How to Use Fique à Vontade in Brazilian Portuguese
Fique à vontade is a courteous way to invite someone to feel comfortable, browse, sit down, or ask a question.
Real Life Portuguese · 6 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
Ficar à vontade means to feel comfortable or at ease. As an invitation, fique à vontade can mean ‘make yourself at home,’ ‘please feel free,’ or ‘go ahead.’ A host might say it when a guest arrives, and a staff member might use it to invite a customer to look around.
Invite someone to feel comfortable
Brazilian Portuguese commonly uses você with third-person verb forms: fique is a polite or neutral singular invitation, while fica is more informal. The best choice depends on the relationship and setting.
Pode entrar e fique à vontade.
Come in and make yourself comfortable.
Fica à vontade para escolher um lugar.
Feel free to choose a seat.
Se tiver alguma dúvida, fique à vontade para perguntar.
If you have a question, please feel free to ask.
Keep the accent in à vontade
In standard spelling, the expression is à vontade, with a grave accent on à. The written accent marks the contraction of the preposition a with the feminine article a in this fixed expression. In speech, you hear the same phrase whether the speaker chooses fica or fique.
When you describe your own feeling, use me sinto à vontade (I feel comfortable). When you invite another person, use fica/fique à vontade. This difference makes the subject clear.
Ainda não me sinto à vontade falando em público.
I still don’t feel comfortable speaking in public.
Você pode deixar a bolsa aqui, fique à vontade.
You can leave your bag here; make yourself comfortable.
Ele se sentiu à vontade depois de alguns minutos.
He felt at ease after a few minutes.
Put it into practice
Use me sinto à vontade for your own comfort and fica/fique à vontade to invite someone to relax or proceed. Standard spelling keeps the accent in à vontade.
Quick practice
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