Welcome to Can-Do Portuguese by PortuguesePod101.com. |
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use essential social expressions in Portuguese. |
For example, "Excuse me" is |
Com licença. |
Sabrina Santos is on the train. A fellow passenger drops his wallet as he exits the train. Sabrina picks up the wallet and chases after the man. |
Before you listen to the dialogue, let's preview some of its key components. |
Com licença. |
"Excuse me." |
Com licença. |
Com licença. |
De nada. |
"You're welcome." |
De nada. |
De nada. |
Muito obrigado. |
"Thank you very much." |
Muito obrigado. |
Muito obrigado. |
Desculpa. |
"I'm sorry." |
Desculpa. |
Desculpa. |
Nâo, tudo bem. |
"No, it's alright." |
Nâo, tudo bem. |
Nâo, tudo bem. |
Listen to the following three short dialogues between Sabrina and the man. |
Sabrina is chasing the man on the platform with the wallet in her hand. |
Com licença. |
Sim? |
Sabrina hands the man the wallet. |
Muito obrigado. |
De nada. |
Sabrina turns to board the train, but the doors shut. |
Desculpa. |
Não, tudo bem. |
Once more with the English translation. |
Sabrina is chasing the man on the platform with the wallet in her hand. |
Com licença. |
"Excuse me." |
Sim? |
"Yes?" |
Sabrina hands the man the wallet. |
Muito obrigado. |
"Thank you very much!" |
De nada. |
"You're welcome." |
Sabrina turns to board the train, but the doors shut. The man apologizes. |
Desculpa. |
"I'm sorry." |
Não, tudo bem. |
"No, it's alright." |
Let's break down each of these expressions. |
First, do you remember how Sabrina Santos says, |
"Excuse me." |
Com licença. |
First is com, "with." Com. Com. |
Next is licença, meaning "consent" in this context. Licença. Licença. |
All together, Com licença. literally means "With permission," but it translates as "Excuse me." |
In this context, Com licença is used to get someone's attention. |
Com licença. |
This expression is used in many types of situations, and fits well in addressing someone in a formal manner. Sabrina uses it because she’s speaking with someone she doesn’t know. |
Do you remember how the passenger acknowledges Sabrina by saying, |
"Yes?" |
Sim? |
Sim? "Yes?" Sim?. |
Sim? |
The second part of the conversation takes place after Sabrina returns the passenger’s wallet. |
Do you remember how the passenger says, |
"Thank you very much." |
Muito obrigado. |
First is muito, "very." Muito. Muito. |
Next is obrigado, which literally means "obliged" or "indebted," but translates as "thank you." Obrigado. Obrigado. |
Note: Obrigado is an adjective. In Portuguese, adjectives must agree with the noun they modify. As Victor is talking about himself, he uses the masculine adjective, obrigado. |
A female speaker would use the feminine adjective, obrigada, to talk about herself. Obrigada. |
Together it's Muito obrigado, literally, "Very obliged," but it translates as "Thank you very much." |
Muito obrigado. |
Do you remember how Sabrina says, |
"You're welcome." |
De nada. |
First is de, "of." De. De. |
Next is nada, "nothing." Nada. Nada. |
Together it's De nada, literally "of nothing," but it translates as "You're welcome." |
De nada. |
De nada is the most common way of saying "You're welcome," and it can be used in all situations. |
After the train doors shut and Sabrina misses her train, do you remember how the passenger apologizes to Sabrina by saying, |
"I'm sorry." |
Desculpa. |
"I'm sorry." Desculpa. Desculpa. |
Desculpa is from the verb desculpar, meaning "to excuse." Desculpar. |
Victor feels responsible for Sabrina missing her train and apologizes by saying "Desculpa," "I'm sorry." |
Desculpa is a casual way to say "I’m sorry," and commonly used in everyday life. Desculpa. In many scenarios in Brazil, it’s more appropriate than its formal counterpart, Desculpe. |
You can use it in many types of situations, including apologizing for something you regret or something that you did, like accidently bumping into someone. |
Do you remember how Sabrina replies, |
"No, it's alright." |
Não, tudo bem. |
This starts with Nâo, which means "no" in this context. Não. Não. |
Next is tudo, which means "all" or "everything." Tudo. Tudo. |
Last is bem, "well." Bem. Bem. |
All together, Nâo, tudo bem, literally "No, all is well," but it translates as "No, it's alright." |
Não, tudo bem. |
This is a common phrase used to express that things are alright. |
Obrigado derives from the idea that one is "obliged" to thank someone. It’s actually a shortened version of obrigado a retribuir o favor, meaning "obliged to return the favor." |
Remember, the gender will depend on the speaker: |
obrigado when said by a man, or |
obrigada, when said by a woman. |
Let's look at the expressions once more. Listen and repeat, or speak along. |
Com licença. |
"Excuse me." |
Com licença. |
Sim? |
"Yes?" |
Sim? |
Muito obrigada. |
"Thank you very much." |
Muito obrigada. |
De nada. |
"You're welcome." |
De nada. |
Desculpa. |
"I'm sorry." |
Desculpa. |
Tudo bem. |
"It's alright." |
Tudo bem. |
Nâo, tudo bem. |
"No, it's alright." |
Nâo, tudo bem. |
Let's review. |
Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
Ready? |
Do you remember how Sabrina Santos says, |
"Excuse me." |
Com licença. |
Com licença. |
And how the passenger says, |
"Yes?" |
Sim? |
Sim? |
Do you remember the word for "Thank you." for a male speaker? |
Obrigado. |
Obrigado. |
And for a female speaker? |
Obrigada. |
Obrigada. |
Do you remember how how the male passenger says |
"Thank you very much." |
Muito obrigado. |
Muito obrigado. |
And how to say |
"You’re welcome." |
De nada. |
De nada. |
Do you remember how the passenger says, |
"I'm sorry." |
Desculpa. |
Desculpa. |
And how Sabrina says, |
"No, it's alright." |
Não, tudo bem. |
Não, tudo bem. |
Let's practice. |
Imagine you're Susana Santos , and you receive a popular Brazilian candy from your Portuguese language teacher. |
Say, "Thank you very much." |
Ready? |
Muito obrigada. |
De nada. |
Listen again and repeat. |
Muito obrigada. |
Muito obrigada. |
Let’s try another. |
Imagine you're Samuel Santos , and a passenger bumps into you. |
Respond by saying, "No, it's alright." |
Ready? |
Desculpa. |
Não, tudo bem. |
Listen again and repeat. |
Não, tudo bem. |
Não, tudo bem. |
Let’s try one more. |
Imagine you're Samuel Santos and you see a man drop his wallet. |
Get his attention. |
Ready? |
Com licença. |
Sim? |
Listen again and repeat. |
Com licença. |
Com licença. |
In your language journey, you will come across licença, "excuse me," a shortened version of Com licença. Licença is informal, but it’s commonly used as a way to excuse oneself when in a hurry, such as on public transportation or in a crowded place when someone is trying to pass through or to make way. Licença. |
Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Use Essential Social Expressions unit of this course. |
Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
What's next? |
Show us what you can do. |
When you're ready, take your assessment. |
You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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