18 Portuguese Greetings You Need To Learn Right Now (+ Free PDF)

Whether you are learning Portuguese for travel, for business, or just because you find the language beautiful, the best way to get started is to learn Portuguese greetings.

Knowing a few basic phrases to say “hello” is important in almost any language. It enables you to politely get the attention of people you want to make friends with.

In this post, we’re going to help you take that crucial first step to have conversations in countries where Portuguese is spoken by going through commonly accepted ways to greet people.

Where Can You Use Portuguese Greetings? 

Most of the native Portuguese speakers in the world are found either in Portugal or in other areas of the world where the Portuguese had significant influence. 

The biggest concentration of Portuguese speakers in the world is actually found in the South American country of Brazil and it is actually the most wildly spoken language in South America.

If you are going to be spending a lot of time in either the European Union or Latin America, learning Portuguese or at least some Portuguese greetings could be useful. It is an official language of the European Union and the second most spoken language in Latin America.

In general, if you are going to be traveling and working in one of the following areas where Portuguese is the official language, you will find yourself hearing people greet each other in Portuguese and you should learn how to appropriately greet them back.

1. Portugal

2. Brazil

3. Angola

4. Mozambique

5. Guinea-Bissau

6. Cape Verde

7. São Tomé and Príncipe

Important Things to Remember When Using Portuguese Greetings

While many of the Portuguese greetings that we will be discussing in this post are used and understood by Portuguese speakers around the world, there are certain variations to how they are pronounced.

In general, Portuguese speakers from Brazil have a slightly different way of pronouncing their words than those who are from Portugal. Speakers from the African countries of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, and São Tomé and Príncipe generally follow the pronunciation of those who are from Portugal.

Another thing to keep in mind is that Portuguese is a gendered language. May Portuguese verbs, nouns, and even adjectives have different forms which are used depending on whether you are referring to a male or a female. There may also be different forms for the singular and plural.

To help keep you from getting confused, we’ve included pronunciation notes and usage notes when applicable.

How to Say “Hello” or “Hi” to a Portuguese Speaker

As in any other language, the most basic Portuguese greetings are the equivalent of the English greetings “hello” and “hi”.

1. Olá

Translation: Hello

Pronunciation notes: OH-lah

This is a classic and the most basic way to greet someone in Portuguese. While some of the greetings we will go through on this list might be pronounced differently depending on the country you are in, this basically stays the same everywhere.

2. Oi!

Translation: Hi

Pronunciation notes: Oee

This Portuguese greeting is the equivalent of “hi”. While “oi” is used by Portuguese speakers all over the world, it is a particularly common way to say “hello” in Brazil.

Basic Portuguese Greetings You Can Use Depending On The Time Of Day

Some of the most basic greetings that are used by Portuguese speakers depend on the time of day. Here are three Portuguese greetings that you can use in the morning, the afternoon, and the night.

1. Bom dia

Translation: Good day/Good morning

Pronunciation Notes: bom DEE-a (Portugal or African countries), bom GEE-a (Brazil)

This is the first example on our list of how the pronunciation of a Portuguese greeting will vary according to where you are.

No matter where you are, however, the meaning remains the same. This phrase is used to say “good morning”. The literal translation is “good day” but Portuguese speakers use this to greet someone from the period of sunrise till around noon, so it is used more to greet someone “good morning”.

2. Boa tarde 

Translation: Good afternoon

Pronunciation Notes: boa TAHR-d (Portugal or African countries), boa TAHR-g (Brazil)

Afternoon, Portuguese speakers switch from “bom dia” to “boa tarde”.

3. Boa noite

Translation: Good evening

Pronunciation: boa NOEE-t (Portugal or African countries), boa NOEE-tsh (Brazil)

When the sun goes down and the sky gets dark, this is how Portuguese speakers greet each other.

Other Common Portuguese Greetings That You Should Know

Here are a few other friendly ways to greet someone in Portuguese. They are appropriate to use in almost any situation.

1. Alô

Translation: Hello

Pronunciation: ah-LOH

This is another way to say “hello” in Portuguese. It is not commonly used, however, except for in phone conversations. 

So, if a Portuguese speaker answers their phone, they are more likely to use this rather than “olá”.

