How to Say ‘It Depends’ in Portuguese: Depende de
Depende works as a complete answer; add de before the factor that changes the answer.
Real Life Portuguese · 4 min read · Updated October 15, 2026
The short answer
When someone asks a question with no single answer, depende is a natural reply: ‘it depends.’ The verb is commonly used without an expressed subject in Brazilian Portuguese.
Use depende as a short answer
Você vai de carro? Depende.
Are you going by car? It depends.
É difícil? Depende do assunto.
Is it difficult? It depends on the subject.
Add de to name the factor
Use depende de before the thing that affects the outcome. Before a noun, combine de with the article when needed: de + o becomes do and de + a becomes da.
O preço depende da estação.
The price depends on the season.
A gente decide dependendo do clima.
We’ll decide depending on the weather.
Give the listener a useful condition
A helpful answer often explains what the choice depends on. Depending on the sentence, use depende se… (it depends on whether…) or depende de quando… (it depends on when…).
Depende se o voo chega no horário.
It depends on whether the flight arrives on time.
Depende de quando você sair.
It depends on when you leave.
Put it into practice
Say depende for ‘it depends’ and depende de before the factor that changes the answer.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “Is it difficult? It depends on the subject”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
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