Question 1

Why does Até amanhã mean 'See you tomorrow' when there is no word for 'see' or 'you'?

Accepted Answer

In Portuguese, people usually do not say 'see you'. Instead, they use até, which literally means 'until'. So, Até amanhã translates word-for-word as 'Until tomorrow'! You will see até used in many other common greetings, like até logo for 'see you later'.

Question 2

Why is it na escola instead of just em escola?

Accepted Answer

In English, we say 'at school' without the word 'the'. But in Portuguese, you almost always need to include the definite article (the word for 'the') when talking about places. Na is a mandatory contraction made by combining the preposition em (in/at) and the feminine article a (the). So it literally means 'at the school'.

Question 3

Does em always change to na for places?

Accepted Answer

It depends on whether the place is a masculine or feminine word. Because escola is feminine, em combines with a to make na. If the place were masculine, like trabalho (work), you would combine em with the masculine article o to make no, giving you no trabalho.

Question 4

What does the squiggly line in amanhã do to the pronunciation?

Accepted Answer

That mark over the final a is called a tilde. It tells you to pronounce the vowel through your nose, rather than just through your mouth. Combined with the nh sound, which is similar to the 'ny' in the English word 'canyon', the ending of amanhã sounds distinctively nasal.

Até amanhã, na escola!

Breakdown of Até amanhã, na escola!

Questions & Answers about Até amanhã, na escola!

Learn Até amanhã, na escola and more in Portuguese