LinguaBom dia, boa tarde, boa noite: hello and goodbye
Brazilians greet by the time of day. Bom dia is for the morning, until about noon; boa tarde covers the afternoon, until it gets dark; boa noite is for the evening and the night. Unlike in many languages, boa noite works both ways: you say it when you arrive at a party at nine and again when you leave. Oi is the everyday Brazilian hello – at any hour, to friends, colleagues and a shop assistant alike, and very often together with the time of day: Oi, bom dia! Olá means the same but sounds a little more neutral; you see it a lot in writing. To leave, say tchau (from Italian ciao, used with everyone) or até logo – “see you later”.
| Phrase | When | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bom dia | in the morning, until about noon | good morning |
| Boa tarde | in the afternoon, until dark | good afternoon |
| Boa noite | in the evening and at night | good evening / good night / goodbye |
| Oi | any time | hi, hello |
| Olá | any time | hello (a little more neutral) |
| Tchau | when you leave | bye |
| Até logo | when you leave | see you later |
Meu nome é, eu me chamo: saying your name
There are two everyday ways to give your name, and both are correct. Meu nome é + name – “my name is” – is neutral and very common: Meu nome é Lucas. Eu me chamo + name – literally “I call myself” – is just as natural: Eu me chamo Ana. In Brazil the little word me comes before the verb; the order Chamo-me Ana belongs to Portugal and to formal writing, and Brazilians hardly ever say it. Because the ending -o of chamo already shows who is speaking, eu is often dropped: Me chamo Ana. When someone introduces themselves, answer Prazer! or Muito prazer! – “(it’s a) pleasure”.
– Oi, meu nome é Lucas. – Prazer, eu me chamo Mariana.– Hi, my name is Lucas. – Nice to meet you, I’m Mariana.
Qual é o seu nome? Como você se chama? – asking a name
Two questions ask a name. Qual é o seu nome? means “what is your name?” – Portuguese says qual (“which”) here, never o que. Como você se chama? is “what are you called?”, built like eu me chamo. Você is the normal Brazilian “you”: you use it with friends, colleagues and most strangers, and its verb has the same form as for “he” or “she”: você se chama, ele se chama. Watch one accent: é with a stroke means “is”, while e without it means “and”. And você always keeps its little hat on the ê.
– Como você se chama? – Eu me chamo Bruno. E você?– What are you called? – I’m called Bruno. And you?
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| oi | hi, hello | Oi, Pedro! Oi, Carla! Hi, Pedro! Hi, Carla! |
| olá | hello | Olá, meu nome é Sofia. Hello, my name is Sofia. |
| bom dia | good morning | Bom dia, professor! Good morning, teacher! |
| boa tarde | good afternoon | Boa tarde, meu nome é Paulo Souza. Good afternoon, my name is Paulo Souza. |
| boa noite | good evening, good night | Boa noite! Até amanhã! Good night! See you tomorrow! |
| tchau | bye | Tchau, Bia, até amanhã! Bye, Bia, see you tomorrow! |
| até logo | see you later | Até logo, pessoal! See you later, everyone! |
| prazer | nice to meet you | – Meu nome é Caio. – Prazer, Caio! – My name is Caio. – Nice to meet you, Caio! |
| o nome | name | Meu nome é Luísa Costa. My name is Luísa Costa. |
| chamar-se | to be called | A menina se chama Clara. The girl is called Clara. |
| eu | I | Eu me chamo Helena. My name is Helena. |
| você | you | Você se chama Tiago? Is your name Tiago? |
| qual | what, which | Qual é o nome do professor? What is the teacher’s name? |
Exercises
This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 1
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
It is eight in the evening and you walk into a restaurant. What do you say to the waiter?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.