2. Bem-vindo

Translation: Welcome

Pronunciation: baym-VEEN-doo 

Usage Notes: For a man: bem-vindo (baym-VEEN-doo), for a woman: bem-vinda (baym-VEEN-da), for a two or more women: bem-vindas (baym-VEEN-da-sh), for two or more men or a mixed group: bem-vidos (baym-VEEN-doosh)

You can use this greeting if someone has just joined your group. For example, you are at a bar with some new friends and someone they know approaches them to join you, your new Portuguese speaking friends will use this greeting to welcome them into your company.

You may also use this if you are greeting someone who is visiting you. For example, if you visit your work colleague at their home, they will open the door and greet you with this Portuguese phrase. Or, if you are welcoming your classmates to your place of lodgings, you can say this.

3. Como está?

Translation: How are you?

Pronunciation: komoo SHTAH (Portugal), komoo eeSHTAH (Brazil)

In Portuguese, you can say “how are you” to someone in greeting. You can, however, also add another word of greeting before this. Check out the following common examples:

• Ola, como está?

• Oi! Como está?

• Boa tarde. Como está?

4. Como vai

Translation: How do you do?

Pronunciation: komoo VIGH

This is basically another version of “como está”. You can use both interchangeably.

5.Como estás

Translation: How are you?

Pronunciation: komoo shTAH-sh

This is basically the informal version of “como está”. 

6. Como vais

Translation: How are you doing?

Pronunciation: komoo VIGH-she

The informal version of “como vai”.

7. Tudo bem?

Translation: How are you?

Pronunciation: toodoo BAYM

This is another common Portuguese greeting that literally mean’s “everything well?”. You can use it in both formal and informal situations.

8. Tem passado bem?

Translation: Have you been well?

Pronunciation: taym pasha-doo BAYM?

This is a formal Portuguese greeting that basically inquires about someone’s health. You can use it to greet a friend or a colleague.

It is quite similar to “tudo bem” but considered a bit more formal, so if you are meeting someone for the first time, or talking to someone who you need to show more respect to, consider using this instead. 

Informal Portuguese Phrases You Can Use To Greet Your Friends 

The following Portuguese greetings are considered informal. Some of these phrases are classified as Portuguese slang so you will mostly hear them among young people or groups of close friends.

1. E ai?

Translation: What’s up?

This is a slang phrase that some Portuguese youth might use to greet each other. It basically serves as both a “hello” and a “how are you?” 

Take note that, this is mostly a Brazilian thing. While other Portuguese speakers should understand what you mean, you are more likely to hear this is the speaker is using Brazilian Portuguese.

2. Como é que é?

Translation: How is it?

This is basically used by Portuguese youth the same way that they use “E ai?”. 

As we noted, however, “E ai?” tends to be common in Brazil, so you are more likely to hear this in Portugal or other Portuguese speaking areas. 

3. Beleza?

Translation: How are you? 

This is an informal slang phrase that a Portuguese speaker will use to greet their friends. When used as a greeting this phrase means something like “what is going on with you?”

You might also hear a Portuguese speaker combine this phrase with “e ai”, so “e ai, beleza.” Whatever way you say it, you are basically asking your friend how they are.

4. Quanto tempo!

Translation: Long time no see!

If two Portuguese friends unexpectedly run into each other in a party, and they haven’t seen each other in a while, they may excitedly exclaim “quanto tempo!”.

5. Como vão as coisas

 Translation: How’s everything

Another casual Portuguese phrase that friends or equals use to greet each other and inquire about each other’s lives.

Conclusion

In order to become fluent in Portuguese, you need to learn the most common words and phrases in Portuguese.

Among the common Portuguese words and phrases that you will hear almost daily are, of course, Portuguese greetings. You should learn and memorize the greetings we enumerated and talked about above.

In order to help you get started, we have included a PDF file of these common Portuguese greetings. You can download the file and print it out or just keep it on your mobile device so you can study them anytime you would like.

We would also recommend that you show this list to your online native Portuguese speaking tutor. They can elaborate on when these greetings are used and also help correct your pronunciation and accent so you can be sure that you will be understood by native speakers.