How to Say Thank You in Portuguese: Obrigado, Obrigada & More Ways

You've been practicing Portuguese for a few weeks, maybe even months. You can say "olá" and maybe count to ten. But then someone holds the door for you, or a cashier hands you your change, and you freeze.

What's the word for thank you in Portuguese again? Was it obrigado? Or obrigada? And wait—doesn't it change based on something?

Look, most language apps will tell you "obrigado means thank you" and call it a day. But if you're a woman and you say "obrigado," you're technically wrong. And if you're a guy saying "obrigada," same deal. Here's what you actually need to know about ways to say thank you in Portuguese without sounding like a confused tourist.

How to Say Thank You in Portuguese: The Gender Rule

Obrigado comes from the Latin word meaning to oblige—like you're saying "I'm obliged to you." Which means the word has to match your gender, not the person you're speaking to.

If you're a guy: obrigado
If you're a woman: obrigada

That's it. Simple rule, but it trips up basically everyone at first because another language might not do this with "thank you."

Here's the thing though—the gender of the speaker determines which form you use, and even native speakers mess this up sometimes. In Brazil especially, people drop the first "o" and just say "brigado" or "brigada" in casual conversation. You'll hear it constantly. Just don't write it that way in business communication.

The word obrigado functions as an adjective in the Portuguese language, agreeing with whoever is expressing gratitude. Once you get this, you'll never forget it.

Ways to Say "Thank You" When You're Really Thankful

Someone just helped you move furniture up four flights of stairs. A basic obrigado feels weak, right?

Muito obrigado/obrigada = Thank you very much

Pretty straightforward. Just add "muito" in front. The pronunciation is a little weird though—it sounds more like "MWEEN-toh" with a nasal sound, not "MOO-ee-toh" like you'd expect.

If you're really thankful and want to go all out: muitíssimo obrigado/obrigada (thank you SO much). This is intense though. Save it for when someone literally saves your life or lends you a thousand bucks.

In Brazil, you might also hear obrigadão—basically "huge thanks" in one word. It's informal and friendly, like slapping someone on the back while you thank them. Definitely an informal way to express gratitude that you'll hear constantly in Brazilian Portuguese.

Informal Ways to Say Thank You in Portuguese

Want to sound less like a textbook? Here are some colloquial phrases to express gratitude that native speakers actually use:

Valeu (Brazilian Portuguese Only)

In Brazil—and only in Brazil—people say valeu all the time. It literally means "it was worth it" (short for "valeu a pena") but now it just means "thanks" or "cheers."

You'll hear it everywhere in Brazilian Portuguese. Coffee shop, Uber, friends texting you. Sometimes written as vlw in texts. It's super casual though, so only use this phrase in informal situations with people you know.

Europeans don't say "valeu" at all. They'll look at you funny if you try it in Lisbon.

Brigado/Brigada

The shortened version you'll mainly use with friends. Just drops the first syllable. Commonly used in informal situations but not something you want to say at a job interview.

How to Thank Someone for Something Specific

You need "por" (for) after obrigado when you're being specific about what you're thankful for:

Notice how "por" changes to "pela" or "pelo"? That's just Portuguese being Portuguese. The "por" combines with "a" or "o" (the words for "the"). You'll frequently use these constructions when you want to express gratitude for specific actions.

Formal Ways to Say Thank You in Portuguese

Language courses love teaching these formal alternatives, but honestly, you'll rarely hear them in actual conversation:

Grato/grata (thankful) and agradecido/agradecida (grateful) are technically correct, but they're so formal that using them casually with friends might make you sound weirdly stiff or even angry. These are mainly used in business communication and very formal situations.

The verb agradecer (to thank) does pop up though: "Quero agradecer pela ajuda" (I want to thank you for the help). You'll hear this in speeches or when someone really wants to emphasize their gratitude. It works in both formal and informal situations depending on how you use the word.

Ways to Say "You're Welcome" in Portuguese

Most common response: de nada (you're welcome)

It literally means "of nothing"—like you're saying "it was nothing, no big deal."

Brazilians also say por nada (same meaning, slightly different construction). Or just nada if they're in a rush.

For a more formal way to respond, try não há de quê (Brazil) or não tem de quê (Portugal). Both mean "there's no need to thank me."

Want to sound more local? In Brazil, people often say valeu right back at you. Or imagina (imagine that!). In Portugal, especially with older folks, you might hear ora essa (not at all!).

Brazilian Portuguese vs European Portuguese: Regional Differences

Here's where the way of saying thank you in Portuguese gets interesting. Brazil and Portugal handle this differently:

Brazil:

European Portuguese:

Both are correct—just pick the version that matches where you're learning or planning to use Portuguese.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Don't say "obrigado" when someone offers you something you don't want. Weird quirk: in Portuguese, "obrigado" can mean "no thanks" in that context. If you want to say thank you and accept, say "sim, por favor" (yes, please).

Don't mix up male and female forms if you can help it. Yeah, natives mess this up too, but you're trying to learn the Portuguese language properly. May as well get it right.

Don't stress too much about perfection though. Portuguese speakers are usually thrilled that you're trying to speak their language at all. They're not going to judge you for minor mistakes.

How to Actually Learn These Portuguese Phrases

Look, reading a blog post about obrigado is one thing. But you're not going to internalize these many words and phrases until you hear them used naturally, over and over, in actual Portuguese content.

This is where learning from real content beats the hell out of flashcards or app lessons. When you're watching a Brazilian show and someone says "obrigado" at a café, you see the context, hear the pronunciation, understand when it's used. When you read a Portuguese article and see "muito obrigada pela atenção" at the end, you learn how written thanks actually work.

That's basically what Migaku is built for. The browser extension lets you watch Portuguese shows (Netflix, YouTube, whatever) with instant word lookups and automatic flashcard creation. See "obrigada" in a scene, click it, boom—you've got the translation and you can add it to your deck with the audio from that exact moment.

Same thing works for reading articles or browsing Portuguese websites. You're not memorizing isolated words—you're learning how numbers in Portuguese work when someone actually says their phone number, or how to thank someone in the specific context of getting help with directions.

The mobile app keeps everything synced, so you can review on the bus or wherever. And since all your flashcards come from actual content you engaged with, they stick better than generic "obrigado = thank you" cards ever could.

If you want to express yourself naturally in Portuguese instead of just collecting vocabulary, learning from context is kind of the whole game. Understanding how long to learn Portuguese depends a lot on your method—immersion-based learning moves way faster than traditional textbook approaches.

You can try Migaku free for 10 days if you want to see how it feels compared to traditional study methods.