Kilo Lingo

Ch 1 · Lesson 2

Say hello today: oi, olá, bom dia

Oi for anyone, a touch more formal, and , or by the clock: the hellos you can use on day one, before any grammar.

The short version

, but and

, !

Hi, good afternoon!
Why?

The greeting agrees with its noun. is masculine, so it is ; and are feminine, so they take . The clock picks which one: until about midday, until dark, and after dark, both as hello and as goodbye.

You can hold your first conversation in Brazilian Portuguese today, before you learn a single verb ending. Greetings are fixed phrases: learn them whole and use them at once. There are two small traps, and both are flagged below.

The whole system on one screen

Learn the left column; the rest of the page shows when to use each one.

Say thisIt meansUse it
hi, helloanyone, any time
helloa touch more formal
good morninguntil about midday
good afternoonmidday until dark
good evening, good nightafter dark
?how are you?almost every hello
byealmost every goodbye
see you laterwhen you will meet again
see you tomorrowcolleagues, neighbours
/ thank youman / woman speaking
pleaseasking for something
excuse meto get past or interrupt
sorryafter a mistake
you're welcomereply to thanks
...my name is...introducing yourself

This page teaches Brazilian Portuguese. Where says something different, it is labelled EP.

How formal is your hello?
CasualFormal
  1. E aí?what’s up? (friends)
  2. Oihi (anyone)
  3. Oláhello (emails, TV)
  4. Bom diagood morning (shops, work)
  5. Como vai o senhor?how are you, sir?

Oi and olá: hello

is the everyday Brazilian hello: friends, neighbours, shop staff, strangers, any hour. Brazilians often stack it with a time-of-day greeting.

  • , ? - Hi, how are you?
  • , ! - Hi, good morning!

is a touch more formal. In Brazil it lives in writing, emails and television more than across a shop counter.

SituationNatural choiceEnglish
friend in street!Hi!
start of email, Ana.Hello, Ana.
stranger in lift, !Hi, good morning

has one more job. Said as a question, it answers someone who calls your name, or asks them to repeat:

  • ? - Yes? / Sorry, what?

EP: in is the everyday hello and sounds Brazilian: , ?

Bom dia, boa tarde, boa noite

These three are the polite hellos, chosen by the clock. In Brazil you say one when you walk into a shop, a lift or a waiting room: ! to the room is ordinary manners.

Which greeting, when?

  1. Waking up to noonBom dia

    good morning

  2. Noon to darkBoa tarde

    good afternoon

  3. Dark to bedtimeBoa noite

    good evening, and good night

does double duty: hello when you arrive after dark, and goodbye when you leave or go to bed.

  • ! , . - Good evening! A table, please.
  • , ! - Good night, see you tomorrow!

In most of Brazil it is dark by about six, so starts early.

Why bom but boa?

masculinefeminineWhat do the colours mean?

The adjective agrees with the noun. is masculine, and are feminine.

GreetingNoun's genderEnglish
masculinegood morning
femininegood afternoon
femininegood night
Four panels of the same little house and garden: in the morning the sun has just risen above the horizon with an arrow pointing up; at midday a beaming sun sits high in the sky; in the evening an orange sun sinks into the horizon with an arrow pointing down; at night a sleepy crescent moon and stars shine over the lit-up house.

Bom dia until about midday, boa tarde until dark, boa noite after dark. Dia is masculine, so bom; tarde and noite are feminine, so boa.

Going further: Tudo bem? How are you, Brazilian style and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.

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Lesson 2 of 40 in this chapter

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What do the colours mean?