14 Ways to Say "Thank You" in Portuguese
_Olá queridos aprendizes!_When you start learning Portuguese, it's imperative to start with the basics. This invariably includes knowing how to say thank you in Portuguese.
If you're visiting Portugal, Brazil, Mozambique, or any other countries where the Portuguese language is spoken, you'll come across situations where you'll need to use Portuguese words to say thank you.
Even though you can simply translate the word thank you to obrigado/a, the truth is that fluent expression in a language is subjective and will vary depending on context so you'll need a greater variety of phrases to navigate situations like a native.
In this post, we're going to be looking at all the different ways to say thank you in Portuguese! You have several at your disposal and if you have a few options to choose from, you'll be more confident to go out into the real world and start speaking.
We'll look at options with different levels of formality, as well as Brazilian and European Portuguese variations.
1. Thank you: Obrigado / Obrigada
First things first. If you just want to start by saying thank you, you can say the word:
Obrigado / obrigada
This is the most common way to say thank you in Portuguese in one word and it's the equivalent of saying much obliged in English.
Unlike saying thank you in Spanish and French, Whether it is obrigado or _obrigada_will depend on the gender of the person speaking.
If you're a man, you need to use obrigado and if you're a woman, you can say obrigada.
In terms of its pronunciation, it's quite straightforward except for the fact that at times you might not hear the first "o" or the last "o".
Further on in this blog post, we'll be looking at the difference between the two and how to use both in more depth.
Example sentences:
🇵🇹 Obrigado pela ajuda = Thank you for your help
🇵🇹 Obrigada pela ajuda = Thank you for your help
2. Thank you very much: Muito obrigado / Muito obrigada
Let's move on to the second most common way to say thank you. That would be "thank you very much" or**muito obrigada** / muito obrigada.
This expression would be most commonly used either in formal situations or in situations where the stakes are higher, i.e. whatever you're thankful for is of greater importance to you.
The word muito is added to give emphasis. It means 'a lot' or 'very' depending on the context.
If you'd like to add even more emphasis to your gratitude, you could say _muitíssimo obrigado._This expression has the exact same meaning.
Please note that in order to pronounce muitíssimo obrigado, you must know that accents in Portuguese point towards the stressed syllable.
This means that you must accentuate that syllable in the following way:
🇵🇹 Mui - tís- si - mo
3. Thank you for: Obrigado por...
The word por means "for "and it's a preposition.
🇵🇹 Obrigada por vir = Thank you for coming.
🇵🇹 Obrigada por cozinhar = Thank you for cooking.
You may also hear pelo/pela instead of por, the reason for that is that the Portuguese language is rich in contractions.
For example:
🇵🇹 Obrigada por seres minha amiga = Thank you for being my friend
This preposition contracts with the articles o and a and becomes pelo.
It's more formal to specify what you're thankful for.
4. Thanks: 'Brigado, pá!
This is a very casual way to say thank you in Portuguese. Used in informal situations, the only difference is between Brazilian and European Portuguese.
🇵🇹 'Brigado, pá! = European Portuguese
5. Thanks: Brigado, viu?
🇵🇹 'Brigado, viu? = Brazilian Portuguese
The word _pá_is used only in spoken Portuguese and it doesn't have any specific meaning. It's a very common word in Portugal and will definitely make you sound like a native!
The word 'viu is a shortened version of the word ouviu. It means listened and in context is used with a question mark to mean, did you hear me?
Both words*'pá_and *'viu_ are very informal in nature.
It's important to note that to use these casual forms you must drop the 'o' at the beginning of the word, making it a short form ofobrigado /a.
6. Thankful: Grato / a
If you're wanting to express gratitude in a deeper way in a situation that is more profound and that means more to you.
Grato can be seen as formal.
Depending on the social circles you're moving in, you might also hear people saying gratidão_to express gratitude._
Gratidão is the literal translation of the word gratitude.
🇵🇹 Grato pela vossa presença hoje.
🇵🇹 Sinto-me grato pelo amor do meu cão.
Furthermore, you can also say:
🇵🇹 Grato pelo apoio.
7. God bless you: Deus lhe pague
Allusive to the Portuguese religious culture and history, this one literally means: "God pay you back."
It's quite formal to use this old language Portuguese expression.
8. Thank you: Obrigada eu
This form of thank you in Portuguese is actually used after someone has thanked you already.
It means something along the lines of "actually I'm the one who's grateful to you..."
🇵🇹 Obrigado eu
Example dialogue:
Server: Muito obrigado e até à próxima (Thank you very much and see you next time).
Customer: Obrigada eu! (Thank you).
9. Thanks: Obrigadinho / a
The suffix -inho or -inha is used in Portuguese as a diminutive.
Obrigado becomes obrigadinho and obrigada becomes obrigadinha in this phrase.
10. Thanks a lot: Obrigadaço / Obrigadão
This form of obrigado would be used in a social context, among friends.
11. Cheers in Brazilian Portuguese: Valeu
Just another way of very casually saying thanks in Brazil.
This form is specific to Brazilian Portuguese and will mostly be used among friends. So, be sure to not use it when visiting Portugal.
🇵🇹 Valeu, cara!
🇵🇹 Valeu actually comes from the verb valer.
12. Grateful: Agradecido / Agradecida
This way to say thank you in Portuguese is quite formal.
13. To Thank: Agradecer
The verb agradecer
🇵🇹 Não tem que agradecer
Formal
14. No, thanks: Obrigado/a
Even though you can say the words não, obrigado to say no, thank you.
FAQs Relating to How to Say Thank You in Portuguese
Portuguese vs Brazilian Portuguese: Does the way to say "thank you" in Portuguese change?
The short answer is no! In both versions of the language, the word obrigado and obrigada mean thank you.
Should I say Obrigado or Obrigada?
This is a very common question that almost all learners wanting to know how to say thank you in Portuguese will ask at first.
As you might already know, Latin languages have gendered nouns.
🇵🇹 Obrigado = masculine form
🇵🇹 Obrigada = feminine form
Furthermore, if you are a man or masculine-identified speaker, you would use the masculine form obrigado, whereas if you are a woman or a feminine-identified speaker, you would use the feminine form obrigada.
It's important to remember that it varies according to the gender of the person who is speaking, not the person we are speaking to or thanking.
What is thank you so much in Brazil?
🇵🇹 Muito obrigado
Thank You in Portuguese: Other phrases to express politeness
As an extra, here are a few words and expressions that will also come in handy when it comes to interacting politely and expressing gratitude in Portuguese.
🇵🇹 Por favor = please
🇵🇹 Desculpe-me = I'm sorry
How to say "You're Welcome"
There are many ways to say you're welcome.
INFORMAL
🇵🇹 É tranquilo / Não te preocupes
🇵🇹 De nada / Por nada = you're welcome
Por nada is actually specific to Brazilian Portuguese. De nada on the other hand, can be used in both Brazil and Portugal.
De nada is actually quite versatile and could be used in quite formal contexts too.
FORMAL
🇵🇹 De nada
🇵🇹 Não há de quê / Não tem de quê = you're welcome
Furthermore, when it comes to these expressions, gender does not make a difference!
Example Sentences:
🇵🇹 Não há de quê
🇵🇹 Por nada
Summing up: Ways to Say "Thank You" in Portuguese
Muito obrigado por nos ler!
In this blog post, we've taught you all the different ways to be thankful in Portuguese. From some of the most common ways to say thank you to some common phrases used, we've offered you a wide range of options.
Language learning has many aspects to it. Learning Portuguese can be a pleasant experience if you have access to the right content for you.
