Portuguese Phrase
Que sintomas você tem?
Meaning
This question asks someone to list the health problems they are experiencing. It is a direct way to inquire about a patient’s or a friend’s symptoms, often used by medical professionals or caring acquaintances.
When to use
Use it in a medical setting (doctor’s office, pharmacy, tele‑consultation) or whenever you need to check on someone’s health. It works both in formal and informal contexts, though you may switch to a more formal pronoun (o senhor/a senhora) with older patients.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Quesintomasvocêtem?
Que (interrogative)
‘Que’ is used to ask ‘what’ before a noun; it does not change with gender or number.
sintomas (noun, plural)
‘sintomas’ is a masculine plural noun meaning ‘symptoms’; it matches the plural verb form.
você (subject pronoun)
‘você’ is the informal second‑person singular pronoun; it triggers third‑person verb conjugation.
tem (present of ter)
‘tem’ is the third‑person singular present of ‘ter’ (to have) and agrees with the pronoun ‘você’.
Question intonation
In spoken Portuguese the pitch rises at the end of the sentence, signalling a question.
🗨In Conversation
Que sintomas você tem?
What symptoms do you have?
Tenho febre e dor de cabeça.
I have a fever and a headache.
✕Common Mistakes
Qual sintomas você tem?
‘Qual’ agrees with singular nouns; use ‘Quais’ for plural or keep ‘Que’ before a noun.
Que sintoma você tem?
If you expect multiple symptoms, use the plural ‘sintomas’. Use singular only when you’re sure there is one symptom.
Você tem que sintomas?
The interrogative ‘que’ must come before the noun, not after the verb.
↔Alternatives
Quais são os seus sintomas?
What are your symptoms?
O que você está sentindo?
What are you feeling?
Pode me dizer seus sintomas?
Can you tell me your symptoms?
Cultural Tip
In Brazil, doctors often start with a broad question like this and then narrow down with more specific queries (e.g., ‘Há quanto tempo sente dor?’). Using ‘você’ is perfectly acceptable in most clinics, but with older patients or in very formal hospitals you might hear ‘o senhor’/‘a senhora’ instead. Maintaining a calm tone shows empathy and encourages the patient to answer honestly.