Portuguese Phrase
Quem é o chefe deste departamento?
Meaning
The sentence asks for the identity of the person who leads or manages the specific department being referred to. It is a direct, polite way to request that information in a professional setting.
When to use
Use this phrase in meetings, emails, or casual conversations when you need to know who is in charge of a particular department, such as when you’re new to a company or need to direct a request.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Queméochefedestedepartamento?
Quem (interrogative pronoun)
Used to ask about a person’s identity; it replaces ‘who’ in English.
é (ser, 3rd person singular)
The verb ‘ser’ expresses a permanent characteristic; here it links the subject ‘quem’ to the predicate ‘chefe’.
o (definite article)
Specifies a particular noun; ‘o chefe’ = ‘the boss’.
chefe (noun)
Means ‘boss’ or ‘head’; can be used both formally and informally.
deste (de + este)
A contraction meaning ‘of this’; it points to something close to the speaker.
departamento (noun)
A neutral noun meaning ‘department’ in a company, university, etc.
🗨In Conversation
Quem é o chefe deste departamento?
Who is the boss of this department?
É a Ana Silva, a gerente de projetos.
It’s Ana Silva, the project manager.
✕Common Mistakes
Qual é o chefe deste departamento?
‘Qual’ asks about things, not people; use ‘quem’ for persons.
Quem é o chefe de este departamento?
In spoken Brazilian Portuguese the contraction ‘deste’ is preferred; ‘de este’ sounds overly formal or incorrect.
Quem é o chefe do departamento?
Using ‘do’ (de + o) would change the meaning to ‘the boss of the department’, but loses the demonstrative ‘this’.
↔Alternatives
Quem dirige este departamento?
Who runs this department?
Quem está à frente deste departamento?
Who is in charge of this department?
Qual é o responsável por este departamento?
Who is the person responsible for this department?
Cultural Tip
In Brazil, ‘chefe’ can be informal; in more formal contexts you might hear ‘gerente’, ‘coordenador’ or ‘responsável’. Also, the contraction ‘deste’ is common in spoken Portuguese; in very formal writing you may see ‘de este’ written separately.