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The “pois é” in Portuguese Posted by on Jan 28, 2017 in Culture, Learning, Vocabulary

Olá a todos! Hey, all!

When you come into contact with Portuguese, you will definitely come across the interjection pois é. The pois é is a very common term in Portuguese to convey confirmation and resignation. It is normally used in informal conversations, small talk, etc as a way to give a positive reinforcement in the interaction. There is no precise translation for the structure, but a a literal translation of pois + é would be something like “therefore it is”, or “so it is”, indicating an explanation or conclusion.

Pois é is used to express agreement and consent in response to something that was said to you. It functions as a “yeah”, “right”, “for sure”, “I know”, “totally”, “true” or “indeed”, meaning that you understand and agree with what the person is saying to you.

Take a look at some examples:

  • Nossa, que calor, não é? (Wow, it’s hot, isn’t it?)

Pois é, hoje está quente demais! (Right, today is so hot!)

  • Esse trânsito está horrível (This traffic sucks)

Pois é, já estamos parados há mais de vinte minutos (That’s right, we haven’t moved

for twenty minutes)

  • Você ficou sabendo da queda do avião? (Did you hear about that plane crash?)

Pois é, muito triste (Totally, that’s so sad)

  • O cenário político no Brasil está lamentável (The political scenario in Brazil is pitiful)

Pois é, não dá pra aguentar tanta corrupção (I know, I can’t take all this corruption any longer)

  • Você chegou tarde em casa ontem (You got home late last night)

Pois é, fiquei preso no escritório terminando uns relatórios (That’s right, I got stuck in the office finishing up some reports)

  • Todo mundo hoje em dia tem um tem um telefone com internet (Everyone nowadays has a phone with internet)

Pois é, os tempos mudaram (True, times have changed)

  • Queria que essa chuva parasse (I wish this rain would stop)

Pois é, não dá pra sair de casa desse jeito (Yeah, we can’t leave the house like that)

  • Olha como o filho da Regina cresceu! (Look at how Regina’s son has grown!)

Pois é, está quase um homem agora (Right, he’s almost a man now)

Now how about some music so you can practice and relax?

 

Pois É

Los Hermanos

 

Pois é, não deu

“Pois é”, it didn’t work

Deixa assim como está, sereno

Leave it as it is, serene

Pois é de Deus

Because it’s from God

Tudo aquilo que não se pode ver

Everything you can not see

E ao amanhã a gente não diz

And to tomorrow we do not say

E ao coração que teima em bater

And to the heart that keeps on beating

Avisa que é de se entregar o viver

Warn that it is to surrender to live

 

Pois é, até

“Pois é”, even

Onde o destino não previu

Where fate did not predict

Sem mais atrás, vou até onde eu conseguir

Without further back, I go as far as I can

Deixa o amanhã e a gente sorrir

Leave the tomorrow and we’ll smile

Que o coração já quer descansar

That the heart already wants to rest

Clareia a minha vida, amor, no olhar

Brighten my life, love, in the look

Take a look at this related post about answering perguntas (questions) in Portuguese: 

Pois é…

Tenham uma boa semana! Have a good week!

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Comments:

  1. steve coon:

    Estou confuso. Achei que “pois, não” queria dizer “yes” e “pois, sim” queria dizer “no.”
    Obrigado.