Excited vs. Excitado: Say You’re Looking Forward to Something
Before a trip or concert, say estou animado or estou empolgado. Excitado can sound sexual or physically stimulated in everyday contexts.
Real Life Portuguese · 4 min read · Updated October 15, 2026
The short answer
If you are excited about a trip, project, or event, animado or empolgado is usually the natural choice. Match the ending to the speaker: animado for masculine forms and animada for feminine forms.
Use animado or empolgado for positive anticipation
Estou animada para conhecer o Rio.
I’m excited to visit Rio.
A equipe está empolgada com o lançamento.
The team is excited about the launch.
Understand the tone of excitado
Excitado can mean highly stimulated or agitated and may carry a sexual meaning in everyday conversation. It can occur in technical or other literal contexts, but it is not the safest default for ordinary enthusiasm.
As crianças ficaram animadas com a viagem.
The children got excited about the trip.
Estou empolgado para ver o show ao vivo.
I’m excited to see the show live.
Say what you are excited about
Use animado para… or empolgado com… to connect your feeling to an event or plan. A preposition helps complete the idea: para + infinitive often introduces an upcoming activity, while com + noun names what excites you.
Estamos animados para começar as aulas.
We’re excited to start classes.
Ela está empolgada com o novo trabalho.
She is excited about the new job.
Put it into practice
For everyday enthusiasm, animado and empolgado are safer choices than excitado.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “The team is excited about the launch”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
Keep practicing with the Real Life Portuguese app
Build on this guide with everyday expressions and native Brazilian audio. Choose iPhone, Android, or the web app.