1) End sentences with “né?”

This is the equivalent to the very English “isn’t it?”, that we use so often. It’s a contraction of “não é?”.

“É quente hoje, né?” = It’s hot today, isn’t it?

2) Greet people by asking “Beleza?” and answering “Beleza”

This is so simple and is the equivalent to the classic Somerset: “Alright?” ….. “Alright.”

It’s short for “Está tudo beleza?” = All good?

3) Ask a question you’re about to answer: “Porquê é assim? Porque…”

This sounds like the sort of thing that only a lecturer would say, but trust me, it’s sooooo Brazilian. Asking and answering your own questions is the way to sound like a native.

“Porquê é assim? Porque…” = Why is it like this? Because…

4) End sentences with “não”

This is great for emphasis and would be similar to an English “There’s no way…”

“Não vou fazer isso, não.” = There’s no way I’m going to do that.

This also works with “sim”: “Vou fazer isso, sim!” = I am going to do that!

5) Say the word “lindo” or “linda” like you really mean it

Just like the first guy who speaks in this video does, and add the hand gesture with it for emphasis:

Check out Makulelê Produções on Youtube for more great content like this.

6) Say “um abraço” when you say goodbye

Literally, this is “a hug”, but it’s used loads in messages and speech.

7) Say “tá” when you agree to something

Short for “está bom” (it’s good). So simple! You can even use it to ask if something is ok:

“Vamos falar, tá?” = Let’s talk, ok?

“Tá.” = Ok.

8) Drop the “o” in Obrigado/a: “brigado/a”

Or make it a big thank you with “brigadão” or a small one with “brigadinho“.

9) Say “Que isso!” when someone thanks you

This means “Don’t mention it”. It can also mean “what’s this?”, depending on the context.

10) To say “we”, use “a gente”

Just remember to use the third person singular form of the verb that follows, which is the same as he/she/it.

“A gente vai à praia hoje.” = We’re going to go to the beach today.

11) Call your Brazilian male friends “bróder” or “cara”

You won’t be surprised that the word “bróder” comes from the English brother, and “cara” means “dude”. Since it refers to a man, the article that goes with it is masculine: “o cara” = the dude.

12) Respond to closed questions with a verb

Brazilians don’t answer “sim” or “não” to closed questions very often, instead repeating the verb in the question. For example, when someone asks you “você fala português?”, instead of saying “sim”, say “falo”, which is the equivalent to “I do”, in English.

“Você quer ir a praia?” = Do you want to go to the beach?

“Quero.” = I do (literally: I want to)

“Vamos mergulhar?” = Shall we go swimming?

“Vamos!” = Let’s (go)!

13) Use “chato” in a lots of different ways

“Chato” simply means boring, but it’s a really satisfying word to say, that’s used loads to describe lots of different things:

Um evento chato = a snooze fest

Chato para cacete = damned annoying

Chato de galocha = a nerd/geek

Chato pra caralho = pain in the ass/boring as shit (vulgar)

See an example of the last expression used in Porta dos Fundos, my favourite Brazilian comedy group:

Final thoughts

You won’t find this kind of language in a textbook but you’ll see it in action in Porta dos Fundos, which I can’t recommend enough. It’s the most hilarious authentic Brazilian experience, né?

Are you learning Portuguese? European or Brazilian… or Cape Verdean or Angolan..? What are your favourite phrases? Comment below!