A2 (Elementary)Lesson 13: Spoken Brazilian
Small words common in Brazilian conversation — aí, tipo, sei lá, sabe?, pois é, na verdade — and five jobs explored here: buying time, moving a story along, checking in, reacting and softening. Used in context, they help connect sentences and signal how you respond.
Five jobs, not a word list: buying time, sequencing, checking in, reacting, softening. Learn the job and the word sticks.
Aí commonly links steps in a spoken narrative — Aí eu falei, aí ele respondeu… (So I said, and then he answered…). Então can also sequence a story.
Tipo (like) and sei lá (I dunno) buy you thinking time; é que… (the thing is…) opens an excuse or an explanation.
Pois é — "yeah, exactly / that’s the thing" — is a common response; choose it according to context and tone.
Reactions come ready-made: Nossa! (Wow!), Sério? (Really?), Imagina! (Don't mention it!), Beleza. (Cool.)
Softeners let you disagree: na verdade (actually), olha (look), então tá (alright then), até que (actually, rather).
Register: informal fillers suit speech and casual messages. More neutral connectors can also suit formal writing; consider the function and audience.
hedge: tipo · sei lá · é que — sequence: aí · daí · então — check in: né? · sabe? · viu? — react: pois é · nossa! · sério? — soften: na verdade · olha · até que
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These words help connect sentences and hold the floor: tipo (like) or deixa eu ver (let me see) can signal that you are thinking rather than finished speaking. They also help you show how you are listening: né? (right?) checks in and pois é (yeah, exactly) can acknowledge a comment. A pause or a sentence without them is not automatically a mistake; choose them according to the context.
A vocabulary list alone can make these words hard to use mid-sentence. This lesson groups them by five jobs: buying time, sequencing, checking in, reacting and softening. Learn the job together with an example.
One thing this point does not cover: how these words sound at full speed. Você sabe collapses to cê sabe, está to tá, não é to né — that is the companion point on spoken reductions, right before this one in the same lesson. Here we are only asking what each marker is for.
Speakers of both English and Portuguese can fill pauses; the expressions they choose differ.
| Marker | Meaning | In use |
|---|
| Portuguese | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Aí eu perdi o ônibus e cheguei atrasado. | So I missed the bus and got there late. |
| E aí, beleza? | Hey, all good? |
| Sei lá, acho que não. | I dunno, I don't think so. |
| É que a minha mãe chega hoje. | The thing is, my mother arrives today. |
| A comida está boa, né? | The food is good, right? |
| Ele nunca me responde, sabe? | He never answers me, you know? |
| Nossa, que bonito! | Wow, that's beautiful! |
| Na verdade, eu prefiro ficar em casa. | Actually, I'd rather stay home. |
| Então tá, a gente vai amanhã. | Alright then, we'll go tomorrow. |
| Valeu pela ajuda, viu? | Thanks for the help — really. |
Learning only isolated sentences. Markers can show how ideas connect, but omitting one is not a grammatical error: Ele não veio. Eu fui sozinho. → Ele não veio, aí eu fui sozinho. (He didn’t come, so I went on my own.)
Using only então for every "so". Então can express reasoning or sequence a story; aí is another common informal option. Both examples are possible: Então eu falei, então ele saiu. → Aí eu falei, aí ele saiu. (So I said something, and then he left.)
Hearing pois é as "because". It shares nothing with porque (because). It agrees with what the other person just said: — O preço subiu de novo. (The price went up again.) — Pois é. (Yeah — that's the thing.)
Taking polite imagina! literally. After thanks or an apology, it can mean "don’t mention it": — Desculpa o atraso! (Sorry I’m late!) — Imagina! (No worries at all!) In other contexts it can still be an instruction to imagine.
Answering a greeting literally. In E aí? used as a greeting, aí is not asking about a place. Answer with Tudo bem (All good) or just Tudo (All good); in another context, E aí? can ask what happened next.
Reaching for atualmente to say "actually". A classic false friend: atualmente means "currently, these days". The softener you want is na verdade. ❌ Atualmente eu prefiro chá. → ✅ Na verdade, eu prefiro chá. (Actually, I prefer tea.)
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