How to Say Goodbye in Portuguese (and Sound Like a Local)

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Live and Invest Overseas.

“I’m an old North American living in Portugal,” I boldly claim with a smile. The emphasis is on North — I grew up in northern Minnesota. “I can learn Portuguese.”

But I confess, dear reader, I secretly was anxious about being able to learn to speak Portuguese. It was the one negative about moving to Portugal that I kept convincing myself I could overcome. Yet late at night, tossing in bed, sleepless, I was not sure about this at all.

Who was I kidding? Yes, I studied Latin. I studied German. I got As. But I was young and did well on exams. Truth be known, I struggled trying to speak either of those languages. And none of what was memorized for exams stayed with me for over 50 years. My language skills proved the adage: If you don’t use it, you lose it.

The stress of learning a new language

Jeff and I figure some of you have the same concern, based upon the number of questions we get about learning Portuguese.

We’ve lived in northern Portugal for six years now. I wouldn’t say I am fluent in Portuguese. And that is OK. I get by just fine, and I have the certificate for Portuguese language proficiency to apply for citizenship.

All of my fears were for nothing. I haven’t burst into flames because I didn’t understand someone. And perhaps more importantly, I haven’t been set on fire because someone couldn’t understand my Portuguese.

Making strides

Today I realized how much we have learned. I was at our local medical center for my annual fasting blood draw. The nurse was getting ready to draw my blood. She was talking in Portuguese and I was, too.

Somewhere along the line my accent gave me away and she slid into English, like someone had flicked a switch. I believe many young Portuguese do this automatically … as a sign of respect for their elders. It’s really sweet and effortless.

I kept chattering away in my broken Portuguese. And when it came time to go I said, “Até logo.” And she responded, “Logo.”

On the way to the car that simple goodbye made me realize my Portuguese has come a long, long way.

When we first arrived in Portugal, my one and only word for goodbye was adeus. Adeus is the Portuguese textbook word for goodbye. I said it all the time. Nowadays I rarely use adeus. I’ve learned it’s kind of old school. Formal.

There are a number of ways of saying goodbye in Portuguese … lighter, more casual options for everyday situations.

So let’s enjoy a little Portuguese Language Class. “OK, Class. Repeat after me.” (Ha! Just kidding.)

5 ways to say goodbye in Portuguese

Até logo — see you later

This is a safe, neutral option for everyday goodbyes. It is used loosely by the Portuguese, even if they won’t necessarily see you later … like the nurse in the lab today.

Tchau/chau/xau — bye

Tchau is a common, default way of saying goodbye. We hear it a lot and, I admit, Jeff and I use it a lot. It is informal but widely accepted in most everyday situations.

I remember early in our life in Portugal we would say adeus and hear tchau as a reply. After a few times I realized that people were implying that they liked us, as friends.

Adeus — goodbye

One of our first explicadores (tutors) mentioned that adeus is a pretty formal word. It isn’t used much in everyday conversations … too much like an unapproachable college professor talking down to their students.

If you are a college professor I mean no disrespect … I’m sure you’re approachable … It’s just what our tutor said.

We now reserve adeus for the border patrol agents at customs. We also use adeus if we’re saying goodbye to someone who is moving to a different country. We know we’re not going to see them for quite a while.

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Até já — see you (very) soon

We hear this quite a lot. It implies you’ll see the person the same day, typically within a few hours … signing off on the phone when talking to a delivery person who called to say that they are on the way to your house in the next hour.

Até para a semana — until next week

This one is pretty logical. If you know you’re going to see someone next week, like your house cleaner who visits every Monday, this is the perfect way to say goodbye.

So that’s the end of our little Portuguese Language Class, dear reader. Fear not. Put any learning-the-language anxieties aside. Each day brings more discoveries.

As Jeff and I like to say, a vida é boa em Portugal — life is good in Portugal.

Até logo.