Learn all you need to know about greetings in Portuguese
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Intro |
|---|
| Michael: How do you greet someone at different times of the day? |
| Ana Clara: And are there any alternatives? |
| Michael: At PortuguesePod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation, Ben Lee is greeting his friend, Paula Pereira, but he hasn't noticed how late it has become. Ben says, |
| "Good morning!" |
| Ben Lee: Bom dia! |
| Dialogue |
| Ben Lee: Bom dia! |
| Paula Pereira: Já é boa tarde! |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Ben Lee: Bom dia! |
| Michael: "Good morning!" |
| Paula Pereira: Já é boa tarde! |
| Michael: "It's already Good afternoon!" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson, you will learn about time-sensitive greetings in Portuguese. Just like English, Portuguese greetings will change depending on the time of the day. For example: |
| Ana Clara: Bom dia! |
| Michael: meaning "Good morning." You can use this greeting from the time you wake up until about lunchtime. In the afternoon, we'll use: |
| Ana Clara: Boa tarde! |
| Michael: meaning "Good afternoon!." It is used from lunchtime until it starts to get dark. After that time, we use: |
| Ana Clara: Boa noite! |
| Michael: This greeting can be understood as "Good evening!"—when it's said when you meet someone after the sun sets and you greet them, or as "Good night!"—when it's said before you go to sleep. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at the dialogue. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee says "Good morning?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Ana Clara: Bom dia! |
| Michael: Ben Lee says "Good morning" not really aware of what time it is when he greets Paula Pereira. |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: Now, let's take a look at our second sentence. |
| Do you remember how Paula Pereira says "It's already Good afternoon?" |
| (pause 4 seconds) |
| Ana Clara: Já é boa tarde! |
| Michael: In this case, she corrects Ben Lee's greeting for that time of day and recommends using "Good afternoon!," which, as we've seen, is: |
| Ana Clara: Boa tarde! |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, you've learned three greetings in Portuguese that you will use depending on the time of the day. Let's check them out again with some examples. |
| Our first example is a greeting used at, let's say, 8:00 a.m.: |
| Ana Clara: Bom dia! |
| Michael: You can complement this greeting with "How are you?," as in: |
| Ana Clara: Bom dia, tudo bem? |
| Michael: It literally means: "Good morning! Is everything fine?," but we use it as "Good morning! How are you?." You can add "How are you?" after any time-sensitive greeting in Portuguese, especially if you're greeting someone you're already acquainted with, making it even more heart-warming. |
| Saying: |
| Ana Clara: Tudo bem? |
| Michael: "How are you?" in greetings is very common in Brazil, by the way. |
| As you've seen before, "Good morning" in Portuguese can be used from the early hours in the morning until lunchtime. How about the greeting used at, for example, 3:00 p.m? Let's take a look at it in our next example: |
| Ana Clara: Boa tarde, Camila! Tudo bem? |
| Michael: "Good afternoon, Camila! How are you?" |
| Just as a review, this greeting can be used from lunchtime until there is still light outside. Next, what greeting would you use after the sun sets, for example, at 8:00 p.m.? Let's see an example: |
| Ana Clara: Boa noite! |
| Michael: "Good evening!" |
| As you also know, you can use this same greeting in Portuguese before going to sleep. Let's see our last example: |
| Ninoska: Boa noite! Até amanhã. |
| Michael: "Good night! See you tomorrow." |
| Expansion/Contrast |
| Michael: A widely used greeting in Brazil is: |
| Ana Clara: Oi, tudo bem? |
| Michael: meaning "Hi, how are you?" It can be used at any time of the day and it's very common between acquaintances, colleagues, and friends. You can reply with a similar greeting: |
| Ana Clara: Tudo bem, e você? |
| Michael: meaning "I'm fine, and you?" Instead of: |
| Ana Clara: Oi |
| Michael: you can say, |
| Ana Clara: Olá |
| Michael: which also means, "Hi" or "Hello," but it's a little less casual. So the sentence would be: |
| Ana Clara: Olá, tudo bem? |
| Michael: "Hi, how are you?." In very formal situations, it's more common to use the time-sensitive greetings we've just seen and you may add: |
| Ana Clara: Como vai? |
| Michael: Literally meaning "How are you doing?," but also used as a "How are you?" in a little less casual way. So, for example, in the morning you'd say: |
| Ana Clara: Bom dia, como vai? |
| Michael: "Good morning, how are you?" |
| Practice Section |
| Michael: Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after Ana Clara focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember how Ben Lee says "Good morning?" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ana Clara: Bom dia! |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Ana Clara: Bom dia! |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ana Clara: Bom dia! |
| Michael: And do you remember how Paula Pereira says "It's already Good afternoon!" |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ana Clara: Já é boa tarde! |
| Michael: Listen again and repeat. |
| Ana Clara: Já é boa tarde! |
| [Beep. Pause 5 seconds.] |
| Ana Clara: Já é boa tarde! |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion |
| Michael: And how about speaking on the phone? In Portuguese, when speaking on the phone or answering it, we use the greeting: |
| Ana Clara: Alô! |
| Michael: meaning "Hello!" but only used on the phone. |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Ana Clara: Até a próxima! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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