Dialogue - Brazilian Portuguese

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Dialogue - Informal Portuguese

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Vocabulary

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tudo (Brazilian) everything
oi hello, hi
prazer (Brazilian) pleasure
e and
bem (Brazilian) well

Lesson Notes

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Lesson Focus

The Focus of This Lesson Is Portuguese Greetings
Oi, tudo bem?
"Hi, everything's well?"


"Hi!" (Oi) is the easiest and most common Portuguese greeting. People use it to say "hi," "hello," or just to get someone's attention. We can use this phrase with anyone at any time of the day or night. It can also serve as a response. If someone calls your name to get your attention, you can respond with Oi. That way they know they have your attention.

 

 

Tudo bem literally means "Everything well," and you can also use it with anybody at anytime of the day or night. It's probably the most versatile phrase in Portuguese. It can mean "How are you," "I'm fine," "Everything is okay," or "No, thank you," and you can use it if you are meeting the person for the first time in your life or the first time that day. Also, if you're asking someone if they are okay, then you raise your voice intonation toward the end of the sentence. That makes it a question.

Examples:

Portuguese

"English"

Exact Translation

Class

Oi tudo bem?

"Hi, how are you?"

"Hi, everything well?"

Question

Tudo bem.

"I'm fine."

"Everything well."

Response

 

 

Key Vocabulary & Phrases

Como se chama? ("What's your name?")
Como se chama? is a slightly more formal way of asking someone's name. It translates roughly to "What do you call yourself?" You could say Qual seu nome? which literally means "What's your name?" but Brazilians often prefer Como se chama? because it's less direct, and therefore, more polite.

Cultural Insights

To Shake or to Kiss in Brazil?


Brazilians normally greet each other by shaking hands. There is an old custom of kissing each other on the cheek, but today only women do it, and usually even then only with friends. To be safe, just shake hands.

Grammar

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Below is a list of the grammar points introduced or used in this lesson. Click for a full explanation.

Os possessives Dele(s), Dela(s)
The Possessives Dele(s), Dela(s)
Introduced

Lesson Transcript

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INTRODUCTION
Thássia: Bom dia! Thassia here!
Braden: Braden here! This is Absolute Beginner Season 1, Lesson 1 - Portuguese Party Icebreaker. In this lesson, we’ll focus on Portuguese greetings.
Thassia: This conversation takes place on plane going to Brazil.
Braden: The conversation is between Michael and Naiara.
Thassia: They will be speaking formal Portuguese. In the second conversation, the Portuguese is informal.
Braden: Let’s listen to the conversation.

