Eu disse obrigado.

I said thank you. (male speaker)

Breakdown of Eu disse obrigado.

• eu: I
• dizer: to say
• obrigado: thank you (said by a man)

Questions & Answers about Eu disse obrigado.

Why is eu included? Can I leave it out?

Yes, you often can leave it out in Portuguese.

Portuguese usually allows the subject pronoun to be omitted when the verb form already makes the subject clear. Since disse means I said, eu is not strictly necessary.

• Eu disse obrigado. = I said thank you.
• Disse obrigado. = also I said thank you.

Including eu can add emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

What does disse mean exactly?

Disse is the past tense form of the verb dizer, which means to say or sometimes to tell.

Here, disse means:

• I said

So:

• Eu disse obrigado. = I said thank you.

This is the preterite form, used for a completed action in the past.

Why is it disse and not something like dizei or dizer?

Because dizer is the infinitive, meaning to say, while disse is the conjugated form meaning I said.

Compare:

• dizer = to say
• eu digo = I say
• eu disse = I said

So the sentence needs the form that matches I and the past meaning, which is disse.