Speak like a local: tudo bem?

You walk into your local neighbourhood cafe in Lisbon for your morning espresso. The barista wipes down the counter, catches your eye, and gives a quick nod. They ask, 'tudo bem?'. You nod back, say 'tudo bem', and order your coffee. This short exchange is the heartbeat of Portuguese daily life.

What it means

The literal translation of 'tudo bem?' is 'everything well?'. It means 'how are you?' or 'is everything okay?'. This is the default greeting in European Portuguese. It is both a question and an answer. When someone asks you 'tudo bem?', they rarely want a detailed breakdown of your bad back or your stressful morning. The polite social rule is to repeat the exact same words back to them as a statement.

Who you can say it to

You can say this to almost anyone. You can use it when you meet a good friend for a beer, or when you speak to the cashier at the supermarket. If you say it to an older neighbour, it is perfectly polite, but they might give you a slightly longer answer about their health. If you are writing a formal email to a lawyer or a bank manager, 'tudo bem?' is too casual. Open your message with 'espero que se encontre bem'.

Words it travels with

People often pair this greeting with the verb 'estar'. You will hear 'está tudo bem?' to ask if things are going well. For extra stress, Portuguese people often add the word 'contigo' to turn the question around. If someone asks how you are, you reply 'tudo bem, e contigo?'. If you want to stress that things are good right here in your current situation, you add 'por cá'. People say 'por cá, tudo bem' to show that everything is fine on their end.

Other ways to ask how someone is

If you are asking someone how they feel after they were sick, ask this.

• 🤒 Estás melhor? (Are you better?)

If you walk up to a group of friends and want to greet everyone at once, use this common phrase.

• 👋 Como é que é? (How is it?)

If you want to check if a task or project is going smoothly at work, ask this.

• 📋 Tudo em ordem? (Everything in order?)

Many foreigners miss that 'tudo bem?' replaces 'hello' in everyday situations. A Portuguese person will rarely say 'olá' on its own without following it right away with 'tudo bem?'.