TL;DR: Yes in Portuguese is sim, please is usually por favor, and thank you is obrigado or obrigada, depending on the speaker. People often combine these phrases in everyday conversations: for instance, “sim, por favor” means “yes, please”. These core expressions are used in both Brazilian and European Portuguese, although some pronunciation and informal expressions vary between the two varieties. For instance, speakers in Portugal may use the phrase “se faz favor” instead of “por favor” in some situations, both formal and informal.
This guide covers sim, por favor and obrigado or obrigada, which the three phrases that make most everyday Portuguese interactions polite and respectful. The article also covers the combinations built from them: sim, por favor for accepting something and não, obrigado for declining it. It also covers the detail beginners most often get wrong, which is that obrigado changes with the speaker rather than the person being thanked.
How do you say "yes" in Portuguese?
In Portuguese, sim translates to yes. It is often used to agree with a statement, answer a question positively or accept an offer. For example, “sim, quero” means “yes, I want to”, and “sim, obrigado” means “yes, thank you”.
However, the pronunciation of sim differs slightly from the English word seem. Language learning apps like Memrise use native speaker videos to help learners pronounce the word.
Sim is also one of the simplest expressions for learners to start with because it is used in both European and Brazilian Portuguese. The pronunciation is equally similar, and learners can start using it almost immediately.
How do you say "please" in Portuguese?
Please in Portuguese is por favor. It is commonly used to make a polite request or ask someone to do something. For example, “por favor, espere” means “please wait”, while “pode ajudar-me, por favor?” translates to “can you help me, please?”.
Similar to sim, por favor is used in both European and Brazilian Portuguese. However, the word can appear at the beginning or end of a request, depending on the sentence. English speakers, therefore, don’t need to translate English word-for-word when using the phrase naturally. In Portugal you will also hear se faz favor, and its shortened form faz favor, used in exactly the same contexts as por favor. The difference is regional rather than one of politeness: both are perfectly polite, but se faz favor is what you will hear across counters and café tables in Portugal, while Brazil stays with por favor.
How do you say "thank you" in Portuguese?
Thank you in Portuguese is obrigado or obrigada, depending on the speaker. This is one of the most important details that language learners should identify. Here is a table representation to help you use the phrase correctly in a sentence:
| English | Portuguese (male speaker) | Portuguese (female speaker) |
|
Thank you |
Obrigado |
Obrigada |
| Thank you very much |
Muito obrigado |
Muito obrigada |
|
Thanks |
Obrigado |
Obrigada |
The obrigado and obrigada split is easy to read and easy to forget in the moment, because English gives you no equivalent habit. Memrise drills both forms with native speakers saying each, so the right one arrives without having to work it out.
The distinction is based on the grammatical gender of the person saying thank you. When it is a male speaker, the correct phrase is obrigado, and when it is a female speaker, this changes to obrigada.
How do you say "yes, please" in Portuguese?
“Yes, please” in Portuguese is “sim, por favor”. It is one of the most straightforward ways to accept an offer politely. For example, the correct response to someone offering you coffee would be “sim, por favor”.
People can also use “sim, obrigado” or “sim, obrigada” when accepting an offer and expressing thanks. You can respond to someone giving you a cup of water with “sim, obrigada”, which translates to “yes, thank you”.
How do you say "no, thank you" in Portuguese?
“No, thank you” is “não, obrigado” or “não, obrigada” in Portuguese. The word não means no or not, and obrigada or obrigado politely declines the offer. For example:
- Quer mais café?: Would you like more coffee?
- Não, obrigado: No, thank you (male speaker)
- Não, obrigada: No, thank you (female speaker)
Learning this phrase is useful in restaurants, shops, and social situations. Learners can use it to politely decline an offer in everyday conversation without giving a longer explanation. This makes it a critical phrase to master when planning to visit Brazil or Portugal.
Are these phrases different in European and Brazilian Portuguese?
The core words sim, por favor, não, and obrigado/obrigada are shared by European and Brazilian Portuguese. The differences between the two varieties tend to appear in pronunciation, vocabulary, and informal conversational expressions rather than in these basic polite phrases.
This makes sim, por favor, não, and obrigado/obrigada useful vocabulary for all learners, whether they are learning Portuguese from Brazil or Portugal. However, they should listen to native speakers when learning one variety to develop the right pronunciation associated with that variation.
The clearest example is please itself. Portugal has se faz favor alongside por favor, shortened to faz favor in everyday speech, while Brazil uses por favor throughout. Speakers of both types of Portuguese understand both forms, so this is a question of sounding local rather than of being understood.
Frequently asked questions
Does obrigado mean thank you?
Yes, obrigado means thank you in Portuguese when said by a male speaker. A female speaker normally says obrigada. The difference refers to the speaker rather than the person receiving the thanks, so choosing the correct format depends on who is saying it.
Does por favor mean please?
Yes, por favor means please in Portuguese. Speakers normally use it to ask someone to do something or to make a polite request. It is used in both European and Brazilian Portuguese and can be placed at the beginning or the end of a sentence.
How do you say "you're welcome" in Portuguese?
De nada is the standard reply and works in both Portugal and Brazil. It translates literally as “of nothing”, much like the Spanish de nada or the French de rien. You will also hear não tem de quê, which is a little more formal and turns up more in writing. Neither changes with the speaker, as only obrigado and obrigada do that.
Does obrigado change when you thank more than one person?
No. Obrigado and obrigada agree with the person speaking, not with the person being thanked, so a man says obrigado whether he is thanking one person or a room full. The plural forms obrigados and obrigadas do exist, but only when a group is speaking together, which is rare in ordinary conversation. Stick to the form that matches you.
What is "se fax favor"?
Se faz favor is the European Portuguese way of saying please, used alongside por favor and often shortened to faz favor in speech. It is not more or less polite than por favor, as the difference is purely regional. You will hear it constantly in shops and cafés in Portugal, and almost never in Brazil, where por favor is most predominantly used.
