No que concerne à literatura

You’ll mostly find this phrase at the start of a sentence or a new paragraph. It acts as a mental bridge. If you've been talking about Portuguese culture, you might use this to shift specifically to Saramago or Camões. It requires the preposition a followed by the article a, which is why we have the à with a grave accent (the crase). Use it when you want to compare how a trend looks in one field versus how it manifests in books. It’s like using a spotlight in a dark room to point exactly at the bookshelf.

This phrase is definitely on the formal side of the street. You won't hear it at a rowdy football match or while someone is ordering a frango assado. It lives in university lecture halls, literary supplements of newspapers like *Público* or *Folha de S.Paulo*, and professional podcasts. It’s the kind of language you’d use in a cover letter if you were applying for a job at a publishing house. If you use it with friends, you’re probably having a very deep, late-night conversation about the meaning of life, or you're being playfully ironic about how 'fancy' you're being.

You’ll see this in Netflix subtitles for documentaries about famous authors. A narrator might say, No que concerne à literatura, o século XX foi de grandes rupturas. (Regarding literature, the 20th century was one of great ruptures.) It also pops up in LinkedIn articles written by Portuguese intellectuals discussing the future of digital reading. If you're browsing a Brazilian book blog, a reviewer might use it to transition from talking about a movie adaptation back to the original source material. It's the professional 'pivot' phrase for the bibliophile world.

Use it in your B2 or C1 level Portuguese exams—examiners love this kind of 'connective tissue' because it shows you can handle complex structures. It's great for job interviews if the role involves communication or culture. Use it when writing a formal email to a professor or a business partner where you need to address specific departments. It's also perfect for social media captions if you're trying to post a 'bookstagram' photo that looks a bit more elevated than just 'I liked this book.'

Avoid this when you're texting. If you send a WhatsApp to a friend saying No que concerne à literatura, vamos à livraria?, they might think you’ve been replaced by a chatbot or that you’re practicing for a PhD defense. It’s too heavy for casual settings. Also, don't use it if you're talking about just one specific book; it’s better suited for the *topic* of literature as a whole. For a single book, just say Sobre este livro... (About this book...). Using big phrases for small things can make you sound a bit like a pompous dictionary.

One of the biggest hurdles is the 'crase' (the à). Learners often write No que concerne a literatura without the accent, which is grammatically incomplete. Another mistake is mixing up the preposition. Some try to say No que concerne com, but concerne always takes a.

It's a small mark, but it's the difference between 'Intermediate' and 'Expert'. Also, don't overstay your welcome—don't use it three times in one paragraph. Variety is the spice of life, even in formal writing.

If you find yourself using this too much, you can swap it for No que diz respeito à literatura (In what says respect to...), which is equally formal. For something a bit shorter, try Quanto à literatura (As for...). If you want to sound slightly more modern, you could use Em termos de literatura. In Brazil, you might hear No que tange à literatura, which is very formal and often used in legal or academic contexts. Think of these as different flavors of the same 'refined' tea—all formal, but with slightly different notes.

Is this used in both Portugal and Brazil? Yes, it's a standard formal expression in the entire Lusophone world. Is it too formal for a blog? Not at all; it’s perfect for a well-written, thoughtful blog post. Do I need to use the à every time? Only if the word following it is feminine and singular (like literatura). If it were 'cinema', it would be No que concerne ao cinema. Does it mean the same as 'about'? Yes, but 'about' is the t-shirt, and this phrase is the tuxedo. Use the tuxedo for the gala, not the gym.