Divertir-se (To Have Fun, Enjoy Oneself)

Think of divertir-se as a two-part gadget. You have the verb divertir and the reflexive pronoun se. In Portuguese, these pronouns change depending on who is having the fun. If I am having fun, I use me. If you are having fun, you use te or se. If we are having fun, we use nos. It is like a grammar team where everyone has a specific uniform. In Brazil, you will usually see the pronoun before the verb: eu me divirto. In Portugal, it often hops to the back: divirto-me. For now, let’s focus on the logic. The pronoun must always match the person. You can't say "Eu se divirto." That would be like saying "I funs him" when you mean you are having fun yourself. It’s a bit of a dance, but once you find the rhythm, it becomes second nature. Think of the pronoun as a little mirror. It reflects the action back to the person who started it.

1. 1Building this verb is a three-step process. Don't worry, it's easier than assembling IKEA furniture.
2. 2Pick your subject (I, you, we, etc.).
3. 3Choose the matching reflexive pronoun: me, te, se, nos, se.
4. 4Conjugate the verb divertir.
5. 5Warning: divertir is a bit of a rebel. It changes its stem in the present tense. The 'e' becomes an 'i' for some people.
6. 6Eu me divirto (Note the 'i'!)
7. 7Você se diverte (Back to 'e'.)
8. 8Nós nos divertimos (Still 'e'.)
9. 9Eles se divertem (Still 'e'.)
10. 10In the past tense (Preterite), it is more well-behaved:
11. 11Eu me diverti
12. 12Você se divertiu
13. 13Nós nos divertimos
14. 14Eles se divertiram
15. 15Just remember: if you are talking about yourself in the present, use that 'i'. Eu me divirto sounds much better than Eu me diverto, which is a common slip-up even for intermediate learners. It’s like a secret code for sounding more like a native.

Use divertir-se whenever you are enjoying an experience. It is perfect for social settings. Imagine you are at a churrasco (BBQ) in Brazil. Someone asks, "Are you enjoying yourself?" You respond, "Sim, estou me divertindo muito!"

• At a concert: Nós nos divertimos muito no show.
• On vacation: Espero que você se divirta em Lisboa.
• Hanging out with friends: Sempre me divirto com vocês.

It is also great for job interviews when talking about hobbies. "In my free time, I like to have fun playing guitar." -> No meu tempo livre, me divirto tocando violão. It shows you are a well-rounded human being, not just a resume on legs. Basically, if there are smiles involved, divertir-se is probably the verb you need. It’s the "happy" verb of the Portuguese language.

Don't use divertir-se if you are talking about something being "fun" as a description. For example, in English, you say "The movie was fun." In Portuguese, you don't say the movie "funned itself." You would say O filme foi divertido. Use the adjective instead.

Also, don't use it to mean you "like" something in a general sense. If you like pizza, use gostar. Don't say you "fun yourself with pizza" unless you are doing something very strange with your dinner.

Finally, avoid using it without the pronoun if you are the one having fun. If you just say Eu diverti, people will wait for you to finish the sentence. They will think, "You amused... who? Your cat? Your boss?" Without the pronoun, the verb is looking for an object. It’s like a high-five that never gets returned. Don't leave your verb hanging!

Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes, but usually in different ways. The biggest trap for you is the "Invisible Pronoun." Learners often say Eu diverti muito because English doesn't use a reflexive pronoun there. You MUST include that me.

Another classic is the "Wrong Mirror." Using se for everyone. Nós se divertimos is common in very informal Brazilian speech, but at the B1 level, you want to show you know the rules before you break them. Use nos.

Then there is the "Spelling Bee" fail: Eu me diverto. Remember, it’s divirto with an 'i'. Think of the 'i' as a little person standing tall because they are having so much fun.

Lastly, watch out for pronoun placement after negative words. In Portuguese, words like não or nunca act like magnets. They pull the pronoun toward them. Eu não me diverti is correct. Eu não diverti-me sounds like you are trying too hard to be fancy and failing.

You might hear people use aproveitar. This means "to enjoy" or "to make the most of." You aproveita a trip or a meal. Divertir-se is more about the internal feeling of fun and amusement. If you are at a party, you aproveita a festa (the event) but you se diverte (the feeling).

There is also curtir. This is super common in Brazil. It’s slang for "to enjoy" or "to dig." You can say Curti muito a viagem. It is less formal than divertir-se and doesn't require the reflexive pronoun dance. Think of curtir as the cool younger cousin of divertir-se.

Then there is passar bem. This just means to have a good time or be well. It’s a bit more general. If someone says Passei bem o final de semana, they had a good weekend, but maybe they just relaxed on the couch. Divertir-se implies a bit more active amusement.