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Obrigado and Obrigada: How to say Thank You in Portuguese

Obrigado and Obrigada: How to say Thank You in Portuguese

posted on December 30, 2008

Portuguese lesson - how to say thank you in Portuguese - Obrigado or Obrigada

 

It is very easy to say thank you in Portuguese correctly. Yet, I see so much confusion around this topic, including among Brazilians.

The fact the many Brazilians do not remember this very simple rule and use it incorrectly certainly does not help Portuguese learners.

Today you will understand why you need to say either Obrigado or Obrigada. This understanding will make it super easy to always remember the correct way for you to say it.

 

Here’s how to say thank you in Portuguese

It really is easy to say thank you in Portuguese:

  • Men say Obrigado
  • Women say Obrigada

Why is that?

The first thing to have in mind is that in Portuguese adjectives vary in gender to agree with the noun they are modifying. And nouns can be masculine or feminine. For example:

  • casa nova (new house)
  • carro novo (new car)

Obrigado comes from “I feel obliged”. That is, when someone does me a favor, I feel grateful and obliged to that person.

Therefore, the word Obrigado or Obrigada will vary in gender to agree with who is feeling obliged.

This is a simple and easy rule to memorize. Guys always say Obrigado. Girls always say Obrigada.

It is not about who you are thanking. It is about who is saying than you in Portuguese.

This is one of those rules that people don’t know about or forget. I can assure you that you will hear Brazilian women saying “Obrigado”. They should not. And now you know why 🙂

Colloquial Portuguese in Brazil

In spoken Portuguese in Brazil, we tend to drop the first “o”. So you might hear Brazilians saying “brigado” or “brigada“. That’s fine in informal conversations, but we usually don’t write it this way.

What else to know about Thank you in Portuguese

Now make sure that when you say thank you in Portuguese, you use the right preposition.

And how would you answer when someone thanks you in Portuguese? I have a lesson with 12 ways to say you are welcome in Portuguese, including colloquial ways to respond. 

Portuguese lesson - Obrigada por or Obrigado para - Learn to say thank you in Portuguese     Portuguese lesson - 12 ways to say you are welcome in Portuguese

Obrigada for reading my Portuguese lesson 🙂

To learn a language you need to speak it. Street Smart Brazil offers one-on-one Portuguese lessons via video meetings. We have been teaching Portuguese online since 2008. You can trust our expertise.

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Related Posts:

  • 12 Ways to Say You are Welcome in Brazil - Portuguese lesson
  • Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: Words beginning in PS
  • My Favorite Online Dictionaries to Learn Portuguese

About Luciana Lage

Luciana Lage founded Street Smart Brazil drawing on her passion for Brazilian Portuguese language and culture. Street Smart Brazil has been helping learners around the globe speak Portuguese with ease since 2008. Luciana has also taught Portuguese at the University of California, Berkeley and at the University of San Francisco.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Juliana

    December 31, 2021 at 7:52 pm

    Luciana, I think your lessons are fantastic.

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      January 3, 2022 at 2:56 pm

      Muito obrigada, Juliana ♥

      Reply
  2. Christina

    February 4, 2020 at 6:30 am

    Abrigada, Luciana!
    Concise and so well-written!

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      February 6, 2020 at 8:58 am

      Obrigada, Christina 🙂

      Reply
      • Nelson Souto

        June 12, 2021 at 7:58 pm

        This is incorrect.. obrigado when thanking a man and obrigada when thanking a women..

        Reply
        • Luciana Lage

          June 12, 2021 at 9:16 pm

          I think you are just being a troll. But just in case you really do not know the rules: https://duvidas.dicio.com.br/obrigado-ou-obrigada/

          Reply
    • Nelson Souto

      June 12, 2021 at 8:00 pm

      Lol and wrong

      Reply
  3. Brenna

    February 3, 2019 at 8:42 pm

    I met a woman from the interior of Brazil and she said you say obrigada when you are speaking to a woman, but you say obrigado when you speak to a male. Recently someone told my cousin the same exact thing and this person’s family is from the interior of Portugal. Have you ever heard of this? So is this the same for males? A guy should say obrigado when talking to a guy and say obrigada when talking to a woman, right?
    Is there something sexist going on?

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      February 6, 2019 at 4:55 pm

      You say Obrigado if you are a man. You say Obrigada if you are a woman. In the lesson I explain why.

      Reply
      • PETER MORTENSEN

        January 9, 2020 at 11:49 am

        But what if you are two men who thank as a “we”? Is it then “Obrigados”? (for females “Obrigadas”, of course?)

        Thank you, “Tak!”, for an otherwise fine explanation!

        Peter Mortensen, Dane

        Reply
        • Luciana Lage

          January 9, 2020 at 8:13 pm

          We don’t use it in the plural. You can express gratitude in the plural with other words: Estamos agradecidos/agradecidas. Ficamos gratos/gratas.

          Reply
          • PETER MORTENSEN

            January 10, 2020 at 5:13 am

            It is as simple as that – thank you once more!

            Kind regards,

            Peter Mortensen

  4. John Riper

    August 22, 2016 at 11:29 am

    Tonight I heard a Dutch reporter in Rio say: “obrigadi”… Does that exist, or is it an error?
    Obrigado, Luciana!

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      August 23, 2016 at 8:26 am

      If he is a man, he says Obrigado. A woman says Obrigada. That’s it. There is not Obrigadi 🙂 With that said, Continental Portuguese accent kind of swallows the final vowel. So if he speaks with a Portuguese accent, it could sound like he said the final “o” in a different way.

      Reply
      • John Riper

        August 24, 2016 at 2:41 am

        That’s clear, Luciana. Obrigado!

        Reply
  5. Chigozie E C

    April 1, 2016 at 7:48 am

    Obrigado Luciana

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      April 1, 2016 at 9:03 am

      Eu que agradeço 🙂

      Reply
  6. Deb

    January 29, 2015 at 7:57 am

    Abrigada Luciana
    Short but informative.

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      January 29, 2015 at 12:46 pm

      Obrigada, Deb!

      Reply

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