Mastering Agreement and Disagreement in Portuguese

All the ways to agree and disagree in Portuguese

Do you wonder how to get your point across in Portuguese? Discover the fascinating ways Portuguese speakers confirm or reject ideas. In fact, Brazilians barely even utter the word “sim” in everyday speech, preferring to mirror the verb instead.

For example, someone offers you a tea:
“Você quer um chá?” (Do you want a tea?)
“Quero”. (I want)

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.

Explore our comprehensive guide below to learn how to express agreement or disagreement like a native, complete with examples and useful phrases. Not sure where you stand? Our guide also includes a section for staying impartial. Don’t let language barriers hold you back from expressing yourself in Portuguese!”


Agreeing To Do Something in Portuguese

PortugueseLiteral TranslationMeaning in EnglishExample
fechadoclosedit’s a deal“Quer tomar uma hoje?”
“Fechado”
combinadocombined agreed“Quer tomar uma hoje?”
“Combinado”
 certo correct ok or sure“Posso mandar o projecto amanhã?”
“Certo!”
belezabeautifulcool “Churrasco esse sábado na minha casa?”
“Beleza!”
tá bomit is goodok “Estou atrasado então vamos encontrar às 7 horas?”
“tá bom”

Declining To Do Something in Portuguese

PortugueseLiteral TranslationMeaning in EnglishExample
não vai darit will not giveit’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 próximain the nextnext time “Quer assistir o jogo de futebol com a gente?”
“Na próxima, vou para casa agora.”
essa vez nãothis time noNot this time“Quer jogar tênis de novo no clube”
“Esse vez não, porque não trouxe os sapatos certos”
não queroI don’t wantI don’t want to (get straight to the point!)“Quer pegar um Uber?”
“Não quero, vou de ônibus.”
Santa Teresa viewpoint

Agreeing or Disagreeing with an Opinion in Portuguese

Agree in PortugueseEnglishDisagree in PortugueseEnglish
concordoI agreediscordoI disagree
estou de acordoI agreenão concordoI disagree
está certothat’s right or correctnão está certothat’s incorrect
tem razãoyou’re right não tem razãoyou’re not right
faz sentidoit makes sensenão faz sentidoit doesn’t make sense
claroof course

Other Interjections to Show Support

é verdadethat’s true
exatamenteexactly
absolutamente absolutely
totalmentetotally
sem dúvidano doubt / without doubt
com certeza definitely

Interjections to Show You Disagree in Portuguese

PortugueseEnglish
duvidoI doubt it
duvido que … + subjunctiveI doubt that …
sem chanceno way
nuncanever
de jeito nenhumin no way / no way

When You Don’t Know

Sei láI don’t know
Não seiI don’t know
Não faço ideiaI have no idea

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