Portuguese Phrase
Minha tela travou.
Meaning
Literally ‘My screen froze.’ It is used when a device’s display stops responding, often because of a software glitch or overload.
When to use
Say this phrase when your phone, tablet, computer monitor, or TV screen suddenly stops updating and you can’t interact with it. It’s a quick way to tell a friend, a tech‑support person, or a colleague what’s wrong.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Minhatelatravou
Possessive adjective (Minha)
‘Minha’ agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies; it means ‘my’ for feminine singular nouns.
Noun (tela)
‘tela’ is a feminine noun meaning ‘screen’ (of a phone, computer, TV, etc.).
Verb (travou)
‘travou’ is the 3rd‑person singular preterite of ‘travar’, used here as an intransitive verb meaning ‘to freeze, to get stuck’.
🗨In Conversation
Minha tela travou, o que eu faço?
My screen froze, what should I do?
Tente reiniciar o aparelho ou fechar os apps que estavam abertos.
Try restarting the device or closing the apps that were open.
✕Common Mistakes
Minha tela trava.
‘Trava’ is present tense; you need the past ‘travou’ to describe something that already happened.
Tela meu travou.
Possessive adjectives must come before the noun and agree in gender; ‘tela meu’ is incorrect.
Travou a tela.
While understandable, the natural order is ‘Minha tela travou’; placing the verb before the noun sounds awkward.
↔Alternatives
A tela do meu celular travou.
My phone’s screen froze.
Meu monitor travou.
My monitor froze.
A tela está travada.
The screen is frozen.
Cultural Tip
In Brazil, ‘travar’ is the go‑to verb for any electronic device that stops responding. You’ll also hear ‘congelou’ (literally ‘it froze’) used in the same context, especially for computers. Keep the tone informal unless you’re speaking with a customer‑service representative, where a more polite form like ‘A tela está travada, poderia me ajudar?’ is preferred.