Ok in Portuguese

2 de September de 2014
Ejemplo con la palabra tΓ‘ en portuguΓ©s: A galera tΓ‘ animada no MaracanΓ£.

Can We Not Say Ok in Portuguese?

There they go again – those Brazilians! Always making things more complicated than they should. Thank God you have us at A Dica do Dia to help you out, right? And today we’ll be talking about an expression that you’ll need wherever you go in Brazil: tΓ‘ in Portuguese. But can we not just say ok in Portuguese? Well, we can… ButΒ tΓ‘ is much more versatile, and we can use it in many different ways. Let’s take a look!

TΓ‘ in Portuguese

First things first, let’s talk about this mysterious new word: tΓ‘. You have probably heard a lot of Brazilians saying tΓ‘ or tΓ‘ bom (and other variations…). What does tΓ‘ mean in Portuguese? You’d be surprised to find out that you probably already know the meaning of it. The word tΓ‘ is actually an abbreviation that comes from the verb estar and we use it in different contexts. Check it out:

Present Abbreviations Present Contractions
Eu estou Eu tΓ΄ I am I‘m
VocΓͺ estΓ‘ VocΓͺ tΓ‘ You are You‘re
Ele estΓ‘ Ele/ ela tΓ‘ He/she/it is He‘s/She‘s/It‘s
NΓ³s estamos NΓ³s tamos We are We‘re
VocΓͺs estΓ£o VocΓͺs tΓ£o You are You‘re
Eles estΓ£o Eles/ elas tΓ£o They are They‘re

TΓ‘ in Portuguese Used Literally

In any situation that you may use the verbΒ estar, most Brazilians would opt to shorten it to one of the abbreviated forms you saw earlier. In this situation, it is very easy to understand where Brazilians are coming from when using it. It’s the same as estar.

Here you can take a look at several examples ofΒ tΓ‘ in Portuguese to talk about location and feelings:

A gente tÑ na Praia de Copacabana.
We are on Copacabana Beach.

Eles tΓ£oΒ no Rio de Janeiro.
They are in Rio de Janeiro.

ElaΒ tΓ‘ na Rio & Learn.
She is at Rio & Learn.

NΓ³s tamos felizes.
We are happy.

Marina tΓ‘ triste.
Marina is sad.

Eu tô animada para aprender PortuguΓͺs em 30 dias.
I am excited to learn Portuguese in 30 days.

Ok in Portuguese

Alright, but that’s tΓ‘. So that still doesn’t really explain how to say ok in Portuguese, does it? Just hold on for a second, and you’ll see just whyΒ tΓ‘ is so important. The thing is we can also use the word tΓ‘ Β when agreeing to something or to express acceptance in general. So to your question of “how do you say ok in Portuguese?” I tell you: tΓ‘. I told you it was important! Let’s take a look at the examples:

JoΓ£o: AmanhΓ£, nΓ³s vamos sair cedo, JosΓ©.
JosΓ©: TΓ‘!
JoΓ£o: Tomorrow, we are going to leave early, JosΓ©.
JosΓ©: Ok!

Anna: VitΓ³ria, vou pegar seu copo, tΓ‘?
VitΓ³ria: TΓ‘ bom!
Anna: VitΓ³ria, I’ll get your cup, ok?
VitΓ³ria: Ok!

Mayra:Β Vamos ao cinema hoje a noite?
Joel: TΓ‘.
Mayra: Let’s go to the cinema tonight?
Joel: Ok.

Ok in Portuguese – Got it? Got it!

Much like in other languages, ok in Portuguese can also be used to express understanding. Sometimes we can even combineΒ tΓ‘ with other words to create expressions thatΒ help us convey that.

Rose: VocΓͺ precisa ler mais para melhorar seu portuguΓͺs!
Giovana: TΓ‘ bem.
Rose: You need to read more to improve your Portuguese!
Giovana: Ok.

Felipe: Faz o cafΓ©, por favor.
JΓΊlia:Β TΓ‘.
Felipe: Make the coffee, please.
JΓΊlia: Ok.

Clara: TΓ΄ indo pra casa, tΓ‘? Me manda mensagem depois.
Artur: TΓ‘. Pode deixar.
Clara: I’m going home, ok? Text me later.
Artur: Ok. I’ll do it.

Expressions with TΓ‘ in Portuguese

So as mentioned before, there are some expressions that we can create with tΓ‘ in Portuguese by combining them with other words. Forms such as tΓ‘ bem, tΓ‘ bom and tΓ‘ ok still hold the same meaning of ok in Portuguese. Check out the examples:

MarΓ­lia: Te espero na frente da escola Γ s 20:00.Β 
Joaquim: TΓ‘ bem.
MarΓ­lia:Β I’ll wait for you in front of the school at 20:00
Joaquim: Ok!

Marcos:Β Vamos tomar sorvete?
José: TÑ ok.
Marcos:Β Let’s have an ice cream?
JosΓ©: Ok.

TΓ‘ Ok?

A funny curiosity about the form tΓ‘ ok is that the president Jair Bolsonaro uses it a lot. He uses it so much that it ended up becoming a Brazilian meme. Check out this tΓ‘ ok meme compilation:

 

You can see more examples of ok in Portuguese and practice the pronunciation of tΓ‘ with this video made by our native Portuguese teachers here at Rio & Learn. Remember to turn on the subtitles!

Now it’s your turn!

Complete the sentences with the correct shortened form of the verb estar in Portuguese:

  1. NΓ³s nΓ£o vamos na festa hoje. _______ muito cansados.
  2. Hoje o dia _______ muito lindo. Bom para fazer trilha.
  3. NΓ£o posso falar agora. _______ no trabalho.
  4. VocΓͺ _______ com uma cara pΓ‘lida! _______ bem?
  5. Eles _______ doidos para conhecer o Rio de Janeiro.
  6. NΓ£o gosto dela. Ela _______ sempre falando mal dos outros.
  7. Eu _______ com fome. Tem alguma coisa pra comer aΓ­?
  8. Faltamos aulas semana passada. E agora _______ atrasados na matΓ©ria.
  9. A gente não _______ perdido, não? Não reconheço esse lugar.
  10. Aqui _______ quente demais para ficar usando casaco.

You can find the answers to the exercise at the bottom of the page. TΓ‘ ok, friends?

Big hug to you all!
Bye, bye!

Ler esta Dica em PortuguΓͺsΒ  Β  Β  Β  Β Leer esta Dica en EspaΓ±ol
Click on the links below to see more Dicas:
Estar in Portuguese
Excuse me in Portuguese
The expression pois nΓ£o in Portuguese
What does fofoca mean?

 

Answers

  1. NΓ³s nΓ£o vamos na festa hoje. Tamos muito cansados.
  2. Hoje o dia tΓ‘ muito lindo. Bom para fazer trilha.
  3. NΓ£o posso falar agora. TΓ΄ no trabalho.
  4. VocΓͺ tΓ‘ com uma cara pΓ‘lida! TΓ‘ bem?
  5. Eles tΓ£o doidos para conhecer o Rio de Janeiro.
  6. NΓ£o gosto dela. Ela tΓ‘ sempre falando mal dos outros.
  7. Eu tΓ΄ com fome. Tem alguma coisa pra comer aΓ­?
  8. Faltamos aulas semana passada. E agora tamos atrasados na matΓ©ria.
  9. A gente não tÑ perdido, não? Não reconheço esse lugar.
  10. Aqui tΓ‘ quente demais para ficar usando casaco.