How To Write Emails in Portuguese

How To Write Formal And Informal Emails In Brazilian Portuguese

Thanks to posts by Transparent :)… here are some suggestions for writing both formal and informal emails in Brazilian Portuguese:

gmail in portuguese

How To Write Formal Emails in Portuguese

For those who need to learn Portuguese for work, this will come in handy…

1. Salutation / Greeting

A formal salutation to use is “Prezado Senhor” or “Prezada Senhora”, depending on the gender (senhor is male, senhora is female). You can also use Senhores, if you’re writing to more than one person.

If you don’t know who the e-mail is going to, you could just say “Bom dia,” or “Boa tarde,” or “Boa noite,”

2. Body of the e-mail

Here are some key phrases you might need:

-Quero agradecer (I’d like to thank you…)

-Encaminho em anexo (I’m sending you an attachment)

-Solicito essa oportunidade (I’m seeking this opportunity)

-Venho enviar a documentação (I’m sending you the documentation)

3. Ending

The most common way to sign off a formal email is with “Atenciosamente” (sincerely). Here are some other ones you can use:

Sem mais, agradeço desde já,  (And with that, I thank you in advance)

Com meus cumprimentos, (Best regards)

Atentamente, Sinceramente (Sincerely)

So let’s look at a full example e-mail.

Prezado Senhor,

Somos uma empresa de representações em vendas e temos em nosso quadro funcional apenas vendedores altamente capacitados e profissionalizados.

Anexamos nesta oportunidade nosso portfolio para análise e manifestamos nossa intenção de representar sua empresa em municípios da região. Caso haja interesse por parte de sua empresa, nos colocamos à disposição para novos contatos.

Agradecemos a atenção.

Atenciosamente,

Sérgio Fernandes

How to Write Informal Emails in Portuguese

These are the types of messages you’d send to co-workers, friends, or acquaintances.

1. Salutation / Greeting

First, look at This Post on informal greetings in Portuguese. And also, Here is a list of words for informally addressing your friends in Portuguese.

You can use “Querido” or “Querida” for dear, if it’s a loved one or a friend. The simplest salutation is just Olá or more commonly Oi (hello, hi). For co-workers who you may not know well, you could use “Prezado colega…” or “Estimado colega…” (Dear colleague) and these would be more formal salutations.

2. Body of the E-mail

Some key phrases for the body of the email:

–Tudo bem? or Tudo bom? (How’s it going?)

–Como estão as coisas? (How are things?)

–Tentei ligar para você (I tried to call you)

–Queria saber se (I wanted to know if)

–Bom final de semana! (Have a good weekend)

3. Ending

In an informal email, end by saying:

Um abraço (a hug)
Um beijo (a kiss)
Abraços (hugs)
Beijos (kisses)
Abs! (short for abraços) or Bjs! (short for beijos)
Até mais! (until later! / talk to you later!)

For co-workers and slightly more formal recipients, you can use:

Saudações (salutations)
Obrigado/a (thank you)
Aguardo sua resposta (I look forward to hearing from you)

Here’s an example of an informal email.

Oi Maria!

Tudo bem? Como estão as coisas em São Paulo? Aqui está fazendo muito calor, não aguento mais.

Liguei para você ontem para ver se recebeu os documentos que enviei por Sedex. Já chegaram? Posso te passar o número de rastreamento se quiser. O pacote era para chegar na segunda-feira, por isso queria saber.

Aguardo sua resposta. Até mais!

Saudações,

João

Vocabulary Lessons : Expressing Yourself Politely

In Brazilian Portuguese, there are several ways to express the English umbrella expression “I’m Sorry.”

1. “Eu Sinto Muito” – this is said with a lot of emphasis, it is stronger or more dramatic than the more common “Disculpa.” It is used for less spontaneous apologies, usually for something quite serious.

“sinto muito pela morte do seu pai” – “i’m so sorry to hear about the death of your father”

2. “Desculpa”

desculpa and perdão are the most common polite ways of apologising to strangers, for example, if you bump into someone. They can also be used for more serious apologies for people you know.

“desculpa o atraso” – “sorry i’m late”

“desculpa qualquer coisa” – “sorry if i/we put you to any trouble”

“desculpe eu ter te acordado” – “sorry i woke you up”

“pedir desculpas por…” – “to appologise for…”

3. “Foi Mau” – (Informal) “My Bad”

4. “Foi sem querer” – “i didn’t mean to” or “it was an accident”

5. “Lamento” – I’m very sorry (stronger than “Disculpa”, comparable to “Eu Sinto Muito.”)

You may have guessed by now that Portuguese is a very colorful language with a variety of words expressing similar, but subtly different meanings. For example, there could be several ways to say “Thank You,” to someone depending on circumstances and who you are talking to.

1. “Obrigada(o)” – the most common way to say thank you. often shortened to ” ‘Brigada(o)” or with some flair as in “Obrigado, Viu!?,” or informally as “Obrigadão” when you’re talking to your friends

2. “Valeu” – used to say thank you informally

-“José, eu concertei o seu carro!” (“José, I fixed your car!”)
-“Valeu! Você me quebrou um grande galho.” (“Thanks! You did me a huge favor”)

{“Quebrar o Galho” – literally meaning “to break the branch” also means “to do a favor” (for someone)}

3. “Eu Te Agradeço” – I thank you deeply (formal)

How to say “You’re Welcome” :

1. “De Nada” – You’re Welcome

2. “Imagina!” – This last one I’ve only heard in the south of Brazil, but it is very commonly used there. People there tend to say this after you thank them for something instead of saying “de nada.” It literally means “Imagine,” and so I take it as: “Imagine, you thanking me for that!” denoting that the other person’s thanks is unnecessary. Brazilians in general are very kind and helpful people, so lending a hand to someone else is commonplace and obvious to them, not out of the ordinary. “Imagina!,” said with  a bit of emphasis is a very humble way to accept someone’s thank-you while telling them that thanks are not necessary, you were just glad to help out!

Expressing Forgiveness:

tudo bem – it’s fine

não foi nada – it was nothing

nada – it’s ok

está bom – it’s ok

não importa – it doesn’t matter

não tem importância – it doesn’t matter

não tem problema / sem problema – no problem

não faz mal – nevermind

imagina – don’t be silly

Ways to say “Excuse Me” :

1. “Com Licença” – excuse me

2. “Perdão” – pardon me, sorry

Other Tips to Expressing Yourself Politely:

-When passing someone food, say, at the dinner table, instead of asking “voce quer um pouco de salada?” (“do you want some salad“) rather you should say, “voce aceita um pouco de salada?” (“do you accept some salad?”) It may sound a bit strange, but trust me, this is the right way to ask.