INTRODUCTION |
Wherever your destination may be, manners are a must! Portugal is no different. So in our very first lesson, we'll be teaching you simple expressions that are bound to come in handy throughout your trip to Portugal. I can’t stress this enough: a little a bit of language can go a long way! |
GRAMMAR POINT |
In Portugal, the most simple way of saying “Thank you” is |
Obrigado. |
Let’s break it down: |
(slow) o-bri-ga-do. |
Once more: |
O-bri-ga-do. |
Obrigado is a participle, which in English will be literally translated as “obligated”. But Obrigado is used just like “thank you” in English. |
There will be occasions when you will want to express gratitude in a more polite and appreciative manner, and then you should use the expression “muito obrigado”. |
Let’s break that down: |
(slow) Mui-to o-bri-ga-do. |
Once more: |
Muito obrigado. |
The second word “muito” means “much” or “very”, so the English equivalent for “Muito obrigado” is “Thank you very much”. |
Portuguese has gender. Gender is a grammatical concept, so we won't get into how it works, but it does affect the word "obrigado." |
Luckily, the rule is simple: if you are a man, say "obrigado" in all of the phrases we practiced. However, if you are a woman, you should say "obrigada" with the letter "A" at the end. |
Can you hear the difference? |
"obrigado" – "obrigada." |
The male word is "obrigado" and the female word is "obrigada." |
Let’s break that down: |
(slow) o-bri-ga-da |
Once more: |
obrigada. |
The "muito" doesn’t change. So, for women, it would be "muito obrigada" for "thank you very much" |
(slow) muito obrigada |
muito obrigada |
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