Introduction
It is very likely that āOIā was one of the first words you learned in Portuguese.
- After all, greeting and farewell formulas are usually the first thing we learn in a new language, right?
Of course, those formulas are very important for daily communication.
Although you can make yourself understoodĀ with a very basic repertoire of expressions (āOIā, āTCHAUā, and āTUDO BEM? ā, for example), Portuguese is a language with a vast array of greeting formulas.
- That is, even if you only use a handful of greeting formulas, when you talk to Brazilians you will notice that they do useĀ many more expressionsĀ to greet when they meet an acquaintance.
To speakĀ Brazilian Portuguese as naturally as a native does, you should get familiarĀ withĀ those expressionsĀ that natives use to break the ice.
- You should also knowĀ which of said formulas are standardĀ in the language andĀ which are more informal or slangĀ and, in consequence, use them properly.
In this video you will find the 89+ phrasesĀ for greeting, for saying goodbye and alternative ways to ask āhow are you? ā in Brazilian Portuguese.
You have the same video explainedĀ entirely in PortugueseĀ with subtitles in Portuguese and English. You also have theĀ explanations in PortugueseĀ and theĀ material to download for free, if you want to doĀ language immersion.
Who is this Portuguese greeting guide for?
You will see that those 89+ day-to-day formulas are simple and, above all, frequent. Therefore, the greeting guide is suitable for any student of the Brazilian Portuguese language.- You do not need to have previous knowledgeĀ of Portuguese to enjoy this very complete guide of typically Brazilian greetings.
If you do not speak any Portuguese, you can startĀ studying it with this guide.
- However, I advise you thatĀ your first stepĀ in Portuguese should be to get familiar with the pronunciation.
- You have it in this video, which includesĀ free material to download.
- You have aĀ complete pronunciation guideĀ with many audios and examples.
You also have a FREE online mini-course: Brazilian Portuguese forĀ English-speaking beginners.
- The free course starts from scratch.
- The beginnerās course includes video classes, varied digital materials and aĀ certificate.
- You sign up withĀ two clicksĀ and you can learn at your own pace,Ā without deadlines.
- You have a previewĀ of the courseĀ that you can access without having to enroll.
Free course previewĀ (sneak peek), with many free learning tips, available here, no registration needed.
You can also check out this Brazilian Portuguese classĀ available without having to sign up for the course.
At the end of this post you haveĀ Portuguese videos for English speakers with PDF and MP3 to download ā FOR FREE.
Do I need to know all those formulas to speak Portuguese?
If you do not want to consider these 89+ phrases a priorityĀ in your Portuguese learning process now, you do not need to learn them systematically.I advise you to ā at least ā watch the video to make these phrases sound familiar. Little by little you can actively incorporate them into your Portuguese vocabulary.
If you consider those 89+ phrases to be too many for you at this point in your learning process, that is okay.
- You can manage perfectly a more limited repertoire of greetings and farewell formulas in Portuguese.
- The free guide includes greetings, goodbyes, ways to ask and answer āhow are you?ā and basic politeness formulas.
The same video is available in Portuguese with subtitles in Portuguese and English.Ā You will also find the content entirely in Portuguese, if you want to do language immersion.
My advice is:
- If youĀ do not know any greeting phrase, start by learning the 38+ formulas from the most basic guide.
- If you already knowĀ those basic greeting phrases, delve into this topic with the comprehensive guide with 89+ greetings.
And if you want to continue exploring the Portuguese language, there is the first video in this series with short videos with the most relevant Portuguese phrases for English-speaking beginners. The free guide includes further explanation and free material to practice.
What you are going to learn in this Brazilian Portuguese guide for beginners
In the guide with the 89+ phrases to break the ice in Portuguese you will learn:- Greeting formulas in Portuguese for English speakers.
- Goodbye formulas in Portuguese for English speakers.
- The different ways of asking āhow are you?ā and answering in Portuguese for English speakers.
- Informal expressions and slang for these communicative situations.
- Expressions to address a friend inĀ colloquial Brazilian Portuguese.
- Different ways of saying āUM BEIJOā Ā and āUM ABRAĆOāĀ Ā in Portuguese.
Material of the guide of greetings, farewells, and phrases of type āTUDO BEM?ā in Portuguese
Please notice: some phrases vary depending on whether the speaker is a man or a woman. I indicate this variation with the comma (,).- For example, Ā āEstou cansado. , Estou cansada.ā Ā The first sentence is one that a man will say to indicate tiredness and the second, what a woman will say.
