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Portuguese Phrase

Quando você vai?

/ˈkwɐ̃.du voˈse ˈvaj/
Meaning"When are you going?"
💡

Meaning

Literally ‘When you go?’, this question asks the listener about the time they plan to leave or start an activity. It’s used for anything from a trip, a meeting, to simply leaving the house.

🎯

When to use

Use it when you need to confirm a departure time or schedule – for example, asking a friend when they’ll head to the airport, or checking the start time of a party.

✦Grammar Breakdown

Quandovocêvai?

1

Quando (interrogative adverb)

‘Quando’ asks about time. It can stand alone at the start of a question without needing a preposition.

2

você (subject pronoun)

‘você’ is the informal second‑person singular pronoun in Brazil; in Portugal it is less common in formal speech.

3

vai (present of ir)

‘vai’ is the third‑person singular present of ‘ir’ (to go). In Brazilian Portuguese the present can express a near future, similar to English ‘are going’.

4

Verb‑subject order

In questions the verb usually follows the subject (você vai) unless you use inversion (vai você?) which sounds archaic or very formal.

🗨In Conversation

A

Quando você vai?

When are you going?

Vou às oito da manhã, já fiz as malas.

I’m going at eight in the morning, I’ve already packed.

B

✕Common Mistakes

  • Quando vai você?

    Inverting the subject and verb this way sounds archaic; keep the normal order ‘você vai’.

  • Quando você vai ir?

    ‘Ir’ is already expressed by ‘vai’; adding ‘ir’ creates redundancy.

  • Quando você vai a?

    The verb ‘ir’ needs a destination or a time complement; ending with ‘a’ leaves the sentence incomplete.

↔Alternatives

  • Que horas você vai?

    What time are you going?

  • A que horas você vai?

    At what time are you going?

  • Quando é que você vai?

    When is it that you’re going?

  • Quando você vai sair?

    When are you going out?

pt

Cultural Tip

In Brazil, asking ‘Quando você vai?’ is perfectly polite in casual conversation, but if you’re speaking to someone you don’t know well, you might replace ‘você’ with ‘o senhor’/‘a senhora’ for extra respect. Also, Brazilians often have a relaxed attitude toward exact timing, so be prepared for a flexible answer.