English Hello

Portuguese Ol

Pronunciation/Notes Olah This is quite an informal greeting. Komu eshta? You often say things differently depending on whether you are speaking formally or informally. Speak formally to people you meet for the first time, people older than you, or as a general sign of respect. Komu eshtazh? This is the informal variation, which is only used with people you know well, family members, children, or people significantly younger than yourself. Eshtoh baym[ng], Obrigahdu/a lit. I am well, thank you. This is perhaps the most common response to the above question. For thank you, men say obrigado, women say obrigada (regardless of whether the person they are talking to is male or female).* Eshtoh ohtimu/a note that the p in optimo (fine) is virtually silent (the Brazilians spell it without a p). Again, whether to use optimo or optima depends on your own gender. Toodu baym[ng]? lit. everything well? Note: This is probably the most common greeting in Portuguese - it is used much more frequently than 'como est?'.

How are you? Como est? (formal)

How are you? Como ests? (informal)

Im OK, thank you.

Estou bem, obrigado/a

I am fine

Estou ptimo/a

Is everything Tudo bem? OK?

Yes (everything is Tudo [bem] ok)

Toodu lit. everything [well]. The bem is optional when replying to the above question.

Not too bad

Mais ou menos

Myze oh menush lit. more or less. Use this response if you want to indicate that you are a little under the weather.

Pleased to meet you

Prazer

Prazair lit. pleasure.

M[ng]wee[ng]tu Prazair lit. much pleasure. The word muito has a very nasal sound, which kind of Very pleased Muito prazer breaks the rules of pronunciation! Sometimes it can to meet you sound more like moitu, depending on the accent of the speaker. Bom[ng] deeya lit. Good day a slightly more formal greeting than Ol generally used up until about 1pm.

Good Morning Bom dia

Good Afternoon

Boa tarde

Boa tarde (after about 1pm)

Good Evening Boa noite

Boa noite note that the same word, noite, is used for both evening and night. Switch from saying boa tarde to boa noite around sunset. Boa noite

Good Night

Boa noite

Note: You can mix Ol with bom dia, boa tarde, boa noite to make another fairly informal greeting (eg. Ol, bom dia) Adayush lit. To God. Note that you can use bom dia, boa tarde, and boa noite to say goodbye as well. Chow this is a Brazilian expression (an orthographical adaptation of the Italian word 'ciao', probably introduced to Brazil by Italian immigrants), but is widely used by Portuguese as well (apparently some people also spell it 'Xau'). Atay logu lit. until straight away, which doesnt really make sense, but then neither do a lot of things in Portuguese!* Atay aman[ng]yah lit. until tomorrow used even if you wont actually see the person for a few days.

Goodbye

Adeus

Seeya

Tchau/Chau

See you later At logo (same day)

See you later At amanh (another day)

See you soon At j (very soon) See you next At a time prxima Yes No Please Sim No Se faz favor Por favor Thank you Obrigado Obrigada Thank you very much Muito obrigado/a

Atay zhah lit. until already you get the idea!

Atay a prossima

Sim[ng] Now[ng] can also mean not. Se fazh favor often shortened to faz favor Por favor - another alternative Obrigahdu only said by males ** Obrigahda only said by females **

M[ng]wee[ng]tu Obrigahdu/a

* Re: At: When I say it does not make sense, I am not saying that I (or we English speakers in general) do not understand the expressions at logo, at j, etc. I was simply pointing out that a transliteration into English does not make sense. We understand what it means and why, so there is no need to write to me with a lengthy explanation - thanks anyway! ** Re: Obrigado/obrigada: There is some debate about the correct usage of the words obrigado and obrigada. The usage indicated above is by far the most common way the words are used, that is, men always say obrigado and women always say obrigada. This usage implies that the word is being used as an adjective to describe the one speaking (literally meaning 'obliged'). Technically however, it can be argued that the word obrigado, when used on its own to say 'thank you', is an interjection, not an adjective (in the same way that the word 'hello' is an interjection). Under this school of thought, both men and women should say obrigado regardless of whether they are addressing a man or a woman. Whilst this is probably the 'correct' usage, it is hardly ever encountered. Of course, if you are male, it doesn't really matter as you would say obrigado anyway. (See this explanation in Portuguese.) In some regions, particularly the Algarve, it is common for both men and women to use both obrigado and obrigada - switching between them depending on the gender of the person they are talking to. However, this usage does not seem to have any rational technical explanation! I would therefore recommend against that usage unless you happen to live in a region where the locals would be offended if you addressed them differently.