Lesson conversation

(Formal)
Naiara: Tudo bem?
Michael: Tudo bem.
Naiara: Me chamo Naiara. E você, como se chama?
Michael: Me chamo Michael. Prazer em conhecê-la Naiara.
Naiara: O prazer foi meu!
(Informal)
Naiara: Oi, tudo bem?
Michael: Tudo bem.
Naiara: Meu nome é Naiara. E o seu?
Michael: Meu nome é Michael. Prazer.
Naiara Prazer!
Braden: One time slowly, please.
(Formal)
Naiara: Tudo bem?
Michael: Tudo bem.
Naiara: Me chamo Naiara. E você, como se chama?
Michael: Me chamo Michael. Prazer em conhecê-la Naiara.
Naiara: O prazer foi meu!
(Informal)
Naiara: Oi, tudo bem?
Michael: Tudo bem.
Naiara: Meu nome é Naiara. E o seu?
Michael: Meu nome é Michael. Prazer.
Naiara: Prazer!
Braden: And one time fast with translation.
Naiara: Tudo bem?
Brade: Is everything well?
Naiara: Tudo bem.
Braden: Yes, everything.
Naiara: Me chamo Naiara. E você, como se chama?
Braden: My name is Naiara. And you, what is your name?
Michael: Me chamo Michael. Prazer em conhecê-la Naiara.
Braden : Pleasure to meet you, Naiara.
Naiara: O prazer foi meu!
Braden: The pleasure was mine.
(Informal)
Naiara: Oi, tudo bem?
Braden : Hi, how are you?
Michael: Tudo bem.
Braden : I'm fine.
Naiara: Meu nome é Naiara. E o seu?
Braden: My name is Naiara. What's yours?
Michael: Meu nome é Michael. Prazer.
Braden : My name is Michael. Nice to meet you.
Naiara: Prazer!
Braden: Nice to meet you!
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Braden: So, Brazilians normally greet each other by shaking hands, right?
Thássia: Right. Sometimes people will kiss you on the cheek and give you a hug, or sometimes just a smile or nod.
Braden: Yeah. It's always an adventure for me because I never know what the person is going to do. But it seems to me that girls are more apt to hug and kiss on the cheek than guys are.
Thássia: That's true. Guys usually just shake hands.
VOCAB LIST
Braden: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we’ll hear is:
Thássia: Oi [natural native speed]
Braden : Hello.
Thássia: Oi [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Braden: The next word is:
Thássia: E [natural native speed]
Braden: And
Thássia: E [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Braden: Next we have…
Thássia: Tudo [natural native speed]
Braden : Everything
Thássia: Tudo [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Tudo [natural native speed]
Braden: Next we have…
Thássia: Bem [natural native speed]
Braden : Well.
Thássia: Bem [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Bem [natural native speed].
Braden: Next we have…
Thássia: Prazer [natural native speed].
Braden : Pleasure.
Thássia: Prazer [slowly - broken down by syllable]. Prazer [natural native speed].
KEY VOCABULARY AND PHRASES
Braden : What expression are we studying in this lesson?
Thássia: The Portuguese phrase "Como se chama?".
Braden : Which means "What's your name?"
Thássia: "Como se chama?" is a slightly more formal way of asking someone's name.
Braden: It translates roughly to "What do you call yourself?".
Thássia : You could say "Qual seu nome?" which literally translates to "What's your name?" but Brazilians often prefer "Como se chama?" because it's less direct, and therefore, more polite. Let's take a look at the grammar point.

Lesson focus

Braden : The focus of this lesson is Portuguese greetings.
Thássia: Let's start with "Oi". "Oi" is the easiest and most common form of greeting people in Brazil.
Braden : You can use it to say "hi", "hello", or just to get someone's attention.
Thássia: This phrase can be used with anyone at any time of the day or night.
Braden : It can also serve as a response.
Thássia: That's right. If someone calls your name, you can respond with "Oi". That way they know they have your attention.
Braden: "Tudo bem" is also a very common and literally means "Everything well".
Thássia: Yes. It can be used with anybody at anytime of the day or night and is probably the most versatile phrase in Portuguese.
Braden: It can mean "How are you?" / "I'm fine" / "Everything is okay" or "No, thank you", and can be used if you are meeting the person for the first time in your life or for the first time that day.
Thássia: Also, if you're asking someone if they are okay, then you raise your voice intonation toward the end of the sentence. That makes it a question.
Braden : Could you give us an example of the differences?
Thássia: Sure. You can say "Tudo bem?" if you are asking someone, and the correct response is, "Tudo bem".
Braden: Can you hear the difference? When you’re asking question, it goes up.
Thássia: Tudo bem?
Braden: And when you’re making a statement, it goes down.
Thássia: Tudo bem.
Braden : That just about does it for this lesson.
Thássia: Okay, some of our listeners already know about the most powerful tool on PortuguesePod101.com...
Braden: Line-by-line audio.
Thássia: The perfect tool for rapidly improving listening comprehension...
Braden: By listening to lines of the conversation again and again.
Thássia: Listen until every word and syllable becomes clear. Basically, we break down the dialogue into comprehensible bite-sized sentences.
Braden: You can try the line-by-line audio at PortuguesePod101.com.
Thássia: Bye!
Braden: See ya later!
Thássia: Tchau!