One thing I always forget the rule to in Portuguese is the difference between abaixo and a baixo. The both sound the same, and they both essentially mean the same (or do they?!). And because of this, I always find myself asking my coworkers time and again, “Ok, I know I’ve asked you this before, but… for this sentence, do I use abaixo or a baixo?”
And so I finally decided to look it up myself to see if it would stick! It’s really, quite simple. Hope this helps you all as well 🙂
Abaixo – with all the letters together, abaixo means under or below. It  speaks to something that is positioned in an inferior position to something else. It is an adverb.
Examples –
Segue as minhas respostas abaixo. = My responses are below.
A padaria fica logo abaixo do meu apartamento = The bakery is right under my apartment.
Fun Fact: Abaixo Assinado is the term for “Petition,” and means, “Signed below,” which is what a petition is, no?
A baixo – Separated after the “a,” is always used with a “from above” Â type reference. It means, Â essentially, down or bottom. It is an adverbial phrase.
Examples –
Eu li aquela carta de cima a baixo e nĂŁo encontrei nada = I read that letter from top to bottom and didn’t find anything.
Ele me olhou de cima a baixo, fiquei muito contrangida = He looked me up and down, I felt very awkward.
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Entendeu?Â
Comments:
Tint:
This was good. Thanks!
Qual Ă© a differencia entre ‘abaixo’ e ’em baixo’?
polyana:
hey! good question 🙂 the difference between the two is very subtle and in some cases, can be used interchangeably.
i would say that abaixo is used more when speaking of relative positioning and em baixo is used for a more absolute location of something.
ex.
A bola está em baixo da mesa.
or
Quem mora alĂ em baixo?
Again, it’s subtle, so it’s not the end of the world if you use either “incorrectly.”
Jim:
Not to be confused with abaixar (as we say constantly in our family “Abaixa o volumem”. As a first generation immigrant to Brasil, I find your blog highly useful with grammatical points as well as an occasional giria. I have passed the blog link to another English speaking friend here in Caldas. Por baixo dos panos com jeitinho, certo!
silbley:
It is “embaixo” not “em baixo”
Tint:
Thanks Polyana! I’m still confused, but at least I’m not worried now about saying something totally embarrassing. My husband suggested that one might be more formal than the other, or more correct. What do you think?
Silbley, you make me grateful that I’m not required to write in Portuguese. That was very constructive. I don’t suppose you could also help with the definition?
polyana:
@Tint yes, i’m sorry, i did use “em baixo” incorrectly. In the examples I gave, it would be embaixo.
“em baixo,” separately, is used as an adjective. So someone could say, “ela sempre fala em baixo tom de voz.”
silbley:
Tint- Embaixo is an adverb; baixo is an adjectiv.
Adjectiv changes a noum; adverb changes a verb or an adjectiv.
O homem baixo está embaixo da mesa – The short man is under the table.
Baixo = adjectiv for homem
Embaixo = adverb of place (advérbio de lugar)
Jim: I would say “por debaixo dos panos” (debaixo= advérbio de modo)
Polyana – “Only dead people does not make mistake”.