Do you wonder how to get your point across in Portuguese? Equip yourself with all the ways to agree and disagree in Portuguese below!
I’ve often been stuck on knowing how to show support to someone and yearning to deviate from the robotic “sim” (yes).
In fact, did you know that Brazilians barely even utter the word “sim” in everyday speech.
For example, someone offers you a tea:
“Você quer um chá?”
“Quero”.
See, to confirm Portuguese speakers mirror the verb in the affirmative. Much like this example of shunning the humble “sim”, Brazilians have devised a colourful array of responses to show both agreement and disagreement in Portuguese.
There’s also a section where you can remain impartial, if you’d rather dodge that discussion or still have no idea what’s going on. I get you.
Agreeing To Do Something
Portuguese | Literal Translation | Meaning in English | Example |
fechado | closed | it’s a deal | “Quer tomar uma hoje?” “Fechado” |
combinado | combined | agreed | “Quer tomar uma hoje?” “Combinado” |
certo | correct | ok or sure | “Posso mandar o projecto amanhã?” “Certo!” |
beleza | beautiful | cool | “Churrasco esse sábado na minha casa?” “Beleza!” |
tá bom | it is good | ok | “Estou atrasado então vamos encontrar às 7 horas?” “tá bom” |
Declining To Do Something
Portuguese | Literal Translation | Meaning in English | Example |
não vai dar | it will not give | it’s not going to work or it’s not possible | “Vamos para a festa do Miguel hoje á noite?” “Hoje não vai dá porque tenho que trabalhar cedo amanhã.” |
na próxima | in the next | next time | “Quer assistir o jogo de futebol com a gente?” “Na próxima, vou para casa agora.” |
essa vez não | this time no | Not this time | “Quer jogar tênis de novo no clube” “Esse vez não, porque não trouxe os sapatos certos” |
não quero | I don’t want | I don’t want to (get straight to the point!) | “Quer pegar um Uber?” “Não quero, vou de ônibus.” |

Agreeing or Disagreeing with an Opinion
Agree in Portuguese | English | Disagree in Portuguese | English |
concordo | I agree | discordo | I disagree |
estou de acordo | I agree | não concordo | I disagree |
está certo | that’s right or correct | não está certo | that’s incorrect |
tem razão | you’re right | não tem razão | you’re not right |
faz sentido | it makes sense | não faz sentido | it doesn’t make sense |
claro | of course |
Other Interjections to Show Support
é verdade | that’s true |
exatamente | exactly |
absolutamente | absolutely |
totalmente | totally |
sem dúvida | no doubt / without doubt |
com certeza | definitely |
Interjections to Show You Disagree in Portuguese
Portuguese | English |
duvido | I doubt it |
duvido que … + subjunctive | I doubt that … |
sem chance | no way |
nunca | never |
de jeito nenhum | in no way / no way |
When You Don’t Know
Sei lá | I don’t know |
Não sei | I don’t know |
Não faço ideia | I have no idea |