Greetings and Politeness vocabulary Saudações e Cortesia
20 Portuguese words on the topic of greetings and politeness — with pictures, audio recordings and example sentences. Open and close every conversation.
| Picture | English | Portuguese · Português | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | hello / hi | olá | olá works everywhere; oi is informal and typically Brazilian. |
 | good morning | bom dia | dia is masculine — bom; tarde and noite are feminine — boa. |
 | good afternoon | boa tarde | From noon until dark. |
 | good night | boa noite | Both an evening/night greeting and a farewell. |
 | goodbye | adeus | In Brazil adeus sounds final, almost 'farewell forever' — the everyday goodbye is tchau. |
 | see you later | até logo | até = until; also até amanhã (see you tomorrow); Brazilians often say até mais. |
 | thank you | obrigado | Agrees with the speaker: men say obrigado, women say obrigada! |
 | thank you very much | muito obrigado | Still agrees with the speaker: a woman says muito obrigada. |
 | you're welcome | de nada | The reply to obrigado; Brazilians also say Imagina! |
 | please | por favor | 🇵🇹 PortugalIn Portugal you'll also hear (se) faz favor. |
 | sorry | desculpe | Informal: desculpa; to get past someone or interrupt, say com licença. |
 | I'm sorry | sinto muito | for small slips use desculpe. 🔗 RootLiterally 'I feel it deeply' — for real regret. |
 | yes | sim | Often the answer echoes the verb instead: — Fala português? — Falo. |
 | no | não | Nasal -ão; also 'not' before a verb: não sei = I don't know. |
 | nice to meet you | muito prazer | prazer = pleasure; the reply is o prazer é meu (the pleasure is mine). |
 | congratulations | parabéns | Also 'happy birthday' — the birthday song is Parabéns pra você. |
 | welcome | bem-vindo | Agrees with the person addressed: bem-vinda to a woman, bem-vindos plural; note the hyphen. |
 | good luck | boa sorte | sorte (luck) is feminine — hence boa; bad luck is azar. |
 | enjoy your meal | bom apetite | apetite is masculine — bom. 🔗 RootLiterally 'good appetite'. |
 | bless you | saúde | Means 'health'; also the toast when raising glasses, like 'cheers'. |