Portuguese · Beginner (A1) · Chapter 1 of 12
Hello and goodbye
Oi e tchau
Say hello and goodbye in Brazilian Portuguese, give your name and where you're from, and learn the words for I, you, we and they and the verb ser.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Greet people and say thank you as a man or as a woman
- Say your name and where you're from
- Use the words for I, you, he, she, we and they with ser
- Pronounce the main Brazilian sounds
Listen
On her first morning at a new job in São Paulo, Mariana meets her colleague Rafael in the office. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Rafael
Oi, bom dia. Tudo bem?
Hi, good morning. How are you?
Mariana
Tudo bem, obrigada. E você?
Fine, thanks. And you?
Rafael
Tudo bom. Eu me chamo Rafael. E você, como se chama?
Fine. My name is Rafael. And you, what's your name?
Mariana
Eu me chamo Mariana. Muito prazer.
My name is Mariana. Nice to meet you.
Rafael
Muito prazer, Mariana. De onde você é?
Nice to meet you, Mariana. Where are you from?
Mariana
Sou de Salvador. E você?
I'm from Salvador. And you?
Rafael
Eu sou de São Paulo. Bom, até logo, Mariana.
I'm from São Paulo. Well, see you later, Mariana.
Mariana
Tchau, Rafael. Até logo.
Bye, Rafael. See you later.
Understand
Greetings for every time of day
(hi) is the everyday greeting in Brazil, with anyone and at any time. (hello) is a little more formal. People often add a greeting for the time of day:
is used until midday. From midday until it gets dark, say . After dark, say , which means both “good evening” and “good night”. (literally “all well?”) is the usual “How are you?”. Answer or , and ask back with
“Thank you” depends on who is speaking: a man says , a woman says .
| Portuguese | English | When |
|---|---|---|
| / | Hi. / Hello. | any time |
| Good morning. | until midday | |
| Good afternoon. | from midday until dark | |
| Good evening. / Good night. | after dark, to say hello or goodbye | |
| Bye. | when you leave | |
| See you later. | when you leave | |
| See you tomorrow. | when you leave, if you'll meet again tomorrow |
I, you, he, she: subject pronouns
The “subject” is the person doing the action. Words like “I”, “you” and “she” are called “subject pronouns”. In Brazil the everyday word for “you” is for one person and for more than one. takes the same verb form as (he) and (she): , . For older people and customers there is a polite “you”, / (chapter 3).
Because , and share one verb form, Brazilians usually say the pronoun: You can leave out when the verb shows who it is:
(you) is used in the South of Brazil, in some other regions and in Portugal; you'll see it in the verb tables. (you, plural) is only found in old texts and prayers.
| Portuguese | English |
|---|---|
| I | |
| you (one person, everyday) | |
| / | he / she (also “it”) |
| we | |
| we (informal, very common in speech; takes the form, more in A2) | |
| you (more than one person) | |
| / | they (: women only; a mixed group is ) |
| you (regional in Brazil, normal in Portugal) |
Me chamo… and ser: to be
To give your name, say … (literally “I call myself…”) or … (my name is…). To ask, say In Brazil the little word comes before the verb; in writing and in Portugal you will also see .
(I am) and (you are, he is, she is) come from , “to be”. Use for who someone is and where they're from: is irregular, so learn its forms by heart.
| Person | (to be) | Example |
|---|---|---|
| (I'm from São Paulo.) | ||
| / / | (Where are you from?) | |
| (We're from Recife.) | ||
| / / | (They're from Curitiba.) |
How Brazilian Portuguese sounds
A few sounds make Brazilian Portuguese sound Brazilian. At the end of a word, an unstressed e sounds like the “ee” in “see”, and an unstressed o like the “oo” in “too”. Before that “ee” sound, t sounds like “ch” and d like the “j” in “jeans”.
Some vowels are nasal: the air goes out through the nose, and the m or n after them isn't fully pronounced. The tilde (~) on also marks a nasal vowel.
| Spelling | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|
| final -e | “ee” in “see” | |
| final -o | “oo” in “too” | , |
| t before an “ee” sound | “ch” in “cheese” | , |
| d before an “ee” sound | “j” in “jeans” | , |
| -om, -em, ão | nasal vowels | , , |
More in the grammar: Brazilian and European Portuguese · Present tense of irregular verbs · Reflexive verbs: me chamo, me levanto · Ser, estar and ficar · Subject pronouns: eu, você, a gente… · The alphabet and pronunciation
New words
- oihi · (hello) is a little more formal
- bom diagood morning
- boa tardegood afternoon
- boa noitegood evening, good night
- Tudo bem?How are you? (literally: all well?) · answer or
- obrigado / obrigadathank you · men say , women say
- E você?And you?
- eu me chamo…my name is… · also …
- Como você se chama?What's your name?
- muito prazernice to meet you
- De onde você é?Where are you from?
- sou de…I'm from…
- tchaubye
- até logosee you later · also (see you tomorrow)
Practise
1.It's 8 pm and dark outside. You arrive at a friend's house. What do you say?
2.Mariana thanks Rafael. Complete her answer with “thank you”.
Fine, thanks. And you?
3.Complete with the right form of : “I'm from Salvador.”
I'm from Salvador.
4.Put the words in order to ask where someone is from.
Tap the words below in the right order.Where are you from?
5.You're talking about Mariana and Rafael together. Which word means “they”?
6.Match the Portuguese with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Oi, bom dia. Tudo bem?
Hi, good morning. How are you?
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.