How often do you need to say ASAP? We might not notice, but we use it in many common situations like these ones:

• I will call you back as soon as possible.
• I want to visit Brazil as soon as possible.
• Please send me the report ASAP.

We all say ASAP pretty often both at work and with family and friends, right?

I will show you two ways to say ASAP in Portuguese.

Your communication will be more effective in Portuguese with each practical phrase or word that you add to your vocabulary.

There Are Two Ways to Say ASAP in Portuguese

Unfortunately we don’t have an acronym for the sentences as we have ASAP in English. In fact, we don’t use acronyms so much in Brazil, except for some internet chat ones.

With that said, we have two phases to express “as soon as possible” in Portuguese.

1. Assim que possível

Assim que possível literally means: As soon as possible.

It also comes in the following variation:

• Assim que for possível

Literally: As soon as it is possible.

In this variation, we have the verb “ser” in the future subjunctive: “for”.

Examples:

• Por favor, envie o relatório assim que possível.

= Please send the report as soon as possible.

 

• Não posso falar agora. Ligo de volta assim que possível.

= I can’t talk right now. I will call back as soon as possible.

 

You can also use this expression for past actions. However, if you do so with the second version (the one with the verb Ser), remember to put the verb in the simple past  like this:

• Por que você está com raiva? Eu liguei assim que foi possível.

= Why are you angry? I called as soon as it was possible.

 

2. O quanto antes

O quanto antes also means “as soon as possible”.

Examples:

• Daniel quer visitar o Brasil o quanto antes.

= Daniel wants to visit Brazil as soon as possible.

 

• Precisamos enviar a proposta o quanto antes.

= We need to send the proposal as soon as possible.

 

• (Leaving a voice message) Clara, preciso falar com você. Me ligue o quanto antes, por favor.

= Clara, I need to speak with you. Call me as soon as possible, please.

 

Learning Recommendation

Keep adding useful phrases like these to your vocabulary, and you will find yourself communicating more effectively in Portuguese.

But don’t try to learn 12 phrases at once. Stick to one or two for a few days or even weeks. Use them in real-life situations. Practice with your Portuguese instructor.

With practice, you will place your new knowledge in your long-term memory, which will make it easy to retrieve the words when you need them. That’s what real learning is. If you can understand the expression when you hear or read it, but cannot use it when you need it, you haven’t really learned.

Make a point to deliberately practice new vocabulary, grammar, and expressions in order to make it available to you when you need it.

A regular weekly practice is extremely helpful. That’s why  a huge portion of our clients are already fluent in Portuguese – many even live and work in Brazil – yet they meet regularly with their Street Smart Brazil instructors to practice and improve their Portuguese.

Speak Portuguese you can be proud of. Book a Trial Lesson with us to get started.