Ok in Portuguese

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: tá in Portuguese. But can we not just say ok in Portuguese? Well, we can… But tá is much more versatile, and we can use it in many different ways. Let’s take a look!

Tá in Portuguese

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

Tá in Portuguese Used Literally

In any situation that you may use the verb 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 of tá in Portuguese to talk about location and feelings:

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

Eles tão no Rio de Janeiro.
They are in Rio de Janeiro.

Ela tá na Rio & Learn.
She is at Rio & Learn.

Nós tamos felizes.
We are happy.

Marina tá triste.
Marina is sad.

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

Ok in Portuguese

Alright, but that’s tá. 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 why tá is so important. The thing is we can also use the word tá  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: tá. I told you it was important! Let’s take a look at the examples:

João: Amanhã, nós vamos sair cedo, José.
José: Tá!
João: Tomorrow, we are going to leave early, José.
José: Ok!

Anna: Vitória, vou pegar seu copo, tá?
Vitória: Tá bom!
Anna: Vitória, I’ll get your cup, ok?
Vitória: Ok!

Mayra: Vamos ao cinema hoje a noite?
Joel: Tá.
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 combine tá with other words to create expressions that help us convey that.

Rose: Você precisa ler mais para melhorar seu português!
Giovana: Tá bem.
Rose: You need to read more to improve your Portuguese!
Giovana: Ok.

Felipe: Faz o café, por favor.
Júlia: Tá.
Felipe: Make the coffee, please.
Júlia: Ok.

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

Expressions with Tá in Portuguese

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

Marília: Te espero na frente da escola às 20:00. 
Joaquim: Tá bem.
Marília: I’ll wait for you in front of the school at 20:00
Joaquim: Ok!

Marcos: Vamos tomar sorvete?
José: Tá ok.
Marcos: Let’s have an ice cream?
José: Ok.

Tá Ok?

A funny curiosity about the form tá 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 tá ok meme compilation:

You can see more examples of ok in Portuguese and practice the pronunciation of tá 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. Nós não vamos na festa hoje. _______ muito cansados.
2. Hoje o dia _______ muito lindo. Bom para fazer trilha.
3. Não posso falar agora. _______ no trabalho.
4. Você _______ com uma cara pálida! _______ bem?
5. Eles _______ doidos para conhecer o Rio de Janeiro.
6. Não gosto dela. Ela _______ sempre falando mal dos outros.
7. Eu _______ com fome. Tem alguma coisa pra comer aí?
8. Faltamos aulas semana passada. E agora _______ atrasados na matéria.
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. Tá ok, friends?

Big hug to you all!
Bye, bye!

         
Click on the links below to see more Dicas:
Estar in Portuguese
Excuse me in Portuguese
The expression pois não in Portuguese
What does fofoca mean?

Answers

1. Nós não vamos na festa hoje. Tamos muito cansados.
2. Hoje o dia tá muito lindo. Bom para fazer trilha.
3. Não posso falar agora. Tô no trabalho.
4. Você tá com uma cara pálida! Tá bem?
5. Eles tão doidos para conhecer o Rio de Janeiro.
6. Não gosto dela. Ela tá sempre falando mal dos outros.
7. Eu tô com fome. Tem alguma coisa pra comer aí?
8. Faltamos aulas semana passada. E agora tamos atrasados na matéria.
9. A gente não tá perdido, não? Não reconheço esse lugar.
10. Aqui tá quente demais para ficar usando casaco.