Brazilian Portuguese Phrases and Everyday Slang
Brazilian Portuguese is relaxed, warm and full of short spoken forms that textbooks rarely teach. This list covers the greetings, reactions and restaurant phrases you will hear from São Paulo to Salvador, with notes on register so you know what is casual and what is safe with strangers.
Brazilians use você as the normal word for “you”. O senhor / a senhora is reserved for older people or very formal situations. In parts of the south and north-east people say tu, often with the você verb form (tu vai).
Greetings and goodbyes
| Portuguese (Brazil) | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Oi! / Olá! | Hi! / Hello! | Oi is the everyday greeting in Brazil. |
| Tudo bem? / Tudo bom? | How's it going? | Reply: Tudo bem, e você? |
| E aí? | What's up? | Informal, among friends. |
| Bom dia / Boa tarde / Boa noite | Good morning / afternoon / evening | Also used as “goodbye” at the right time of day. |
| Prazer! / Muito prazer! | Nice to meet you! | |
| Tchau! / Até mais! / Até logo! | Bye! / See you! / See you later! | |
| Valeu! | Thanks! / Cheers! | Very common casual thanks. |
| Obrigado / Obrigada | Thank you (said by a man / a woman) | |
| De nada / Imagina! / Por nada | You're welcome | Imagina! is a warm “don't mention it”. |
| Com licença | Excuse me | To pass someone or enter a room. |
| Desculpa / Desculpe | Sorry | Desculpa is more informal. |
Everyday expressions and slang
| Portuguese (Brazil) | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Beleza! | Great! / OK! / Cool! | Also a greeting: Beleza? = “All good?” |
| Legal! / Que legal! | Cool! / How nice! | |
| Tá bom / Tá | OK | Short for está bom. |
| Com certeza | Of course / Definitely | |
| Pode deixar! | Leave it to me! / Will do! | |
| Não tem problema / Sem problema | No problem | |
| Nossa! | Wow! / Gosh! | Surprise, good or bad. |
| Fala sério! | Come on! / You're kidding! | |
| Bora! / Vamos nessa! | Let's go! | Bora comes from vamos embora. |
| Cadê ...? | Where is ...? | Informal: Cadê meu celular? |
| Tô cansado/a | I'm tired | Tô = estou in speech. |
| A gente | We / us | Very common replacement for nós: A gente vai amanhã. |
| Cara | Dude, mate | Informal: Cara, que dia! |
| Fica à vontade | Make yourself at home | |
| Que saudade! | I miss it/you so much! | Saudade = longing; see sayings. |
Spoken Brazilian Portuguese shortens estou to tô, está to tá and para to pra. You will see these in text messages and on social media; in formal writing use the full forms.
Eating out and shopping
| Portuguese (Brazil) | English | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Pois não? | How can I help you? | Said by shop staff and waiters — it means yes, not no. |
| Moço! / Moça! | Excuse me! (to a waiter or shop assistant) | Polite and normal in Brazil. |
| Vou querer ... | I'll have ... | The standard way to order. |
| Me vê um ..., por favor | Can I get a ..., please | Colloquial; literally “see me a ...”. |
| Um cafezinho | A small black coffee | Often offered free after a meal or in offices. |
| Um chope | A draught beer | |
| A conta, por favor / Fecha a conta? | The bill, please / Can you close the tab? | |
| Aceita cartão? / Aceita Pix? | Do you take cards? / Do you take Pix? | Pix is Brazil's instant-payment system, accepted almost everywhere. |
| Quanto é? | How much is it? | |
| Onde fica o banheiro? | Where is the bathroom? | In Portugal: casa de banho. |
Brazilian vs Portugal: quick swaps
| English | Brazil | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| Bus | ônibus | autocarro |
| Train | trem | comboio |
| Mobile phone | celular | telemóvel |
| Breakfast | café da manhã | pequeno-almoço |
| Bathroom / toilet | banheiro | casa de banho |
| Juice | suco | sumo |
| Ice cream | sorvete | gelado |
| Cool! | Legal! | Fixe! |
| I'm doing it | Estou fazendo | Estou a fazer |