There are different ways to say hello in Portuguese and greet someone. But many people don’t know many of these manners and only know some basic formal greetings.
In this article I will help you expand your Portuguese vocabulary, explaining and giving practical examples of how Brazilians use these greetings in their daily lives.
It was created from the transcript of the video “how to say hello in Portuguese” that you can watch here or in my YouTube channel @brazilianfriend.
I hope this article will help you learn a little more Portuguese today!
In Portuguese “hello” literally means “Olá!”. “Olá!” – Pay attention to pronunciation!
We don’t speak Spanish like “hola”. In Spanish the strongest pronunciation is “ho”. “Hola”. In Portuguese it is not written in the same way, it is “O – L – A”, and the stressed syllable is in “la”, it is in the last part: Olá! OK?
– Olá!
That’s how we talk!
Another very common way to greet someone in Portuguese is to say “oi”( “hi”).
Usually this “oi” is accompanied by “tudo bem?” (“how are you?”):
– Oi, tudo bem? (Hi, how are you?)
That’s how we speak normally.
If someone asks you, “- oi, tudo bem?” The right way to respond is: “tudo bem! (it’s okay!)”.
– Oi, tudo bem? (Hi, how are you?)
– Tudo bem, e você? (Fine and you?)
I am from Rio de Janeiro and another greeting that is very common here in Rio de Janeiro is to just say “e aí?” (“what’s up?”)
– E aí! Beleza?
BEAUTY: the word “beleza” literally means “beauty”. But when we speak in that way it is used as slang. It is as if to say: “está tudo bem?” “tá tudo beleza com você?”, “tá tudo bem?” (“are you all right?”) . It is not used in its literal sense. So you also say:
– E aí, beleza? (what’s up, all right?).
Try talking to your Brazilian friends like this: “e aí, beleza?”.
I’m sure they will like it.
There is also a little variation in this “e aí?”. Some people say “e aê?” [or just] “aê?”
Maybe it can be something only here in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil is very large and has several accents. It is very varied. I think this is a thing here in Rio de Janeiro saying “aê?”.
Well, but it could be that you are traveling and find someone who will talk to you like this … “e aí?”.
It can also be: “e aí, beleza?” or “e aê?”.
There is also the “qual é? [coé?] ”:
– Qual é, beleza? E aí?
It’s a very informal way of asking you, “oi, tudo bem?” (Hi, how are you?)
Let’s learn the expressions, right. Because It’s boring just saying… “oi, tudo bem? Tudo bem!… Oi tudo bem? Tudo bem…” all the time.
It’s boring! Let’s vary! Let’s learn more Portuguese!
Another way of speaking is also “alô! (hello!). It is usually used on the phone, right “hello”. But sometimes people even say “ah, manda um alô para fulano de tal” (oh, say hello to such people …)”, “manda um alô…” (say hello…). This is what they are saying “say hi to that person”.
Do you already know the verb “falar” (speak)? Well, sometimes here in Brazil we also use “fala” as a compliment:
– Fala!
– Fala aê! E aí?
It is usually:
– Fala!
– Fala aí, beleza?
Have you ever used that expression? Try using it with your Brazilian friends!
There are different ways to use this expression. Even if the person greeted you in a more formal way, you can use it to respond to that person. For example:
– Oi, tudo bem?
– Fala aí, beleza?
Wow! You will sound very Brazilian! It will be super funny!
And to vary the “tudo bem?” (how are you?), “Oi, tudo bem?” you can ask “beleza?”.
“Beleza?” it’s a variation of “tudo bem? You can also ask: “e aí, tudo certo?” or “tudo certinho?“.
You know that Brazilians we love to say things in the diminutive. “Tudo certo?”(Everything okay?), and its diminutive is “tudo certinho?”:
– Tudo certinho? (Are you all right?)
– Tudo certinho, graças a Deus! (all right, thank God!)
So guys, I spoke more informal things here. How do we really talk in our day to day.
And now I’m going to do a review on the formal. As is the formal when we talk about greetings, right. As we say our ‘hello in Portuguese’:
– Oi, tudo bem? (Hi, how are you?)
– Tudo bem (Okay)
– Como você está? (how are you?)
– Ah, eu estou bem, graças a Deus! (oh, I’m fine, thank God!)
Do you want to learn even more Portuguese? Come and take Portuguese classes online with me!
You can be getting in touch through Instagram: @brazilianfriend, or through my website in the contacts area, or simply by sending an email to: robrazilianfriend@gmail.com.
With my classes I can help you who are really beginners in Portuguese, or who already speak Portuguese, but want to improve your pronunciation, I prepared an exclusive content to help you on this journey of learning Brazilian Portuguese.
With me you will speak Portuguese from day one. My focus is informal Portuguese. Learn how Brazilians really speak.
So come and talk to me, get in touch and “let’s go” to study Portuguese!
See you!
Obviously You can just use the basic words you may already know, like “hi” and “how are you?” But how about trying some of the new words you learned from this article today? They can help you sound more natural, like a native speaker. On the other hand, knowing these words can help you better understand Brazilian greetings.
So below is a table with a summary to help you memorize these words.
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