This is the 71st most frequent Portuguese word.
tinha
The Portuguese word "tinha" means "had" (imperfect tense of the verb "ter").
The word "tinha" is used as the imperfect past tense of "ter," indicating that he possessed the car at a time in the past.
Ele tinha um carro muito antigo.
He had a very old car.
Here, "tinha" reflects a past continuous state of having hope, an emotion or abstract concept.
Ela tinha esperança de que tudo daria certo.
She had hope that everything would work out.
In this case, "tinha" helps form the past perfect or pluperfect tense, describing an action completed by a certain time in the past.