How to say ‘thank you’ in Portuguese.
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Obrigada ou Obrigado?
As you may already know, the most used word to thank someone is “obrigada” (thank you) or “obrigado” (thank you). But when should we say “obrigada” or “obrigado”?
It's very simple. Women should always say “obrigada” (thank you), and men should always say “obrigado” (thank you).
If you are very grateful, you can say:
- Muito obrigada.(Thank you very much.)
- Muito obrigado. (Thank you very much.)
Or, to give it more intensity:
- Muitíssimo obrigada! (Thank you so much!)
- Muitíssimo obrigado! (Thank you so much!)
The word “obrigada(o)” can be used in any situation, formal or informal.
Informal situations:
1. In colloquial spoken language, the word "OBRIGADA/OBRIGADO" (thank you) is commonly reduced to "BRIGADA ou BRIGADO" (thanks).
2. Instead of saying “muito obrigada” (thank you very much), you can say BRIGADÃO (thanks a lot).
3. A word that is also used a lot in informal situations is VALEU! (thanks!)
Formal situations:
1. The words “grata/grato” (I’m grateful) and “agradecida/agradecido” (I’m thankful) can be used in place of the word “obrigada” (thank you) in more formal situations.
For example:
- Sou muito grata por sua ajuda. (I'm very grateful for your help.)
- Sou muito grato por sua ajuda. (I'm very grateful for your help.)
- As alunas ficaram agradecidas aos professores. (The students were grateful to the teachers.)
- Os alunos ficaram agradecidos aos professores. (The students were grateful to the teachers.)
2. The verb “AGRADECER” (to thank) is often used in more formal situations.
For example:
- Gostaria de agradecê-los pelo seu apoio. (I’d like to thank you for your support.)
- Agradeço a sua ajuda. (I appreciate your help.)
- Agradecemos a sua colaboração. (We appreciate your cooperation.)
3. We also use the noun “GRAÇAS” (thanks) in some contexts, especially when you want to say that something happened thanks to a person.
For example:
- Graças a vocês, meu canal tem 100 mil inscritos. (Thanks to you, my channel has 100K subscribers.)
- Conseguimos chegar a tempo graças ao João. (We managed to get there on time thanks to João.)
We also use this religious expression a lot:
- Graças a Deus! (Thank God!)
4. Other useful words in this context are the nouns AGRADECIMENTO (appreciation) and GRATIDÃO (gratitude).
“Agradecimento” (appreciation) is the act of acknowledging and thanking another person.
For example:
-O Presidente fez um discurso de agradecimento aos veteranos. (The President gave an appreciation speech to the veterans.)
“Gratidão” (gratitude) is the feeling of having received some help or favor.
For example:
-Eu sinto gratidão por tudo que minha mãe fez por mim. (I feel grateful for everything my mother did for me.)
Let's talk about how to respond when someone says “thank you” to you.
The most traditional way to respond to a thank you is:
- De nada! (You're welcome!)
- Por nada! (You're welcome!)
See other ways to respond:
- Não precisa agradecer. (There is no need to thank me.)
- Eu que agradeço. (Thank you.)
- Foi um prazer. (It was a pleasure.)
- Não há de quê. (You’re welcome.)
- Obrigada (o) eu. (Thank you.)
- Obrigada a você. (Thank you.)
Two very informal ways:
- Que é isso! (No worries!)
- Imagina! (No worries!)
That's it, guys! Now you know how to say thank you in Portuguese.
Now it's homework time! Write a comment below expressing your gratitude for something someone has done for you.
Até a próxima!
Your teacher,
Virginia