EkGuru › Languages › Portuguese › Course › Portuguese Greetings and Introductions
Portuguese Greetings and Introductions
Draft: not yet reviewed by a native speaker. Existing availability and indexing are preserved by owner instruction; that is not an editorial approval. Suggest a correction.
🔊 Tap any speaker button to hear the words on this page spoken. Too fast or slow? Use the speed button at the bottom-right of the page.
Every Portuguese greeting you actually need, when to use tu and você, and how to introduce yourself — with pronunciation and examples.
The greetings that cover most situations
Portuguese greets by time of day: bom dia (good morning), boa tarde (good afternoon) and boa noite (good evening AND good night — it covers both arriving and leaving). The all-purpose hello is olá, with the breezier oi among friends. In Portugal you will also hear bom dia stretched until lunch and adeus as goodbye; in Brazil tchau (from Italian ciao) is the everyday farewell.
Introducing yourself
To give your name, say Meu nome é… (my name is…) or Eu sou… (I am…). Both are natural: Meu nome é Ana and Eu sou a Ana (note the article before names in Portugal — a Ana — usually dropped in Brazil). To ask someone's name: Como você se chama? (formal/neutral) or Como você se chama? everywhere in Brazil. Origin: Eu sou da Índia (I am from India).
Tu vs você — the register choice
For "you", Brazil uses você almost everywhere (conjugated like he/she), while Portugal uses tu with friends and family and você or titles with others. A learner is safe with você in Brazil and polite-but-distant with it in Portugal — where tu marks real familiarity. When unsure in Portugal, dodge the pronoun entirely: Como se chama? works without any "you" at all.
Please, thanks and sorry
Obrigado (said by men) and obrigada (said by women) both mean thank you — the ending matches the SPEAKER, not the listener. Por favor is please; se faz favor is the Portuguese equivalent you hear constantly in Lisbon. Desculpe excuses (sorry, excuse me) and com licença asks permission to pass or interrupt. The reply to thanks is de nada (it's nothing).
| Greeting | When to use it |
|---|---|
| olá / oi | hello — neutral / casual |
| bom dia | good morning |
| boa tarde | good afternoon |
| boa noite | good evening AND good night |
| tchau / adeus | bye — Brazil / Portugal |
| obrigado / obrigada | thank you — said by men / women |
| por favor | please |