Portuguese Phrase
Você está em uma chamada?
Meaning
Literally ‘Are you in a call?’, this question is used to find out whether the listener is currently on a phone or video call. It implies a brief pause in the conversation while you wait for an answer.
When to use
Use it when you need to check if someone is busy on a call before you start a new conversation, when you suspect they might be distracted, or when you want to politely ask them to hold on.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Vocêestáemumachamada?
Você
Second‑person singular pronoun; used for both formal and informal address in Brazil.
está
Present tense of the verb estar, which describes temporary states or locations.
em
Preposition meaning ‘in/at’; followed by a noun phrase.
uma
Indefinite article (feminine) that agrees with the noun chamada.
chamada
Feminine noun meaning ‘call’; can refer to a phone call or a video call.
Question formation
In spoken Portuguese, the rising intonation at the end of the sentence signals a yes/no question; no inversion is needed.
🗨In Conversation
Você está em uma chamada?
Are you on a call?
Não, acabei de desligar. O que aconteceu?
No, I just hung up. What’s up?
✕Common Mistakes
Você é em uma chamada?
Use estar for temporary states; ‘Você é em uma chamada?’ is ungrammatical.
Você está no uma chamada?
The correct preposition is em, not no (which contracts with ‘o’).
Você está em um chamado?
Chamado is the masculine form; the noun ‘chamada’ is feminine, so the article must be ‘uma’.
↔Alternatives
Você está ao telefone?
Are you on the phone?
Você está em uma ligação?
Are you in a call?
Você está falando ao telefone?
Are you talking on the phone?
Cultural Tip
In Brazil it’s considered polite to ask ‘Você está em uma chamada?’ before interrupting someone, especially in a professional setting. Brazilians often use ‘ligação’ for a phone call and ‘chamada’ for video calls (e.g., on Zoom). The tone of voice matters – a gentle rising intonation signals a friendly inquiry rather than a demand.