āESTOU CANSADOā
āESTOU CANSADAā
Please notice: I will indicate informal expressions with an asterisk (*) and expressions of Brazilian slang with two asterisks (**).The PDF with theory, exercises, answers and summary to download for free.
cumprimentar-despedir-como-vai-portugues
greetings-portuguese
The main greetings in Portuguese: phrases for English speakers
Video: starting on minute 03:21| *Oi! = OlĆ”! | to greet, informally |
| Bom dia! | to greet (morning/during the day) |
| Boa tarde! | to greet (afternoon) |
| Boa noite! | to greet (evening/night) |
The main farewells in Portuguese: phrases for English speakers
Video: starting on minute 04:24| *Tchau! | to say goodbye, informally |
| AtƩ jƔ! | See you soon! |
| AtƩ breve! | See you soon! |
| AtƩ logo! | See you later! |
| AtƩ mais ver! = AtƩ mais! | See you! |
| AtƩ outra! | See you! |
| AtĆ© a prĆ³xima! | See you next time! |
| AtĆ© amanhĆ£! | See you tomorrow! |
| AtƩ segunda! | See you on Monday! |
| AtƩ a semana que vem! | See you next week! |
| AtĆ©! | reaction to any āatĆ©ā¦ā-expression |
| *A gente se vĆŖ! | See you! (informal) |
| Cuide-se! | Take care! |
| Fique bem! | Stay well! |
| VĆ” com cuidado! = VĆ” pela sombra! | Take good care! |
| VĆ” com Deus! | āMay God be with you!ā (farewell) |
| Que Deus te acompanhe! | āMay God be with you!ā (farewell) |
| Tenha um bom dia! = Tenha um lindo dia! | Have a nice day! |
| Tenha uma boa semana! | Have a good week! |
| Boa sexta-feira! | Have a good Friday! |
| Vamos marcar! | We should meet! |
| Adeus! | to say goodbye, formally |
The main formulas in Portuguese to ask āhow are you?ā and how to answer: phrases for English speakers
Video: starting on minute 13:49| Quanto tempo! | Long time, no see. |
| Que bom te ver! | Good seeing you! |
| Como estĆ£o as coisas? | How are things? |
| Tudo bem? = Tudo bom? | Everything OK? |
| Tudo bem, obrigado/a. , Tudo bom, obrigado/a. | Everything Ok, thank you. |
| Como vai? (a famĆlia, o trabalhoā¦) | How are things? (family, workā¦) |
| Como vai? = Como vai indo? | How are you? |
| Bem, obrigado/a, e vocĆŖ? / Bem, obrigado/a, e o senhor/e a senhora? | Good, thank you, what about you? |
| Tudo Ć³timo. | Everything all right. |
| Se melhorar, estraga! | It doesnāt get any better than this! |
| Normal. = Indo. | I am ok. |
| *Tocando em frente. | I am ok. (informal) |
| *Indo, nƩ? = Naquelas. = Mais pra lƔ do que pra cƔ. | So-so. (informal) |
| Estou muito ocupado. , Estou muito ocupada. | I am very busy. |
| Estou doente. | I am ill. |
| Estou meio adoentado. , Estou meio adoentada. | I am under the weather. |
| Estou cansado. , Estou cansada. | I am tired. |
Formal formulas and Brazilian slang to greet, to say goodbye and to ask āhow are you?ā in Portuguese: phrases for English speakers
Video: starting on minute 24:14| *Oizinho! | Hi! (informal and ācutesyā) |
| *Adeusinho! | Bye! (informal and ācutesyā) |
| *Salve, salve! | Informal greeting |
| SaudaƧƵes! | Greetings! |
| *SaravĆ”! | Greetings! |
| *Vamos que vamos! | āWeāre going strong.ā (informal) |
| *Bola pra frente! | āMoving forward!ā (informal) |
| *Por hoje Ć© sĆ³! | Thatās it for today. (informal) |
| *Deu minha hora! | My time is up! (informal) |
| **Valeu! = Falou! | Bye! (slang) |
| **Vou vazar! = Vou nessa! = Fui! | Iām off (slang) |
| **Tamo junto! = Ć nĆ³is! | Bye! (slang, normally among young men) |
| **Bora! = Partiu! | Letās go! (slang) |
| *Tudo certo? = Tudo certinho? | Everything ok? (informal) |
| *Tudo joia? = Tudo joinha? | Everything ok? (informal) |
| *Tudo em cima? | Everything ok? (informal) |
| *Tudo nos trinques? | Everything ok? (informal) |
| *Tudo na paz? = Tudo azul? | Everything ok? (informal) |
| **E aĆ? | Whatās up? (slang) |
| **Opa! | Hey! (slang) |
| **Fala aĆ! = Diz aĆ! = Qual Ć©? | Whatās up? (slang) |
| **Tudo firmeza? | Everything ok? (slang) |
| **TĆ“ de boa. = Sussa. | I am chillinā. (slang) |
| **TĆ“ de boa na lagoa. | I am chillinā. (slang), literal: āI am chillinā in the lagoonā |
| **TĆ“ suave na nave. | I am chillinā. (slang), literal: āI am smooth in the spaceshipā |
