A member of our Facebook page asked me if I had a blog post on how to give opinions in Portuguese. That was a great suggestion for a new lesson, so here it is.
I will show you the most common phrases that we Brazilians use to share our opinions and to ask for opinions.
You will also learn useful, practical phrases such as “I think so”, “I agree”, and more. Watch the video:
1. I think that…
The most common way to express an opinion is using the verb Achar, which means to find.
Achar is a regular verb. You use Achar with any of the indicative tenses to share your opinion or ask for opinions.
Below are examples.
- Eu acho que vai chover. = I think that it is going to rain.
- Eu acho que eles não gostaram do filme. = I think that they didn’t like the movie.
- João acha que Milena saiu do emprego. = João thinks that Milena left her job.
- Você acha que vai chover? = Do you think that it is going to rain?
2. I think so/I don’t think so
It is useful to know how to say these two simple phrases:
- Eu acho que sim. = I think so.
- Eu acho que não. = I don’t think so.
3. What do you think?
Here is how you ask this: O que você acha?
4. Em minha opinião…
This is how you say “In my opinion”:
- Na minha opinião
- Em minha opinião
You can use either preposition as shown above to express your own opinion. If you are talking about someone else’s opinion, you need to use na.
Examples:
- Na minha opinião, você precisa conversar com a Sílvia. = In my opinion, you need to talk to Sílvia.
- Em minha opinião, Carla não devia viajar sozinha. = In my opinion, Carla shouldn’t travel by herself.
- Na opinião dele, a gente precisa baixar o preço. = In his opinion, we need to lower the price.
5. What is your opinion?
Here is how you ask this: Qual é a sua opinião?
The verb and/or the article can be omitted:
- Qual é sua opinião?
- Qual a sua opinião?
- Qual sua opinião?
6. I agree/I disagree
Here are four additional useful phrases:
- Eu concordo. = I agree.
- Eu não concordo. = I don’t agree.
- Eu discordo. = I disagree.
- Você concorda? = Do you agree?
The verb in these phrases is concordar. It is a regular verb.
Make sure to visit this lesson on how to say that you like something. There is a key difference between English and Portuguese, and most Portuguese learners get it wrong.
I hope that now you will be able to comfortably share your opinions in Portuguese.
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I am learning Portuguese for Portugal. I find your succinct lessons the best I have seen for any language. I speak 8
Muito, muito obrigada 🙂
Thanks for clearing that up, Luciana.
Olá Luciana,
Por favour eu gostaria de fazer uma perguntinha. No exemplo acima:
Em minha opinião, Carla não devia viajar sozinha. = In my opinion, Carla shouldn’t travel by herself.
Dá pra confirmer que os seguintes exemplos são certos?
…a Carla não deveria viajar sozinha – Carla shouldn’t travel by herself (i.e. talking about what she may do in the future)
a Carla não devia ter viajado sozinha – Carla shouldn’t have travelled alone (Something she has already done, but in retrospect she probably shouldn’t have)
Então, o exemplo citado no seu texto ‘Carla não devia viajar sozinha’ também, se refere ao futuro?
Obrigadíssimo.
Philip.
Your examples are correct, Philip. We can use “devia” and “deveria” without changing the meaning in this type of sentence.
Thanks for clearing that up, Luciana.
My pleasure 🙂