How Are You In Portuguese?

Greetings in Portuguese.

Olá, como vai? - [O-lah, como vahee?]

Hi, how is it going?

Today we will learn How are you in Portuguese and how to greet people in Portuguese.

In Portuguese, as in any other language, there are many ways you can say "How are you". Some ways are more popular than others, some ways are used more often than others, and some ways are more commonly heard in some places than others.

But the fact is that in any Portuguese-speaking country greeting people is very important. It's pleasant and it builds rapport.

In fact, in small villages if you don't greet people properly the locals may take it as an offence or they might think you are either a rude person or a weirdo. Obviously this does not apply to most cities, where unfortunately people have forgotten to greet each other on the streets.

Apart from the simple "Bom dia", "Boa tarde" or "Boa Noite", some of the most common ways for you to say How are you in Portuguese are:

1. Olá, como está? - [olah comoo stah?]

2. Olá, como vai? - [O-lah, como vahee?] - more formal

3. Oi, e aí? - [Oi, ee ah-ee?] - More often in Brazil

4. Então, tudo bem? - [aint-taung, too-doo baing?],

5. E aí, tudo joia? - [Ee ah-ee, too-doo joy-ahh?] - More often in Brazil.

6. Oi querido! - [Oee kee-ree-doo!] - Hi darling towards a man.

7. Oi querida! - [Oee kee-ree-dah!] - Hi darling towards a woman.

You see, the way you say How are you in Portuguese may vary, but what I recommend you to do is learn one or two ways, and stick with them. This way you will make it become automatic in your brain and you won't need to think about what to say when you need to greet someone.

So, learn some of these phrases first and then go to the street and greet people in Portuguese. If they don't understand, it doesn't matter. Well, you can always explain to them how determined you are learning Portuguese so that you need to practice even if you are not in a Portuguese-speaking country. ;-)

And that's it! learn this now, and come back later on for more!

Rafa x

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