Paulista Path

Cumprimentos e despedidas

Greetings and farewells in São Paulo

schedule 25 min Level A1 Block 1: Contact and foundations
Two people greeting each other with a friendly handshake

Photo by fauxels on Pexels

Learning Objectives

  • check_circle By the end of this lecture, you will be able to:
  • check_circle Greet people in formal and informal situations, choosing the right phrase for the time of day.
  • check_circle Say goodbye politely and respond to Tudo bem? in everyday exchanges.
  • check_circle Use a short greeting exchange appropriate for your prédio (apartment building) in São Paulo.

Warm-up (3 min)

This is your first lecture — no revision yet. Start with a quick icebreaker.

  1. Tap Listen on each vowel below, then say it aloud.
  2. Try to say your name out loud. If you don’t know how yet, spell it letter by letter — we’ll learn the alphabet in Lecture 02.
  3. Tap Listen on each greeting, then repeat it aloud.

Vowels

1

a

ah — as in English “father”

2

e

eh — between “bet” and “bay”

3

i

ee — as in “see”

4

o

oh — as in “or” (shorter)

5

u

oo — as in “food”

First greetings

1

Olá!

Hello!

2

Oi!

Hi!

3

Bom dia!

Good morning!

4

Boa tarde!

Good afternoon!

5

Boa noite!

Good evening / Good night!

Part 1 — Cumprimentos (Greetings)

Informal

PortugueseWhen to useEnglish
Oi!Any time, friends, neighbors, casualHi!
Olá!Neutral, friendlyHello!
E aí?Very informal, young peopleWhat’s up?
Tudo bem?Very commonHow are you? / Everything good?
Tudo bem! / Tudo!ResponseI’m fine! / All good!
E você?Follow-upAnd you?

Add words to My Dictionary Opens My Dictionary (iOS & macOS) with this vocabulary pack.

Formal / polite

PortugueseWhen to useEnglish
Bom dia!Until ~noonGood morning!
Boa tarde!~noon to ~6 pmGood afternoon!
Boa noite!After ~6 pm (also when leaving at night)Good evening!
Como vai?PoliteHow are you?
Prazer! / Muito prazer!When meeting someoneNice to meet you!
Igualmente!Response to “nice to meet you”Likewise!

Add words to My Dictionary Opens My Dictionary (iOS & macOS) with this vocabulary pack.

Part 2 — Despedidas (Farewells)

PortugueseEnglish
Tchau!Bye!
Até logo!See you soon!
Até mais!See you later!
Até amanhã!See you tomorrow!
Boa noite!Good night! (when leaving)
Tenha um bom dia!Have a good day! (formal)

Add words to My Dictionary Opens My Dictionary (iOS & macOS) with this vocabulary pack.

Practice (5 exercises)

1. Match greeting to time

Choose the best greeting for each moment.

  1. 08:00 — ___ (Bom dia / Boa tarde / Boa noite)
  2. 14:00 — ___
  3. 21:00 — ___

1-Bom dia, 2-Boa tarde, 3-Boa noite

2. Formal or informal?

Write F (formal/polite) or I (informal) for each phrase.

  1. Oi!
  2. Bom dia!
  3. E aí?
  4. Como vai?
  5. Tchau!

1-I, 2-F, 3-I, 4-F, 5-I

3. Complete the exchange

Fill in the missing word in each line.

  1. A: Bom dia! ___ bem? → B: Tudo bem, obrigada!
  2. A: ___ logo! → B: Até!
  3. A: Muito ___! → B: Igualmente!

1-Tudo, 2-Até, 3-prazer

4. Elevator exchange

Write a 4-line elevator dialogue: greeting + Tudo bem? + response + farewell.

Sample answers

A: Bom dia! B: Bom dia, tudo bem? A: Tudo bem, e você? B: Tudo bem. Até logo!

Your answer may vary.

5. Translate to Portuguese

Translate each line.

  1. Good morning! How are you?
  2. I'm fine, thanks. And you?
  3. See you later!
  4. Nice to meet you!

1-Bom dia! Tudo bem? / Como vai?; 2-Tudo bem, obrigado(a). E você?; 3-Até mais! / Até logo!; 4-Prazer! / Muito prazer!

In the elevator

A

Bom dia!

Good morning!

B

Bom dia! Tudo bem?

Good morning! How are you?

A

Tudo bem, obrigado. E você?

I'm fine, thanks. And you?

B

Tudo bem também!

I'm fine too!

A

Até mais!

See you later!

B

Até!

Bye!

Homework

Written

  1. Write 5 short exchanges (2 lines each) using different greetings for morning, afternoon, and evening.
  2. Translate to Portuguese: Hi! Everything good? Good afternoon! See you tomorrow! Have a good day!

Oral

  1. Practice out loud: Bom dia / Boa tarde / Boa noite + Tudo bem? + Até logo!
  2. In real life this week: say Bom dia or Oi, tudo bem? to someone in your prédio or at a padaria.

Optional challenge

Write a polite farewell for the porteiro when you leave at night (Boa noite + one more line).

Summary cheat sheet

TopicKey forms
Informal helloOi! Olá! Tudo bem?
By time of dayBom dia! Boa tarde! Boa noite!
ResponseTudo bem! / Tudo!
Meeting someonePrazer! / Muito prazer! / Igualmente!
GoodbyeTchau! Até logo! Até mais! Até amanhã!
SP tipGreet neighbors in the elevator — Bom dia is enough

Next lecture: Alfabeto e pronúncia básica — learn the Portuguese alphabet and how to spell your name.

Bom dia e bem-vindo ao português brasileiro!