Greetings in Portuguese: hello, thank you and goodbye in Brazil

Olá or oi: saying hello in Brazil and Portugal

Olá is the hello understood everywhere Portuguese is spoken. Wiktionary suggests it may have been borrowed from Spanish hola and lists viva as an older synonym.

Brazil adds oi, marked as Brazilian in Wiktionary, possibly from Old Tupi oî. Wiktionary's example pairs it with the question that usually follows: Oi, tudo bem? E aí? is looser still, an informal what's up. As a question, oi? also means pardon? in informal Brazilian speech, when something was not heard.

On the phone Brazilians answer with alô. Wiktionary's examples show a second use of the same word, a check that the other person is still listening: Alô? Tá me ouvindo?

Bom dia, boa tarde, boa noite

The time-of-day greetings work as hello on their own. Bom dia covers the morning; Wiktionary's usage note warns that, despite meaning good day, it is often corrected if used in the afternoon. Boa tarde takes over after midday, and boa noite after dark.

Boa noite does double duty, unlike English. It is the evening hello, Boa noite, tudo bem?, and also the bedtime farewell, Boa noite, dorme bem, good night, sleep well, both examples quoted from Wiktionary. Bom is masculine to agree with dia, boa feminine to agree with tarde and noite.

For a new year Portuguese says Feliz Ano Novo, the form given on the Happy New Year in 122 languages page; welcome to a group is Bem-vindos, the plural that the welcome in many languages table lists.

Obrigado or obrigada: thank you agrees with the speaker

Obrigado is an adjective meaning obliged, from Latin obligātus, and so it agrees with the person who is grateful. A man says obrigado, a woman obrigada, regardless of who is being thanked. Wiktionary's usage note adds two details: many women also say obrigado, a usage that grammars often criticise, and a group may in theory say obrigados or obrigadas, forms that are rarely heard.

The reply to thanks is de nada, it's nothing, with disponha and não há de quê as other options. Brazilians among friends shorten the thanks to valeu, it was worth it, which Wiktionary marks as Brazilian and familiar; in text messages it shrinks further to vlw. In Mozambique, Wiktionary lists canimambo as a synonym of obrigado.

Please is por favor in both countries. In Portugal se faz favor is just as common, and Wiktionary notes, citing the language service Ciberdúvidas, that por favor can sound slightly more neutral as a fixed phrase.

Tchau, adeus and até logo

Tchau is the everyday goodbye, also doubled as tchau tchau. Adeus has different weights on each side of the Atlantic: Wiktionary's usage note says that in Portugal it simply means goodbye, while in Brazil it is kept for long or permanent departures.

Até logo, until soon, has the synonym até breve, and both suit a parting from people one will see again. Brazil adds até mais and the informal até or falou, which Wiktionary lists among the synonyms of tchau.

Common mistakes with greetings in Portuguese

The classic slip among greetings in Portuguese is the gender of thank you. A woman who says obrigado follows a widespread habit, but obrigada is the form the grammar expects from her. The person being thanked never changes the form.

The second is taking a greeting across the Atlantic. Oi and valeu are labelled Brazilian in Wiktionary, so in Portugal olá and obrigado are the safer choice, and adeus in Brazil says more than a simple goodbye. Saying bom dia at three in the afternoon invites a friendly boa tarde in reply.