How Are You?

Como Você Está?

Introduction

Introdução

Portuguese has both a formal and informal way of addressing people. This makes asking the simple question "How are you?" slightly more complicated than in English. You need to know which "you" to use:

• você the Brazilian informal or the European formal,

• o senhor or a senhora the Brazilian formal, equivalent to "sir" or "madam", or

• tu the European informal.

In Brazil, voce is used among close friends, family, and people younger than you. In Portugal it is used like o senhor or a senhora are in Brazil, which is with strangers - or even acquaintances - and people older than you. Tu is generally only used in Portugal - but also certain parts of Brazil - is used in the informal context.

It is very important to use which level of formality to use. It can be very insulting to someone to address them incorrectly.

To learn more about voce, o senhor, o senhora, and similar words, check out the subject pronouns lesson.

Vocabulary

Vocabulário

Play bem
well fine
Play mau
mean evil bad
Play você
you formal nominative Portugal you informal nominative Brazil you formal disjunctive Portugal you informal disjunctive Brazil
Play estar
to be temporal
Play bom
good
Play como
as how
Play sorte
luck
Play o senhor
you masculine formal nominative Brazil
Play a senhora
you feminine formal nominative Brazil

Phrases

Frases

Play Se cuida
Take care
Play Boa sorte
Good luck
Play Como vai?
How are you?
Play E aí?
What's up?
Play Tudo bem?
Everything okay?
Play Muito bem.
Very good.
Play Mais ou menos.
Just okay (More or less).
Play Mal.
Bad.
Play E você?
And you? informal
Play E o senhor?
And you, Sir?
Play E a senhora?
And you, madam?
Play Bem.
Fine.
Play Estou bem.
I'm fine.
Play Não estou muito bem.
I'm not very well.

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