Hi! Today we are going to learn the expression excuse me in Portuguese!
Let’s start with a list of different ways to say it:
Excuse me in Portuguese
Poderia me dar licença? | Would you excuse me? |
Me dê licença, por favor! | Excuse me, please! |
Com licença! | Excuse me! |
Dá licença! | Excuse me! |
Cença! (informally spoken) | Excuse me! |
You’ll to choose which one you are going to use according to how formal you want to be.
Examples
Poderia me dar licença? Eu gostaria de ir ao toalete. (muito formal)
Would you excuse me? I’d like to go to the toilet. (very formal)
Me dê licença, por favor! Eu preciso passar. (formal)
Excuse me, please. I need to go through. (formal)
Com licença! Onde posso encontrar uma escola de Português? (regular)
Excuse me! Where can I find a Portuguese school? (regular)
Dá licença! Vocês viram meu cachorro? (informal)
Excuse me! Did you see my dog? (informal)
Cença! Quero sair! (muito informal)
Excuse me! I want to get out (very informal)
Saying Com licença is the most common form. Let’s learn more about it:
Com licença in Portuguese
There are three different ways to use com licença. You can use it to ask for permission to enter a room. Take a look!
Asking for permission
Signe: Português!
Luana: Você quer aprender Português pra que?
Signe: Pra que?
Toc, toc, toc
Cássio: Com licença!
Luana: Olá! Pode entrar!
Signe: Portuguese!
Luana: Why do you want to speak Portuguese?
Signe: For what?
Knock knock knock
Cássio: Excuse me!
Luana: Hello! Come in!
We can also use com licença when you need to go somewhere but there are people in the way.
Asking your way through
Cássio: Ouvi falar mas nunca assisti.
Luana: Nossa, é muito interessante!
Signe: Com licença! Obrigada!
Cássio: I heard about it but I’ve never watched.
Luana: It’s very interesting!
Signe: Excuse me! Thank you!
And we can also use com licença when you politely interrupt a conversation.
Interrupting a Conversation
Cássio: Então, você precisa apenas entregar isso…
Signe: Com licença Cássio! Você pode me ajudar?
Cássio: Claro, do que você precisa?
Cássio: So, you just have to deliver it…
Signe: Excuse me, Cassio! Can you help me?
Cássio: Sure, what do you need?
That’s it, guys! Hope you like the video and that you will subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
See you later! Tchau!
Click in the links below to see more related Dicas
Being Polite in Brazil
What does Desculpe mean in Portuguese
Informal expressions in Portuguese
Idiomatic expressions
Portuguese expressions
Popular expressions in Portuguese