Obrigado or Obrigada: How to Say Thank You in Portuguese

If you landed here wondering whether it’s obrigado or obrigada, here’s the rule in one line: men say “obrigado” and women say “obrigada” — and it depends on your gender, not the gender of the person you’re thanking. That single detail trips up almost every learner, and it’s exactly what we’re going to clear up today.

Most people already know that the word for “thank you” in Portuguese is “obrigado”. The real question, the one I hear most from my students, is the “obrigado vs obrigada” choice: which form do you actually use, and when? On top of that, you’ll hear shortened versions like “brigado” and “brigada” in everyday Brazilian speech, and you may have seen “abrigado” or “obligado” floating around — spoiler: those last two are wrong.

In this post you’ll learn exactly how to say thank you in Portuguese without sounding like a confused tourist: when to use “obrigado” or “obrigada”, when the informal “brigado” sounds natural, what “abrigado” really means, and why “obligado” doesn’t exist in Portuguese at all. By the end, you’ll thank people the way we actually do in Brazil — confidently, naturally, and without slipping into Portuñol.

In Spanish, when someone helps you with something, you say “gracias.” In this case, the translation in Portuguese is “obrigado.”

The big question I hear from my students learning Portuguese is:

“But how do I use obrigado and obrigada correctly?”

Now that you know, in a simple way, that “gracias” in Portuguese is “obrigado,” let’s get into the details.

The Rule for Using Obrigado and Obrigada

Formal use

The rule of thumb is simple.

If you are a man, you will always say obrigado:

• Muito obrigado por me ajudar a conseguir esse trabalho.

If you are a woman, you will always say obrigada:

• Muito obrigada por me ajudar a organizar a reunião.

Informal use

If you want to say “obrigado” in Portuguese in a more informal way:

Mulher: Nossa, você fez uma apresentação muito boa.
Homem: Brigado!

Homem: Você tem uma casa muito bonita.
Mulher: Brigada!

In this case, “brigado” and “brigada” are used on their own.

Saying “muito brigado” (without the “o”) is incorrect.

The correct forms are: Muito obrigado / Muito obrigada
or Brigado / Brigada

Other Even More Informal Ways to Say Obrigado in Portuguese

Valeu
– Valeu por me esperar.

Brigadão
– Brigadão por ter me ajudado hoje à noite.

To show even more gratitude, you can add the word “mesmo” at the end:

• Muito obrigado mesmo!
• Brigado mesmo!
• Valeu mesmo!
• Brigadão mesmo!

In this case, it would be like saying: “thank you so much, truly.”

Note: The word “mesmo” in Portuguese can have different meanings depending on the context. I recorded a video explaining the details here.

Brigado / Brigada: Other Uses

Since we’re talking about “brigado/brigada,” it’s worth remembering that “estar brigado com alguém” means you are not speaking to someone after an argument, from the verb brigar.

• Eles estão brigados.
• Eu tô (estou) brigada com ela.
• Vocês vão ficar brigados até quando?

Now let’s go a bit deeper and talk about common mistakes when speaking Portuguese and how to avoid them.

Common Mistakes When Using Obrigado in Portuguese

• Estou muito obrigado com você.
• Estou muito obrigado por seus vídeos. (I’ve heard this many times)

This mistake happens because of a literal translation from Spanish. Some people think “obrigado” means “agradecido,” but in that case the correct forms would be:

• Estou muito grato/grata com você.
• Estou muito agradecido por seus vídeos.
• Muito obrigado por seus vídeos.

Exception:

Exception: Obrigado Used as a Noun

When “obrigado” is used as a noun, it always stays in the masculine form:

For example:

• Deixo aqui meu obrigado por toda a consideração de vocês.

It’s the same as saying:

Deixo aqui meu agradecimento por toda a consideração de vocês.

“Obligado” Does NOT Exist

Another mistake I see many Spanish speakers make is saying “obligado.” That doesn’t exist in Portuguese: it’s Portuñol. When you say it that way, you can end up sounding like a very famous Brazilian character from Turma da Mônica called Cebolinha, who often swaps the letter R for L when speaking.

This word does not exist in Portuguese. It’s Portuñol.

Note: I have a playlist with the most common mistakes Spanish speakers make when learning Portuguese.

Obrigado Comes From the Verb Obrigar

There’s also the verb obrigar, which means to force someone to do something.

Examples:

• Ela foi obrigada a esperar 4 horas.
• Ele foi obrigado a sair do local.

In the plural:

• Elas foram obrigadas a esperar 4 horas.
• Eles foram obrigados a sair do local.

Extra:

• A sua obrigação é cuidar do seu filho.

How to Use Abrigado / Abrigada in Portuguese

I’ve seen many people say “abrigado / abrigada” trying to say “obrigado,” but that’s incorrect. I even wonder if this confusion started because of the Davivienda correspondent during the 2014 World Cup.

These words do exist, but they come from the verb abrigar, which means to have shelter or protection, a roof over your head, or a place to stay.

It’s common to see in the news:

“Várias pessoas ficaram desabrigadas depois da chuva forte que destruiu partes da cidade.”

In other words, they were left without shelter. (Verb: Abrigar / Desabrigar)

I recorded a playlist showing how to use several words that confuse Spanish speakers who are learning Portuguese.

How to Say “abrigarse” (to stay warm) in Portuguese

If you’re cold and need to stay warm, the most common way to say it is:

Preciso de um casaco / jaqueta / cobertor / algo pra me agasalhar.

The verb agasalhar in Portuguese has the same idea as abrigar-se in Spanish.

Portuguese and Spanish: Similar, But Different

From a distance, Spanish and Portuguese can seem very similar.

But the more you learn Portuguese, the more you notice the differences.

I recorded a video with supporting material (PDF) explaining 29 differences between Portuguese and Spanish.

“Graças” and “Gracias”: Why They Don’t Mean the Same Thing

It’s important to make a key note: “graças” in Portuguese is not used as a way to thank someone, unlike Spanish, where gracias means “obrigado.”

In Portuguese, the word graças only appears in specific expressions, like “graças a Deus” or “graças a você,” and it always comes with an explanation. It is never used by itself to thank someone.

Also, in Brazil, Graça is a first name, usually feminine. So saying “Graça” has nothing to do with thanking someone. It can simply be a person’s name.

To make it even clearer, the word graça in Portuguese can have other meanings too, which often confuses Spanish speakers even more:

Humor or something funny

• Esse filme não tem graça.
• Qual é a graça disso?

Ways to say “morrer de rir” in Portuguese

Something free (de graça/grátis/0800)

• A entrada é de graça.
• Ganhei esse curso de graça.

An extra sentence:

• Graças a Deus esse filme que Graça recomendou terminou, eu não vi graça nenhuma, só perdi meu tempo.

That’s why understanding the difference between “graças,” “graça,” and “gracias” is essential to avoid common mistakes and sound much more natural when speaking Portuguese.

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Want to Keep Learning Portuguese?

Check out this other post where I explain how to learn Portuguese faster.

The video is in Spanish and shares practical tips to avoid Portuñol and learn in a more natural way.