Obrigado? Obrigada?
April 15, 2019 9:10 PM Subscribe
We're traveling in Portugal and want to say thank you. I identify as male, partner as female, both native English speakers and we're getting conflicting information as to the use of "obrigado" & "obrigada."
My understanding is that I should say "obrigadO" no matter whom I am addressing, male or female, because I identify as male. We have asked various native speakers and have gotten conflicting information. Some say I should use the gender of the person I'm addressing, ie "obrigada" for a woman, "obrigado" when addressing a man, others tell us my understanding is correct. Help! Obrigad... in advance.
My understanding is that I should say "obrigadO" no matter whom I am addressing, male or female, because I identify as male. We have asked various native speakers and have gotten conflicting information. Some say I should use the gender of the person I'm addressing, ie "obrigada" for a woman, "obrigado" when addressing a man, others tell us my understanding is correct. Help! Obrigad... in advance.
Oops--I just saw you're going to Portugal, not Brazil. I don't know if Portuguese pronunciation of final -o sounds is different.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:35 PM on April 15, 2019
posted by hydrophonic at 9:35 PM on April 15, 2019
What hydrophonic says. And here is how to respond to thank you..
And a small bonus: the Portuguese word for "Pull" is "puxar" - with the "x" sounding like an English "sh". Now you can join in the fun watching other tourists failing to get through doors ,country-wide.
posted by rongorongo at 10:32 PM on April 15, 2019 [3 favorites]
And a small bonus: the Portuguese word for "Pull" is "puxar" - with the "x" sounding like an English "sh". Now you can join in the fun watching other tourists failing to get through doors ,country-wide.
posted by rongorongo at 10:32 PM on April 15, 2019 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I, a male, only say 'Obrigado' and my wife, a native-born Portuguese only says 'Obrigada'
If I am feeling especially thankful I might say 'Muito Obrigado' which translates as Thank you so much or Thank you very much.
In Portugal, as in Brazil, the final 'o' sounds a bit more like a 'u' or an 'oo' and that is true of most Portuguese words that end in 'o', such as 'Fado' which if properly pronounced sounds almost like 'Fa-doo'
My Portuguese is very casual and when I am in Lisbon, my thank you will actually sound more like a fast 'Bree-gah-oo' just in case you hear people saying that, it is the same word.
posted by vacapinta at 1:25 AM on April 16, 2019 [4 favorites]
If I am feeling especially thankful I might say 'Muito Obrigado' which translates as Thank you so much or Thank you very much.
In Portugal, as in Brazil, the final 'o' sounds a bit more like a 'u' or an 'oo' and that is true of most Portuguese words that end in 'o', such as 'Fado' which if properly pronounced sounds almost like 'Fa-doo'
My Portuguese is very casual and when I am in Lisbon, my thank you will actually sound more like a fast 'Bree-gah-oo' just in case you hear people saying that, it is the same word.
posted by vacapinta at 1:25 AM on April 16, 2019 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Muito obrigado! We'd asked six presumed natives and they were split 50-50 for some reason, rendering us muito confuso.
posted by Floydd at 3:16 AM on April 16, 2019
posted by Floydd at 3:16 AM on April 16, 2019
We were in Portugal in May, and I rarely heard the last syllable at all - so I heard obriGAD and that was it - the last syllable fell off. I do not speak Portuguese.
posted by Ms Vegetable at 6:34 AM on April 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by Ms Vegetable at 6:34 AM on April 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
Seconding Ms Vegetable -- I spent in a week in Lisbon in August, and heard "obrigad" most of the time.
DuoLingo really let me down on the O/A issue; I learned that you say obrigado to a man and obrigada to a woman. WHOOPS.
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 11:10 AM on April 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
DuoLingo really let me down on the O/A issue; I learned that you say obrigado to a man and obrigada to a woman. WHOOPS.
posted by leftover_scrabble_rack at 11:10 AM on April 16, 2019 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
If you want to sound more Brazilian, pronounce the final 'o' more like a 'u'.
posted by hydrophonic at 9:32 PM on April 15, 2019 [8 favorites]