De Manhã, À Tarde, À Noite: Time-of-Day Phrases in Portuguese
Use de manhã, à tarde, and à noite to place an activity in the day; Brazilian speakers also commonly say de tarde.
Real Life Portuguese · 5 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
Brazilian Portuguese commonly uses de manhã (in the morning), à tarde (in the afternoon), and à noite (in the evening or at night). Learn each as a complete phrase: the preposition changes, so translating ‘in’ word by word will not produce one repeated pattern.
Learn the three time-of-day chunks
De manhã is the usual general form. Many speakers also say de tarde in conversation; à tarde is also common and is a safe choice in writing. Both identify an afternoon time, with regional and personal variation.
Trabalho de manhã e estudo à tarde.
I work in the morning and study in the afternoon.
A gente costuma caminhar à noite.
We usually go for a walk in the evening.
De tarde, o parque fica mais cheio.
In the afternoon, the park gets busier.
Add a day or clock time
Put a day before the time phrase to say when something happens: na segunda-feira de manhã (on Monday morning). For a clock time, use às: às oito da manhã, às quatro da tarde, and às nove da noite.
Portuguese uses da manhã, da tarde, or da noite after the hour. In às oito, às is the contraction of a + as; learn it with the clock-time pattern.
Tenho uma reunião na terça-feira de manhã.
I have a meeting on Tuesday morning.
O ônibus sai às seis da tarde.
The bus leaves at six in the afternoon.
Você pode me ligar amanhã à noite?
Can you call me tomorrow evening?
Put it into practice
Use de manhã, à tarde (or conversational de tarde), and à noite for broad periods. Use às + clock time + da manhã/da tarde/da noite for a specific hour.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “The bus leaves at six in the afternoon”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
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