Portuguese Phrase
O que a gente joga?
Meaning
Literally, “What do we play?” It asks for the activity, sport, board game, or video game that a group intends to play. The phrase is casual and assumes the speaker is part of the group being referred to.
When to use
Use this question in informal settings—among friends, teammates, or family—when you want to decide together what game or sport to start. It’s common in planning a game night, a sports match, or a video‑gaming session.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Oqueagentejoga?
O (definite article)
Used here as the neutral article before the interrogative pronoun 'que', equivalent to 'what' in English.
que (interrogative pronoun)
Introduces a question; it can be translated as 'what' or 'which'.
a gente (colloquial 'we')
Literally 'the people', it functions as a first‑person plural pronoun in informal Brazilian Portuguese.
joga (present of jogar)
Third‑person singular present indicative of 'jogar' (to play). With 'a gente' the verb stays in 3rd‑person singular.
Word order
In questions, Portuguese keeps the same subject‑verb order as statements; the interrogative phrase 'O que' simply precedes the clause.
🗨In Conversation
O que a gente joga?
What do we play?
Podemos jogar futebol ou cartas, o que vocês preferem?
We could play soccer or cards, what do you all prefer?
✕Common Mistakes
O que nos jogamos?
When using 'a gente', the verb must stay in third‑person singular; 'nos jogamos' mixes pronouns incorrectly.
O que a gente jogamos?
With 'a gente' the verb is conjugated as third‑person singular, not first‑person plural.
O que a gente vai jogar?
This is not wrong, but it changes the tense to future; learners often use it when they actually want the present simple.
↔Alternatives
O que vamos jogar?
What are we going to play?
Que jogo a gente vai fazer?
Which game are we going to do?
Qual atividade a gente vai fazer?
Which activity are we going to do?
Cultural Tip
In Brazil, 'a gente' is the go‑to informal way to say 'we' and is used even in formal‑sounding sentences. In Portugal, speakers tend to use 'nós' more often, so you’ll hear 'O que nós jogamos?' less frequently. Also, 'jogar' covers sports, board games, and video games, but not musical instruments (for that you’d use 'tocar').