Portuguese Phrase
Cadê os ovos?
Meaning
A casual way to ask where the eggs are. It’s the spoken equivalent of the more formal 'Onde estão os ovos?'. The phrase assumes the speaker knows the eggs exist and just wants to know their location.
When to use
Use it in everyday situations: in the kitchen when you can’t find the eggs, at a grocery store while looking for them, or when a friend asks you to bring eggs and you need to locate them.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Cadêosovos?
Cadê
Colloquial contraction of 'onde está', used only in spoken Brazilian Portuguese to ask where something is.
Definite article 'os'
Plural masculine article that must agree in gender and number with the noun that follows.
Noun 'ovos'
Masculine plural noun meaning 'eggs'.
Verb‑subject agreement
When using the full form, the verb must agree with the plural subject: 'Onde estão os ovos?'.
🗨In Conversation
Cadê os ovos?
Where are the eggs?
Estão na geladeira, na prateleira de cima.
They’re in the fridge, on the top shelf.
✕Common Mistakes
onde está os ovos?
Verb must agree with the plural subject; use ‘estão’ instead of ‘está’.
Cadê os ovo?
Article and noun must agree in number; ‘ovo’ is singular, so the article should be ‘o’.
Cadê ovo?
If you really mean a single egg, drop the article: ‘Cadê ovo?’ is acceptable only in very informal speech.
↔Alternatives
Onde estão os ovos?
Where are the eggs?
Os ovos, onde estão?
The eggs, where are they?
Você viu os ovos?
Did you see the eggs?
Cultural Tip
‘Cadê’ is strictly informal and is rarely, if ever, used in written Portuguese or formal speech. In a restaurant or a business setting you would switch to the full form ‘Onde estão…’. Also, Brazilians often drop the article in very casual speech, saying just ‘Cadê ovo?’ when they’re talking about a single egg, but grammatically the article should match the noun.