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Goodbye in Portuguese Posted by on May 2, 2013 in Culture, Learning

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Hello, there! Como estão as coisas?

Like any other language, Portuguese has several ways of saying good-bye. In this post we are going to learn them! Estão prontos? Let’s do this!

1. Adeus. This means good-bye and it is only used in literary situations, so if someone is saying adeus in a conversation it usually means they’re angry and will never talk to you again.

2. Tchau. It comes from Italian ciao, and it’s widely used by everybody, except if you are in a very formal setting. We can also say Tchau, tchau or Tchauzinho (said by women).

3. Até mais. It’s something like “see you later” or “see you around” and it comes from Até mais ver (until I see you again). We can also say Até or even drop the “a” altogether and say ‘té mais. In Internet lingo it is very common for people to use the form “t+“, because the + sign is read as “mais” in Portuguese.

4. Até mais tarde. “See you later”!

5. Até logo means “so long” and is a bit more formal. You won’t see younger people or close friends saying this to each other, unless you want to sound old.

6. Falou! Literally this means “you sait it”, but it is used among young people to say good-bye. In Internet lingo you will see this written as “flw” or “flws”.

7. Beijo(s). This is uber common either in written or spoken conversation. Note: guys won’t normally say beijo to each other.

8. (um) Abraço. A hug! Yes, when you want to be close but not so close, use um abraço. A girl might use “um abraço” if she wants to send a guy a message that she doesn’t want to be with him romantically (even though if he thinks she wants to). You call also use abração (a big hug).

9. Fui. It means “I went” or “I’m gone”. It is used when you are actually leaving a place. Mostly used with younger people.

10. Vou vazar! / Tô vazando! – It’s the Brazilian way of saying, “I’m taking off” or “I’m outta here”. Vazar means to leak, but in this case it has nothing to do with your physiological needs.

11. Vou nessa. This expressions comes Vou nessa onda (I’m going on this wave), probably surfer slang from way back. You can also invite someone to go with you by saying, “Vamos nessa?”

11. Vai com Deus! This means “Go with God” and it is used as a sort of blessing. Brazil is a very religion-oriented country so you will find lots of expressions like this. When you leave a place you can say “Fica com Deus“, “be with God” so you, who are leaving, “bless” the people who are staying.

12. Juízo! Juízo means good sense and this basically means that you should behave yourself. I say this all the time, jokingly.

14. Bom dia, boa tarde, boa noite. You can use these as greetings or farewell expressions in a more formal setting, so when in doubt if you are going to be too reckless with your Portuguese, use those!

Country singer Roberta Miranda has an 80’s hit called “Vá com Deus”. If you play this almost anywhere in Brazil, people will know how to sing the chorus. Enjoy!

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About the Author: Adir

English / Spanish teacher and translator for over 20 years. I have been blogging since 2007 and I am also a professional singer in my spare time.


Comments:

  1. Inês:

    I’m sorry but I have a question, this blog is teaching Brazilian Portuguese right?
    Because in Portugal the word for goodbye is adeus and we say it in every conversation and it doesn’t mean that we are angry and that we’ll never talk to them again.