A1 · Familiar and formal
The phrases you need every day
« Thank you » changes with who is speaking, not with who is thanked.
Por favor and se faz favor both mean « please ». The second is the commoner one in Portugal and sounds a shade warmer.
Obrigado agrees with the person doing the thanking and not with the person being thanked: a man says obrigado, a woman obrigada — even when she is thanking a man. The word is a participle and means literally « obliged », so it describes the speaker's own state, exactly as « much obliged » would in English if English still inflected it.
Desculpe is the apology for something that went wrong. Com licença is the request to be allowed past or in. English says « excuse me » for both, so the two have to be kept apart deliberately: mixing them up means apologising for breathing or shouldering past with a guilty face.
And the usual answer to thanks is de nada or ora essa — both work, and the second sounds more Portuguese.
Die Form
| please | por favor |
| please (commoner in Portugal) | se faz favor |
| thank you (man / woman speaking) | obrigado / obrigada |
| sorry (for a mistake) | desculpe |
| excuse me (getting past) | com licença |
| you are welcome | de nada |
Die Regeln im Einzelnen
obrigado agrees with the person thanking.
Muito obrigada pela ajuda.Thank you very much for your help.
desculpe is for a mistake.
Desculpe o atraso.Sorry for being late.
com licença is for getting past.
Com licença, posso passar?Excuse me, may I get through?
To somebody you call tu it is desculpa, not desculpe.
Desculpa, não te ouvi.Sorry, I did not hear you.
Woran man es erkennt
- por favor
- se faz favor
- obrigado
- desculpe
- com licença
Beispielsätze
Um café, se faz favor.An espresso, please.
Obrigado, foi muito amável.Thank you, that was very kind.
Desculpe, enganei-me.Sorry, I made a mistake.
Com licença, é a minha paragem.Excuse me, this is my stop.
Die typisch deutsche Falle
Aufgepasst
A woman who says obrigado is saying something wrong — even when she is thanking a man. The word is a participle meaning « obliged »; it agrees with whoever feels obliged. Hence obrigada. English gives no warning at all, because « thank you » has no form to choose.
obrigado is said by the one thanking, not to the one thanked.
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