Portuguese Phrase
Conta uma vez em que você falhou.
Meaning
The sentence is a request for a personal story: ‘Tell me a time when you failed.’ It invites the listener to share a specific moment of failure, often to reflect on lessons learned or to practice storytelling in Portuguese.
When to use
Use this phrase in informal conversations, language‑exchange sessions, or interview‑style activities where you want the other person to talk about a past mistake. It works well in group discussions about personal growth or when practicing past‑tense narration.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Contaumavezemquevocêfalhou
Imperative (tu) vs. (você)
‘Conta’ is the affirmative imperative of contar for the informal ‘tu’. When you address someone with ‘você’, the correct imperative is ‘conte’. Mixing the two is a common error.
Indefinite article
‘uma’ agrees in gender and number with the noun ‘vez’ (feminine singular).
Relative clause ‘em que’
‘em que’ introduces a relative clause meaning ‘in which/when’. It links the noun ‘vez’ to the clause ‘você falhou’.
Pronoun‑verb agreement
‘você falhou’ uses the third‑person singular preterite of falhar, because ‘você’ takes third‑person verb forms.
🗨In Conversation
Conta uma vez em que você falhou.
Tell me a time when you failed.
Claro! Quando eu era estudante, deixei de estudar para a prova de matemática e tirei zero.
Sure! When I was a student, I didn’t study for the math test and got a zero.
✕Common Mistakes
Conta uma vez em que você falhou.
When you address someone with ‘você’, the correct imperative is ‘conte’. ‘Conta’ is used with ‘tu’. Mixing the two sounds inconsistent.
Conta uma vez em que você falha.
Learners sometimes use the present ‘falha’ instead of the preterite ‘falhou’, which changes the meaning to ‘you fail’ rather than ‘you failed’.
↔Alternatives
Conte-me uma ocasião em que você errou.
Tell me an occasion when you made a mistake.
Fale de um momento em que você não teve sucesso.
Talk about a moment when you weren’t successful.
Relate uma situação em que você falhou.
Relate a situation in which you failed.
Cultural Tip
In Brazil, sharing personal failures is often seen as a sign of humility and a way to show growth. In professional settings, people may frame the story around what they learned rather than the failure itself. Adjust the tone accordingly: keep it light in casual chats, but more reflective in coaching or interview contexts.