# My Story



## William44647

Hello, how would you say "my story" as in a personal history?

Is it "minha historia"?

Thanks


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## olivinha

Minha hist*ó*ria (with an accent mark in o-> ó)


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## William44647

Thank you, I didn't know how to make accent marks on my keyboard, but I learned how to do it today.


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## Antti

Wouldn't it be "Minha Estória? As far as i know, História means History whereas Story means Estória.
História is something that really happened.
Estória is something made up.

Point being, the correct translation (given the fact that you REALLY meant *story*) is Minha *estória*.

Let me know if I'm missing a point.


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## William44647

Well, this is for a personal history that is supposed to be true.


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## 4TranslatingEnglish

Antti said:


> As far as i know, História means History whereas Story means Estória.



In PTpt, it's História for History (as in studying world history) and história for story. The only thing that changes is the capital H.
We could call a "estória" to something I think it's called in English "an anecdote". There are many anecdotes in History and in my personal story. Not necessarily made up.

Vou contar-vos a história [o relato] do que me aconteceu hoje no caminho para o trabalho. 
Vou contar-vos a história da minha vida. [Toda a minha vida.]
Vou contar-vos _uma _história, entre muitas, que se passou na minha vida.
Existem muitas _estórias _curiosas sobre a vida do rei D. Pedro.

In William44647's case:

A minha história.

Whether it is your (or one of yours) personal story or a story you've made up. If you write a novel you can also refer to it as "a minha história".


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## William44647

A minha história

So the ''A'' is necessary in front of ''minha história''?


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## 4TranslatingEnglish

Yes, it is. In a standard sentence the article is always necessary. Like in my examples above.
Unless you're being very, very poetical:

_Minha história, como (ela) é triste!_

This last example belongs in poetry or a song.


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## Istriano

William44647 said:


> A minha história
> 
> So the ''A'' is necessary in front of ''minha história''?




It is not.
MINHA HISTÓRIA works better in headlines.


The names of popular magazines are  MINHA NOVELA, MINHA CASA, MINHA VIAGEM, MEU NENÊ, MEU SUL (and not A MINHA NOVELA,  A MINHA CASA, A MINHA VIAGEM, O MEU NENÊ, O MEU SUL),
and in my desktop there is a shortcut for MEU COMPUTADOR (and not O MEU COMPUTADOR). 

Article with possessives is more used as a linking word so many people find it inelegant to put it in a headline or at the very beginning of a phrase.


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## William44647

Ok, I understand. The "A'' would be necessary in a sentence, but in a headline on a website I will lose the ''A''. 

Thank you all for your help!


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## Carfer

Istriano said:


> It is not.
> MINHA HISTÓRIA works better in headlines.


 
No português do Brasil. No de Portugal, mesmo num cabeçalho, o artigo definido certamente que viria expresso. Habitualmente, não omitimos o artigo definido antes dos possessivos.


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## anaczz

Quanto a "estória" e "história":


Vanda said:


> Mesma coisa, MG, e uma briga entre gramáticos.  Atualmente as duas formas são permitidas, sendo que a preferência dos  gramáticos mais tradicionais é pela forma história, para todos os tipos.
> estória - Bras. Ver _história_ (3) [A palavra foi proposta para designar narrativa de ficção, mas a forma preferencial é _história_.]



Essa história de estória não pegou...


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## Istriano

Estória = conto = causo = story
História = history


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## William44647

I think "história'' will work best for the context for which I am using it. In English we often refer to our ''personal history'', which is supposed to be true, as ''story''.

For example a person may say:

What is your story?. = What is your personal history.

I will tell you my story. = I will tell you my personal history.

Some websites call it a ''Bio'' from the word ''Biography''.


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## 4TranslatingEnglish

Eu tinha um dedinho a adivinhar que o português do Brasil suprimia os artigos, hehehe! 
Mas em português de Portugal nem nas situações mais informais se omite o artigo. A excepção é na literatura e na poesia. Quanto aos títulos [ex: "Meu filho, meu tesouro", "Meu pé de laranja lima"], acho que ninguém aqui vai discutir que o próprio título da obra de arte também faz parte dessa obra de arte.
Não percebi se era esse o caso do William44647.

Note to William44647: It's not the title of the story, is it?



William44647 said:


> I think "história'' will work best for the  context for which I am using it. In English we often refer to our  ''personal history'', which is supposed to be true, as ''story''.
> 
> For example a person may say:
> 
> What is your story?. = What is your personal history.
> 
> I will tell you my story. = I will tell you my personal history.
> 
> Some websites call it a ''Bio'' from the word ''Biography''.



That's about the same. Contrary to English, Portuguese has the same word for "history" and "story". You can't go wrong. 

If it is a biography you can also call it "biografia". However, bear in mind that "biografia", in Portuguese, has a more formal meaning and it's usually done in an academic / professional context by an expert:

"A biografia de Napoleão", um livro do Professor Fulano de Tal, professor de História na Universidade de (...)

There are also "auto-biografias", when they are written by the person they're portraying (especially someone of public relevance).


EDIT:
Self correction:

In the case I just mentioned above, "A biografia de Napoleão", and other academic literature in general, we usually do NOT use the article:

"Biografia de Napoleão"
"História de Portugal"
"Sociologia da Imagem"
etc


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## William44647

No, it is a heading for a profile on a website where a person will write a short personal history. Many websites will use ''My Story'' for this heading.

In English biography normally has a more formal meaning also, but now some websites use ''My Bio'' for a heading where a person will write a short personal history about themselves.

Thank you for your response!


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## englishmania

in Portugal
*A* minha história


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## 4TranslatingEnglish

William44647 said:


> No, it is a heading for a profile on a website where a person will write a short personal history. Many websites will use ''My Story'' for this heading.
> 
> In English biography normally has a more formal meaning also, but now some websites use ''My Bio'' for a heading where a person will write a short personal history about themselves.
> 
> Thank you for your response!



Ha!!! Then what you want is the word "perfil". Drop "história". It's not what you want. "Perfil" is the online word for it. You can also use: "O meu perfil".
Also, are you really asking people to write a story about themselves or merely asking them to say something about themselves? In that case, drop the word "história" as well. Just write:

"(Por favor) diz-nos/diga-nos algo sobre ti/si"

"Por favor" + "si" is more formal.

(People don't like it very much when you ask them write a "story" about themselves, let alone their own story. It's considered "nosy". Unless it's one of those online support groups where people come forward and tell their "story". Sounds like therapy language, know what I mean?... Not sure you want to sound like that.)


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