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Let’s take a closer look at each of these expressions.
In the first conversation, do you remember how Mark says,
"Good morning, Ms. Lopes."
Bom dia, senhora Lopes.
Let’s start with dia, "day." Dia. Dia.
In Portuguese, all nouns have grammatical gender and are either singular or plural. Dia is masculine and singular — a fact that will determine the form of other words in the sentence.
Before this is bom, "good." Bom. Bom.
Bom is masculine and singular to agree with dia.
Together, Bom dia literally means “good day,” but it translates as "good morning” in this context. Bom dia.
This is the standard greeting during the morning. Bom dia.
Next is senhora, "Ms.". Senhora. Senhora. This is an honorific used to address a woman.
Finally, the teacher’s family name, Lopes. Lopes. Lopes.
Together, senhora Lopes. "Ms. Lopes." Senhora Lopes.
All together, Bom dia, senhora Lopes. "Good morning, Ms. Lopes."
Bom dia, senhora Lopes.
When including a person’s name in a greeting, it’s more common to say the person’s name after the greeting.
Note: using a person’s family name in a greeting may come across as more formal.
Do you remember the teacher's response?
"Good morning, Mr. Lee."
Bom dia, senhor Lee.
First is Bom dia. "Good morning." Bom dia.
Next, senhor "Mr." Senhor. Senhor. This is an honorific used to address a man.
Finally, Mark's family name, Lee, pronounced in Portuguese. Lee. Lee. "Lee."
All together, it's Bom dia, senhor Lee. "Good morning, Mr. Lee."
Bom dia, senhor Lee.
Note, this exchange is formal.
In the second conversation, which takes place at 1 pm, do you remember how Karen says,
"Good afternoon."
Boa tarde.
Note that Karen's greeting is slightly less formal, as she doesn't say the teacher's name.
Let's start with tarde, "afternoon." Tarde. Tarde.
Tarde is feminine and singular — a fact that will determine the form of other words in the sentence.
Before this is boa, "good." Boa. Boa.
Boa is feminine and singular to agree with, tarde.
All together, it's Boa tarde, "Good afternoon."
Boa tarde.
The teacher's response is the same,
Boa tarde.
Boa tarde is a common way to greet people in the afternoon. You can use it in formal and less formal situations.
In the third conversation, which takes place in the evening at 8pm, do you remember how Ben says,
"Good evening, teacher."
Boa noite, professora.
Let's start with noite, "night." Noite. Noite.
Noite is feminine and singular — a fact that will determine the form of other words in the sentence.
Before this is boa, "good." Boa.
Boa is feminine and singular to agree with noite.
Together, Boa noite, literally means "Good night," but it translates as "good evening," in this context.
Note: Boa noite is a common way to greet people during the evening and at night, in both formal and less formal situations.
Next is professora, meaning "teacher." This title increases the formality of the greeting. Professora. Professora.
Professora is feminine singular.
All together it's Boa noite, professora. "Good evening, teacher."
Boa noite, professora.
Do you remember the teacher's response,
"Good evening, Ben."
Boa noite, Ben.
Boa noite. "Good evening." Boa noite.
Next is Ben's name pronounced in Portuguese. Ben. Ben. Ben.
Together, it's Boa noite, Ben. "Good evening, Ben."
Boa noite, Ben.
Note that the teacher addresses Ben by his first name, as he's younger. This makes the greeting sound more informal.
Boa noite, Ben.
In Brazil, it's common to inquire about someone's well being after a greeting.
The most common way to ask is Tudo bem?
literally "everything well?" but translating as "How are you?"
Tudo bem?
For example:
Boa tarde, Ben. Tudo bem?,
"Good afternoon, Ben. How are you?"

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