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Portuguese Phrase

Estou te retornando a ligação de agora há pouco.

/isˈtoʊ tʃi ʁe.tɔʁˈnɐ̃.du a li.ɡɐˈsɐ̃w dʒi aˈɡo.ɾa a ˈpoku/
Meaning"I’m returning your call from a short while ago."
💡

Meaning

The speaker is letting the listener know that they are calling back right now, after the listener’s call that came a short time ago. It conveys both the action (returning the call) and the recent time frame.

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When to use

Use this phrase when you answer a missed call or when you call someone back shortly after they tried to reach you. It is informal and works well among friends, family, or colleagues you have a familiar relationship with.

✦Grammar Breakdown

Estouteretornandoaligaçãodeagorahápouco

1

Estar + gerúndio

‘Estou’ + gerúndio forms the present progressive, indicating an action happening right now.

2

Pronome átono ‘te’

‘te’ is the second‑person singular object pronoun used before the verb; it signals an informal, familiar register.

3

Gerúndio de ‘retornar’

‘retornando’ is the gerund of ‘retornar’, meaning ‘to return (a call)’.

4

Locução temporal ‘de agora há pouco’

This expression literally means ‘from now a little while ago’ and is the standard way to say ‘a short while ago’.

5

Artigo definido ‘a ligação’

‘a ligação’ refers to ‘the call’; the article agrees with the feminine noun ‘ligação’.

🗨In Conversation

A

Oi, estou te retornando a ligação de agora há pouco.

Hey, I’m calling you back now, after you called a little while ago.

Obrigado! Eu estava esperando sua resposta.

Thanks! I was waiting for your response.

B

✕Common Mistakes

  • Estou te retornando a ligação agora há pouco.

    Learners often drop the preposition ‘de’, saying ‘Estou te retornando a ligação agora há pouco’, which sounds ungrammatical.

  • Estou te retornando a ligação de agora há pouco, senhor.

    Using ‘te’ with a formal interlocutor is too familiar; replace with ‘sua’ in formal contexts.

  • Estou te retorno a ligação de agora há pouco.

    Some learners use the simple present ‘retorno’ instead of the gerund, losing the progressive nuance.

↔Alternatives

  • Estou devolvendo sua ligação de pouco tempo atrás.

    I’m returning your call from a short time ago.

  • Estou te ligando de volta, como você me ligou há pouco.

    I’m calling you back, just like you called me a little while ago.

  • Estou retornando sua chamada de agora há pouco.

    I’m returning your call from just a moment ago.

pt

Cultural Tip

In Brazil, returning a missed call promptly is considered courteous. Using ‘te’ signals intimacy; with strangers or in a business setting you would replace it with ‘sua’ (e.g., ‘Estou retornando sua ligação…’). Also, the full expression ‘de agora há pouco’ is more common in spoken Portuguese than the shorter ‘há pouco’.