Hi! Today we are going to learn the expression excuse me in Portuguese! There are many differents ways to say it! Today we will take a look at all of them and also learn how to pronounce them correctly!
Excuse me in Brazilian Portuguese
You’ll to choose which one you are going to use according to how formal you want to be:
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! |
“Poderia me dar licença?” and “Me dê licença, por favor!” are mostly used in more formal settings, where you need to be polite, or you don’t know other people involved in the situation. “Com licença” and “Dá licença”, on the other hand, are used in more regular day to day situations, without being too formal or informal. Lastly, “Cença” is very informal, and we only indicate its usage in appropriate occasions!
Examples for Excuse in Portuguese
Now, let’s take a look at how we can use these expressions we have just learned in informal and formal situations:
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)
Com Licença in Portuguese
Saying Com licença is the most common form we have for the expression excuse me in Portuguese. Let’s learn more about it:
Asking for Permission
There are three different ways to use com licença. You can use it to ask for permission to enter a room. Take a look!
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!
Asking your way through
We can also use com licença when you need to go somewhere but there are people in the way.
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!
Interrupting a Conversation
And we can also use com licença when you politely interrupt 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! Now you know how to say excuse me in Brazilian Portuguese in different manners. Hope you will subscribe to our YouTube Channel.
See you later! Tchau!
Click in the links below to see more related Dicas
Polite Phrases in Portuguese
Poder in Portuguese
Sorry in Portuguese