My friends and I were planning to have brunch together, and the conversation chain on Facebook was in Portuguese. Then Carl comes and says: “I told Vanessa we were going to join them for brunch. Why did she say combinado in response?” Moments like this are perfect for learning real-life expressions. That’s how I explained to him that combinar and combinado in Brazilian Portuguese are all about agreeing on a plan, and they’re used way more often than “deal” or “that’s a plan” in English.
Let’s see how they work with real-life examples.
Combinar in Brazilian Portuguese
The verb combinar in Brazilian Portuguese has a couple of very common meanings that depend on context.
One meaning is “to match” or “to go well together”, often used for colors, clothing, or styles. For example:
- Essa camisa combina com a sua calça. = That shirt matches your pants.
Another very common meaning is “to arrange” or “to agree on” something. In other words, making plans. In this sense, combinar is used when people decide together what they will do. For example:
- Nós combinamos de nos encontrar às 8. = We agreed to meet at 8.
Combinado in Brazilian Portuguese
From this second meaning comes the word combinado, which works like “deal” or “that’s a plan” in English, and is often used to confirm an agreement in a friendly way.
- Combinado = that’s a plan; deal; done deal
Saying Combinado in Brazilian Portuguese is a way to say “ok, we all agree on the plan” or “ok, that is a plan”.
Here is the dialogue in the picture above translated from Portuguese to English:
- He: Te pego às 8, tá? (I will pick you up at 8, ok?)
- She: Tá. Combinado! (OK. That’s a plan!)
Combinado can also be used as a question:
- João: Te pego às 8. Combinado? (I will pick you up at 8. Deal?)
- Ana: Combinado. (That’s a plan.)
Here are additional examples using both combinar and combinado in Brazilian Portuguese:
- Vamos combinar um almoço essa semana. (Let’s set up a lunch this week.)
- Depois a gente combina como vai ser. (We’ll figure out the details later.)
- Nós combinamos de nos encontrar às 7. (We agreed to meet at 7.)
- Eu combinei com Carla que ia levar a sobremesa. (I agreed with Carla that I’d bring dessert.)
Notice in example 3 above that the verb combinar can be followed by de + verb when specifying what you agreed to do something.
Next time you’re making plans in Portuguese, try using combinar and combinado. Your Brazilian friends will love hearing you speak in a natural, local way.
Combinado? 😉
