrônico’ is masculine; adjectives and articles must match its gender.
🗨In Conversation
Coloca seu cartão no caixa eletrônico.
Insert your card into the ATM.
Já coloquei, agora só falta digitar a senha.
I’ve already inserted it, now I just need to type the PIN.
✕Common Mistakes
Coloque seu cartão no caixa eletrônico.
‘Coloque’ is the formal imperative (used with ‘você’). Mixing it with the informal tone of the rest of the sentence can sound inconsistent.
Coloca seus cartão no caixa eletrônico.
‘Seus’ is plural; the noun ‘cartão’ is singular, so the correct possessive is ‘seu’.
Coloca seu cartão no caixa eletrónico.
The correct spelling is ‘eletrônico’ (with ‘ó’), not ‘eletrónico’.
↔Alternatives
Insira seu cartão no caixa eletrônico.
Insert your card into the ATM.
Coloque seu cartão no caixa eletrônico.
Place your card in the ATM.
Ponha seu cartão no caixa eletrônico.
Put your card in the ATM.
Cultural Tip
In most Brazilian ATMs you still need to physically insert the card, although contact‑less (NFC) machines are becoming common in big cities. The informal imperative ‘coloca’ is typical in everyday speech, but on official signage you’ll more often see the formal ‘coloque’ or the neutral ‘insira’. Remember that ‘você’ is the default second‑person pronoun in Brazil, so if you want to be polite you’d say ‘Coloque seu cartão…’.