In his recent on-line travel article, "Happy Little Travel Accidents," Mr. Steves recounts a 'little accident" of his own, in which to thank a waiter in Portugal he says "gracias." This, he was informed, is Spanish; and chastened, he advises us that in Portugal, the word for "thank you" is "obrigado."
I didn't think it would hurt to point out that for approximately half of you, even saying "obrigado" in Portugal would be a mistake -- that world is only for men. If you're a woman you express thanks with "obrigada."
Posted by
7 posts
Thank you so much. Would not have dawned on us and we would look like true "tourists"!
Posted by
Los Angeles, CA
700 posts
You use the masculine form if you are speaking to a man, and the feminine if you are speaking to a woman? Or do you use the masculine form if you yourself are a male?
Posted by
Cascais, Portugal
1821 posts
If you are a man, it’s obrigado. Women say obrigada.
Posted by
OP
199 posts
@chayras: I don't think you would have had to worry too much about looking like "true tourists" in that instance; I have no figures at hand, but I believe that Portugal is one of those countries in which an unusually low proportion of foreign tourists try to speak any of the national language at all; even a slightly botched attempt will reflect well on you. I should add that on my one trip there so far (2017), it seemed that people were generally appreciative of my attempts to speak Portuguese, which must have sounded god-awful to most of them -- in which case they willingly turned at once to English, or offered a "menu" of languages in which to proceed (usually Spanish, French, and English).
Posted by
Connecticut
96 posts
It will take only a little effort to learn some very basic Portuguese and the people you interact with will find you polite and appreciative of their culture. And yes, speaking in Spanish is insulting to such a proud people.
Hint: if the restaurant has menus in multiple languages, you are in the wrong restaurant :). Portuguese with English is acceptable, but Portuguese alone is best. There is always someone in the restaurant who will gladly translate for you, and it makes for a fun interaction.
Dennis and Elinore