Say Hello in the Portuguese Language
Portuguese is most widely spoken in Portugal – the country of its origin – and Brazil – where it is the national language. While there are basic differences in structure and sound between the two variants, you can say hello in Portuguese the same way in both Europe and Brazil.
| English: | Good day | My name is |
|---|---|---|
| Portuguese: | Bom dia | Meu nome |
| Pronunciation: | bohn JEE-ah | MEH-oo NOH-meh |
The most common way to say hello in Portuguese is olá (pronounced oh-la). This is a more formal greeting than oi (pronounced oy), which is a way to say hi informally. If you were to say good day to someone, you would use bom dia. However, it is advisable to use this greeting only till noon. To greet someone post noon, you would say boa tarde (pronounced boh-ah tahr-jia) and to greet someone at night, you would say boa noite (pronounced boh-ah no-ee-tay).
Did You Know You Were Speaking Portuguese?
Portuguese shares a lot of its characteristics with other Western romance languages (languages from the West that arose from Vulgar Latin) like Spanish and French. So, those who know these languages are likely to find it easy to learn Portuguese. Also, because of extensive trade and commerce between North America and Europe, several words from Portuguese have been absorbed into English. Here are some words in English you probably didn’t know were from the Portuguese language:
| albino | buffalo | pagoda |
| cashew | banana | zebra |
| molasses |
Portuguese Alphabet
Get an insight into the Portuguese alphabet with this link:
Learning Portuguese
Learn more than just how to say hello in Portuguese with these resources:
- Short Portuguese Lessons
- Language Differences: English and Portuguese
- English-Portuguese Picture Dictionary
- English-Portuguese Dictionary
- NASA: Voyager Audio Greeting in Portuguese
- Portuguese in Angola and Brazil instructional videos in Portuguese with translations
- Project Gutenberg: Books in Portuguese
Portuguese Culture
Explore these links for a deeper understanding of the Portuguese culture:
- Portugal – Encyclopedia.com
- Portuguese Recipes
- Portuguese Government WebPortal
- CIA World Factbook: Portugal
- CIA World Factbook: Brazil
- Country Study of Portugal
- Country Study of Brazil
- Portugal: International Travel
- Brazil: International Travel
Who Can You Talk To?
There are more than 257 million people who speak Portuguese in Portugal, Brazil, the United States of America, Canada, India, Macau, France, Mozambique, Angola, Spain, Guinea Bissau, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Cape Verde Islands, and São Tomé e Príncipe. Now, you can say hello in Portuguese to over 257 million people!* *Source: Ethnologue: Portuguese – (Register for free to access.)
Say Hello to the World was created by Lorri Mon.
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