20 Portuguese Terms of Endearment to Call Your Loved Ones

Whether you’ve found your S.O. on a trip to Brazil or Portugal, or wouldn’t mind falling in love next time you visit, this article is perfect for you. Today I’ll show you how to say “my love” in Portuguese and all the most common Portuguese terms of endearment you can use with your namorado or namorada (i.e., your boyfriend or girlfriend!).

Note that I’ve added the possessive forms meu or minha (“my”) before most terms to help you know which nouns are masculine and which are feminine. That doesn’t mean, though, that they can only be used with either a man or a woman. It’s just that all Portuguese nouns are gendered!

Vem comigo! (aka Come with me!)

Portuguese terms of endearment for a boyfriend or girlfriend

1. (Meu) amor

This is hands down the most widespread term of endearment in Portuguese, and for good reason. (Meu) amor translates as “(my) love”, so using it is a great way of stating your feelings without having to say ”I love you” all the time.

In fact, folks will often start calling their significant others amor before actually declaring their love as a way to test the waters.

Using mô (or mor in Portugal) and mozão, which are more colloquial versions, will make you sound like a native. Yet many speakers find them too cheesy and stick to good ole’ meu amor.

2. Lindo / Linda

Lindo (or linda for a woman) literally means “beautiful” in Portuguese. This is one of the most popular pet names in Portuguese because it’s less consequential than meu amor and a few other terms.

As it turns out, it’s perfectly safe to call someone lindo or linda when you’re just flirting with them. That said, it’s also used by longtime couples.

When you start feeling more confident about your relationship, you can claim your partner by calling them meu lindo or minha linda. Alternatively, you can use seu lindo or sua linda (“you beautiful”) if you want to seem playful or flattering.

3. Gato / Gata

Gato and gata literally translate as ”cat” in Portuguese, yet when referring to a person you’re implying they’re good-looking and sexy.

These terms are similar to lindo and linda, except they’re more flirtatious — they can even come off as naughty, so you should use them with care.

To an extent, gato and gata work like ”hottie” in English, though the adjective for “hot” is actually gostoso(a).

The diminutive cases gatinho and gatinha are a tad more affectionate, while the augmentative terms gatão and gatona have the opposite effect.

4. Querido / Querida

Querido and querida mean “darling” in Portuguese. They’re more neutral than other terms of endearment and can be used with people you don’t know very well too.

Here, the tone is really important: querido(a) can sound dismissive — you can say it’s roughly the equivalent of “honey” in Portuguese.

You can start a letter or email with querido(a) + name of the addressee, but the more formal caro(a) and prezado(a) are far more common.

5. (Minha) vida

This one is pretty controversial, as it’s quite possibly the cheesiest of the Portuguese terms of endearment on our list. (Minha) vida literally translates to ”(my) life”, so it’s easy to see why a lot of folks avoid using it.

While vida is a feminine word that can be used with either a man or a woman, sometimes you’ll hear the nonstandard vido referring to a male partner.

6. Meu anjo

Meu anjo is one of the most classic ways of calling your loved one in Portuguese. It means “my angel” and is extra romantic because it focuses on the emotional rather than physical aspect of the relationship.

If you want to sound even sweeter, you can use the diminutive form anjinho. Still, both meu anjo and anjinho work great in the early stages of a romantic affair, as they’re usually seen as noncommittal.

7. Meu bem

Meu bem, or benzinho in the diminutive case, isn’t so popular these days as it was when our parents and grandparents were dating. Yet it doesn’t really come off as old-fashioned.

Bem is at the same time the adverb for “well” and the noun for “good” in Portuguese.

Depending on your tone, meu bem can express to your partner that you’re upset with them; it’s not particularly affectionate like amor or lindo (but benzinho is!).

8. (Meu) bebê

Bebê literally translates as “baby”, and both the Portuguese word and its English equivalent are used as terms of endearment in Brazil and Portugal.

I’m not exactly a fan of these two… still, what can you do when that’s your significant other’s go-to pet name? 🤡

9. (Minha) paixão

Meaning “(my) passion” or “(my) crush”, (minha) paixão highlights how intense your feelings for your loved one are.

Important words deriving from paixão include the verb apaixonar-se (“to fall in love”) and the adjective apaixonado(a), i.e., “in love”.

