Portuguese Phrase
Isso tá fresco?
Meaning
A casual way to ask whether something (usually food or a drink) is fresh, i.e., not stale or past its prime. The tone is informal, so it’s best used with friends, market vendors, or waitstaff you’re comfortable with.
When to use
Use this phrase when you’re checking the quality of fruit, fish, meat, or even a cold beverage at a market, restaurant, or a friend’s house. It’s not appropriate in very formal settings such as a business meeting or a formal dinner with strangers.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Issotáfresco?
Isso (demonstrative pronoun)
Refers to something near the speaker; equivalent to “this/that”.
tá (colloquial contraction)
Short for “está”, the third‑person singular of the verb “estar”. Common in informal spoken Portuguese.
fresco (adjective)
Means “fresh” (food) or “cool” (temperature). It agrees in gender and number with the noun it describes.
🗨In Conversation
Isso tá fresco?
Is this fresh?
Sim, acabou de chegar hoje de manhã.
Yes, it just arrived this morning.
✕Common Mistakes
Isso é fresco?
Use “está” (or “tá”) for temporary states like freshness; “é” describes permanent characteristics.
Isso tá fresco?
Avoid “tá” in formal writing or when speaking to someone you don’t know well.
↔Alternatives
Está fresco?
Is it fresh?
Isso está fresco?
Is this fresh?
É fresco?
Is it fresh? (more about inherent quality)
Esse está fresco?
Is this one fresh?
Cultural Tip
In Brazil, “fresco” can also describe a cool temperature (e.g., “O ar está fresco”). When you use it about food, listeners will automatically understand you’re talking about freshness, not temperature. Also, the contraction “tá” is ubiquitous in everyday speech, but in written or formal contexts you should use the full form “está”.