Greetings and farewells in Brazilian Portuguese
You can start and end a brief contact with a few ready-made expressions. Choose by what is happening: meeting someone or leaving, and the time of day. No earlier Portuguese is needed; learn each expression as a whole.
Listen to your first greetings
Oi! means ‘Hi!’ and is a friendly, casual greeting at any time of day; Tchau! means ‘Bye!’ and is used when leaving. Bom dia! is ‘Good morning!’, Boa tarde! is ‘Good afternoon!’, and Boa noite! is ‘Good evening!’ on arrival or ‘Good night!’ on leaving at night or before bed. That is why Boa noite! appears twice with different translations. Listen to each card and repeat the whole expression; you do not need to analyse its individual words or learn the colour labels.
- Oi!Hi!
- Bom dia!Good morning!
- Boa tarde!Good afternoon!
- Boa noite!Good evening!
- Boa noite!Good night!
- Tchau!Bye!
Choose a greeting for the time of day
Imagine Ana arriving at the same café at three different times: in the morning she says Bom dia!, in the afternoon Boa tarde!, and in the evening Boa noite! These greetings work with friends and with people you do not know, such as the person at the counter. Bom dia is normally used until around noon, boa tarde through the afternoon, and boa noite from the evening; the change is not governed by one exact minute everywhere.
Unlike English, Portuguese uses the same Boa noite! both to greet someone at night and to say good night when parting. For a casual arrival you can also choose Oi!, whatever the time; Tchau! closes the contact.
Bom dia! / Boa tarde! / Boa noite!
Bom dia!
Boa tarde!
Boa noite!
Ana and Leo meet, then say goodbye
Speaker A is Ana and speaker B is her friend Leo. They meet outside the café: the first two lines are their greetings. After spending some time together, they leave: the last two lines are their farewells. Oi! opens the contact and Tchau! closes it; the reply can be the same expression. Listen, then take Ana's part and leave time for Leo's reply.
Recognize alternatives, then choose for yourself
You may also hear Olá! (‘Hello!’) on arrival and Até logo! (‘Goodbye!’) on leaving: recognize them for now, without having to produce them. Before looking back, choose a time-of-day greeting for someone at a café: first in the morning, then in the afternoon, then at night.
Check your choices: Bom dia!, Boa tarde!, Boa noite! Now imagine meeting Leo casually and later leaving: say Oi!, then Tchau! Before bed, you can say Boa noite! Remember the choice: a greeting opens the contact, a farewell closes it, and the time-of-day greeting follows the situation.