10. Meu tudo

Though meu tudo (or “my everything”) is a masculine word, it can be used with any significant other, regardless of their gender. Alternatively, you can say meu tudão instead for greater impact.

11. Coração

This word is the classic case of a pronunciation milestone you’ll feel proud for passing — gotta work on those rolled R’s and nasal vowels!

Coração translates as ”heart” and is not as common as a pet name as some of the earlier entries, but it’s still widely used.

Here, you’ll want to drop the possessive, as ”meu coração” doesn’t really sound idiomatic (unless you’re actually talking about your own heart!).

12. (Meu) príncipe / (Minha) princesa

I have a special relationship with this one, I’ll give you that — so please don’t judge me.

Príncipe and princesa mean “prince” and “princess”, respectively. You can use these terms whenever you want to feel like you’re dating royalty.

And in case you’ve yet to find an aristocrat to call your own, remember princes often wear a frog disguise!

13. (Meu) chuchu

Chuchu derives from the French chouchou, which translates as ”darling”. Oddly, chuchu is also the name of an originally Central American vegetable known in English by the Spanish term chayote.

So when you call someone meu chuchu, it’s like calling them ”my pumpkin”. I daresay this is almost always said with a touch of sarcasm, as when you’re trying to apologize for a minor mistake and don’t quite get what the fuss is all about.

14. (Minha) flor

Minha flor is among the least popular Portuguese pet names, so using it can make a cute way of surprising your partner.

It means “my flower”, which is a feminine word in Portuguese. Since flowers are often associated with women, it’s not very common to call a male partner (minha) flor.

15. (Meu) docinho

Docinho translates as ”sweetie” and is a relatively old-fashioned way of calling your loved one.

The word is also used to refer to any kind of confection: in the old days, it wouldn’t be unusual to hear docinho de coco (something along the lines of “coconut delight”) as an extra sweet version of this pet name.

16. (Meu) dengo

Dengo is a unique Portuguese word of African origin. It normally means “caress” but otherwise refers to a child who’s acting mischievous (in a cute way) to get what they want.

As a pet name, it comes off as affectionate and wholesome. It’s an awesome way of flexing your Portuguese skills on your loved one, since few Portuguese-speaking foreigners know this hard.

17. Bichinho

The word bicho can be translated as either “bug” or “beast” depending on the context. The diminutive form bichinho, on the other hand, is a sweet term to call your significant other.

While bichinho is more widely used in sun-drenched Northeastern Brazil, it’s easily understood nationwide.

It’s almost never used to address women, though, as the feminine forms bicha and bichinha are derogatory terms for a gay man (much like “queer” in English).

Bonus: Portuguese terms of endearment for a friend

18. Amigo / Amiga

Because Portuguese is a sexist language (like all Romance languages, after all), the masculine form amigo is the generic word for “friend” when gender hasn’t been specified.

That said, a female friend can be addressed as amiga. Colloquially (and somewhat sarcastically) the nonstandard migo and miga are quite common too.

Oddly, amiguinho and amiguinha have the opposite effect of most diminutive cases and normally sound pretty dismissive.

19. Irmão / Irmã

Irmão and irmã translate as “brother” and “sister”, respectively. Both can be used to address a friend (or an acquaintance in a friendly way), but irmã is rather rare outside religious environments.

20. Amado / Amada

I’ll top off our list with one of my favorite terms of endearment, if only for its comedic value. Amado and amada mean “beloved” in Portuguese and were traditionally used by religious folks (especially protestants).

Today, however, the term is also popular with nonreligious people, who use it in a sarcastic way with family or friends.

Watch out, though: if your significant other addresses you with amado(a), chances are you messed up big time.

Final thoughts

In matters of love, Portuguese is one of the richest languages out there. You’ll never run out of romantic — and often funny — ways to call bae, which is essential to help keep the passion flame burning.

After you’ve settled on your favorite pet names for your loved one, you know what the next step is: saying those three little words to each other. Learn how to say “I love you” in Portuguese and surprise your boo in the sweetest possible way!

Want to go beyond these sweet expressions?Learn Portuguese with these resources or check out any of these helpful Portuguese learning tips!

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