| **Tranquilo feito grilo. | I am chillinā. (slang), literal: āI am relaxed as a cricketā |
Colloquial expressions to address a friend in Brazilian Portuguese slang
| **cara | dude, bro (slang) |
| **meu | dude, bro (slang) |
| **mano | dude, bro (slang) |
| **brĆ³der | dude, bro (slang) |
| **parceiro, parƧa | dude, bro (slang) |
| **mina | girl (slang, but nof offensive) |
| **migo , miga | friend (slang) |
| **galera | guys (slang) |
| *pessoal | guys (informal) |
| *turma = tchurma | guys (informal) |
| *moƧada = rapaziada | guys (informal) |
| *gente = minha gente | guys (informal) |
| *povo = meu povo | guys (informal) |
| *gente boa = gente fina | guys (informal) |
| **Oi sumido! , Oi sumida! | you say that to an ex, when you try to rekindle (slang) |
How to say ākissā and āhugā in Portuguese: vocabulary for English speakers
Video: starting on minute 37:50| um beijo | a kiss |
| um beijinho | a kiss |
| uma beijoca | a kiss |
| uma bitoca | a kiss |
| um beijĆ£o | a big kiss |
| um abraƧo | a hug |
A free quiz, so you can put your knowledge to test!
There is always at least one wrong answer to each question.Online Self-Study Brazilian Portuguese Courses for Beginners (with Certificate)
If you have little or no prior knowledgeĀ of the Portuguese language, you can start learning it with theĀ FREE ONLINE SELF-STUDY MINI-COURSEFree Course Link
The FREE course for English speakers includesĀ certificateĀ andĀ varied digital materials.
The signup process is fast and intuitive. You canĀ start learningĀ whenever you want. YouĀ do notĀ have a deadlineĀ to finish the online course.
HereĀ is more information about the free Brazilian Portuguese mini-course.
You have two previews of course content. You can access these free course sneak peeks without having to sign up.
- The firstĀ is aĀ pleasant first contactĀ with the foreign language.
- Ā The secondĀ includes manyĀ free tipsĀ to motivate and to inspire your learning.
The mini-course works as an introductionĀ to the Portuguese language and will allow youĀ to continue learning more easily.
When you finish the mini-course you get a discount couponĀ to take the comprehensive Portuguese course with which you willĀ conclude the A1Ā level.
But the mini-course is FREE, NO STRINGS ATTACHED. If the mini-course has inspired you to keep on learning, the A1 course is the best way to boost your Portuguese skills comfortably and effectively.
A1 Course Webinar Link
The A1-Portuguese course includes varied digital materials, aĀ certificate, and webinarsĀ where you can ask your questions in real time.
You have a freeĀ trial lessonĀ available.
Apart from the information on the course page, you have theĀ FAQĀ andĀ more informationĀ about the self-study system available here. If you have more questions,Ā get in touch.
Learn Brazilian Portuguese from Scratch: Newsletter, YouTube, and Social Media
You can sign up for the PortugueseĀ newsletterĀ for English-speaking beginners for free, with content and tips to learn the language for free.You can learn Portuguese with content for beginners onĀ social media:
You have this list with videos to get familiar with the basicsĀ of the Portuguese language in a communicative and enjoyable way (explanations in English).
The same content isĀ available in PortugueseĀ (with Portuguese / English subtitles) so you can do language immersion.
In this list you will find videos to learn theĀ must-know Portuguese vocabularyĀ (explanations in English).
The same content isĀ available in PortugueseĀ (with Portuguese / English subtitles) so you can do language immersion.
You will learn Portuguese in a matter of seconds in this list ofĀ short videosĀ to master basic phrases.
More Free Content to Learn Brazilian Portuguese: Blog for English-speaking Beginners
In the PortugueseĀ self-studyĀ blogĀ for English speakers, you will find varied resources for beginners (videos, PDF, cheat sheets, audios, interactive flashcards, quiz).Quiz Links
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