Contrast Markers (Mas, Porém, Contudo) | Portuguese (Brazil) Grammar

English has essentially one workhorse for contrast — but — plus a small handful of fancier options (however, yet, on the other hand). Brazilian Portuguese works the same way in principle, but the choice of connector is a much louder social signal: pick the wrong one and you either sound stiff in a bar or sloppy in an essay. This page lays out the register ladder of contrast markers and shows you exactly where each rung lives.

The core idea: one meaning, many registers

Most of the connectors below translate as but or however. They differ almost entirely in register, not in meaning. Think of them as a ladder:

Register	Connector	Rough English
Spoken / general	mas	but
Colloquial	só que	except (that), only
Neutral / both	no entanto, por outro lado	however, on the other hand
Formal / written	porém, contudo, todavia, entretanto	however, yet, nevertheless

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If you only remember one rule: mas for speaking, porém (or no entanto) for writing. Everything else is a refinement of that axis.

Mas — the everyday workhorse (spoken/general)

Mas is the default. It connects two clauses inside one sentence and sits at the boundary between them, exactly where English puts but. Brazilians use it constantly in speech, and it is perfectly fine in writing too — it is simply neutral-to-informal rather than formal.

Eu queria ir, mas tô sem dinheiro.

I wanted to go, but I'm broke.

Ela estudou pra caramba, mas não passou no concurso.

She studied like crazy, but she didn't pass the civil-service exam.

Note that mas does not usually start a written sentence in careful prose (teachers flag Mas at the start of a paragraph), though in speech and informal writing Brazilians begin utterances with Mas... all the time, often as a softener: Mas que calor, hein? ("Man, it's hot, huh?").

Só que — the colloquial 'but/except' (colloquial)

Só que literally means "only that," and it functions as a casual but or except that. It is extremely frequent in speech and texting, and it adds a flavor of "here's the catch":

A festa ia ser ótima, só que choveu o dia inteiro.

The party was going to be great, except it rained all day.

Eu te ajudaria, só que tô atolado de trabalho.

I'd help you, only I'm swamped with work.

In writing above the most casual register, replace só que with mas or porém. A linguistics professor would call só que a colloquial adversative; a grammar teacher would cross it out of your essay.

Porém, contudo, todavia, entretanto — the formal four (written/formal)

These are the markers you reach for in essays, articles, and speeches. They are largely interchangeable in meaning (however / yet / nevertheless), with subtle stylistic differences:

porém — the most common of the formal set; can sit between clauses (with a comma) or, like English however, be moved inside the second clause.
contudo / todavia — slightly more literary; todavia has an old-fashioned ring (do not confuse it with Spanish todavía "still" — a classic false friend).
entretanto — means however in writing, though in speech the same word can mean meanwhile (regional / older usage). Context disambiguates.

O projeto foi aprovado; porém, a verba ainda não foi liberada.

The project was approved; however, the funds have not yet been released.

Os dados são promissores. Contudo, mais estudos são necessários.

The data are promising. Nevertheless, further studies are necessary.

A defesa apresentou novas provas; o juiz, todavia, manteve a sentença.

The defense presented new evidence; the judge, nevertheless, upheld the sentence.

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Unlike mas, the formal connectors are happy at the start of a sentence and are typically set off by commas. Notice in the last example that todavia floats into the middle of the clause, just like English however: "the judge, however, ...".

Por outro lado, ao contrário — explicit two-sided contrast (neutral)

When you are weighing two sides, use por outro lado ("on the other hand"). It is neutral and works in both speech and writing. It often pairs with por um lado ("on the one hand"):

Por um lado, o apê é caro; por outro lado, fica do lado do metrô.

On the one hand, the apartment is expensive; on the other hand, it's right next to the subway.

Ao contrário means "on the contrary / unlike," reversing rather than balancing. Watch the preposition: ao contrário de + noun:

Ao contrário do irmão, ela nunca gostou de futebol.

Unlike her brother, she never liked soccer.

Concessive contrast: apesar de, embora, mesmo assim

There is a second flavor of contrast — concession — where you admit one thing and assert another despite it ("although," "even though"). Brazilian Portuguese splits this by what follows:

apesar de
- noun or infinitive → "despite / in spite of"
apesar disso → "despite that" (links back to a previous sentence)
embora
- subjunctive → "although / even though"
mesmo assim → "even so / still"

Apesar da chuva, a gente foi à praia.

Despite the rain, we went to the beach.

Apesar de estar cansado, ele terminou o relatório.

Despite being tired, he finished the report.

Embora ela seja jovem, já dirige a empresa.

Although she is young, she already runs the company.

Estava chovendo muito; mesmo assim, fomos.

It was raining hard; even so, we went.

Notice that embora forces the subjunctive (seja, not é), because it frames the clause as a concession rather than a flat fact. This is covered in depth on the concession page; the key takeaway here is that embora + subjunctive and apesar de + noun/infinitive are the two concessive routes, and you cannot follow embora with a plain indicative.

Common Mistakes

❌ Eu queria ir, porém tô sem grana.

Mismatched register — formal 'porém' next to slang 'grana' in casual speech.

✅ Eu queria ir, mas tô sem grana.

I wanted to go, but I'm out of cash.

Pairing the bookish porém with everyday slang in spoken Brazilian sounds odd. In speech, use mas or só que.

❌ Ela todavia mora aqui (intending 'she still lives here').

False friend — 'todavia' means 'however', so this reads as 'She, however, lives here', not 'she still lives here'.

✅ Ela ainda mora aqui. / Ela, todavia, mudou de ideia.

'Still' is 'ainda'; 'todavia' = 'however/nevertheless', NOT Spanish 'todavía' (still).

Spanish speakers and Spanish-influenced learners constantly read todavia as "still." In Portuguese, "still" is ainda; todavia means "however."

❌ Embora ela é jovem, já dirige a empresa.

Incorrect — 'embora' requires the subjunctive, not the indicative.

✅ Embora ela seja jovem, já dirige a empresa.

Although she is young, she already runs the company.

❌ Apesar de que estava cansado, terminou o relatório.

Incorrect — 'apesar de' takes a noun or infinitive, not a clause with 'que'.

✅ Apesar de estar cansado, terminou o relatório. / Embora estivesse cansado, terminou o relatório.

Despite being tired / Although he was tired, he finished the report.

English lets you say "despite that he was tired," which tempts learners into apesar de que. Standard Brazilian wants apesar de + infinitive, or switch to embora + subjunctive.

❌ Mas, o projeto foi aprovado, contudo a verba não saiu.

Awkward — stacking 'mas' and 'contudo' for the same contrast is redundant.

✅ O projeto foi aprovado; contudo, a verba não saiu.

The project was approved; however, the funds didn't come through.

Don't double up contrast markers. One per contrast is enough.

Key Takeaways

Contrast in Brazilian Portuguese lives on a register ladder: mas / só que (spoken) → no entanto / por outro lado (neutral) → porém / contudo / todavia / entretanto (formal).
They share roughly the meaning of but / however; the choice signals formality, not logic.
Só que is the casual "except that"; keep it out of formal writing.
Concessive contrast uses embora + subjunctive or apesar de + noun/infinitive — never apesar de que.
Beware todavia (= however), a false friend of Spanish todavía (= still).

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