Question Tags in Portuguese - The Sounds of Portuguese

Questions tags in Portuguese are those little add-on rhetorical questions at the end of the statement. We use them when we’re almost certain of the answer, but just double-checking. In English, these are the add-ons such as “isn’t it?” or “right?”.

‘That’s Mike, isn’t it?‘ or ‘You like sushi, don’t you?‘ And also ‘He doesn’t want to come, does he?‘. These are just as simple in Portuguese. So let’s find out what they are and then how to actually answer these simple questions.

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"não é?"
- Pronunciations that deviate from the standard
"pois não?"
other tags
Simple Answers
Answering no
Free Practice Quiz
Related Posts for Further Reading

“não é?”

To say “Isn’t it?” at the end of a statement in Portuguese, we say “não é?” and we use it to confirm a positive statement.

É o Miguel que está ali, não é? (That’s Miguel over there, isn’t it?)

Ela é de Faro, não é? (She’s from Faro, isn’t she?/right?)

Pronunciations that deviate from the standard

“né?” (this is very informal, similar to “innit” in English)

na é? (Also informal and a colloquial way to pronounce “não é?” in conversation)

“pois não?”

This one is used when we’re confirming a negative statement and is equivalent to the English “is it?” or “do you?” etc

Ela não é de Faro, pois não? (She’s NOT from Faro, is she?/right?)

other tags

Other tags used are based on the verb used in the statement. Essentially, they have a similar meaning as “não é?”, but are a little more specific.

A Susana gosta de sushi, não gosta?(Susana Like sushi, doesn’t she?)

O Fernando vai amanhã, não vai?(Fernando is going tomorrow, isn’t he?)

We can also do it to confirm a negative statement:

Não trabalhas amanhã, ou trabalhas?(You don’t work tomorrow, or do you?)

O Ricardo não tem filhos, ou tem?(Ricardo has two kids, or doesn’t he?)

Simple Answers

Starting with the absolute basics:

Sim, se faz favor. (yes please)

Não obrigado (no thank you – if you’re a man saying it)

Não obrigada. (no thank you – if you’re a woman saying it)

While you can answer with simply sim (yes) or não (no), this sounds a little dry in Portuguese. We like to respond yes or no and then add the verb from the question. For instance, if someone asks me if I like TV series, I would say: “yes, I like“.

In a way, this is very similar to saying “Yes, I do.” But as I’ve mentioned above, there is no “do you…” or “don’t you…” in Portuguese.

Querem ir ao cinema? (You (all) want to go to the cinema?/Do you (all) want to go to the cinema?)

Sim, queremos. (Yes, we want. /Yes, we do)

O John gosta de Bacalhau? (Does John like cod?)

Sim, gosta. (Yes, he likes. /Yes, he does)

Answering no

When answering ‘no’ in Portuguese, remember that Portuguese uses double negatives. This is important as it can lead to misunderstandings.

So you’ll end up with “Não, não” at the start of your answer. The reason is that the first não means no, and the second não means not. Not including the second não can turn your answer into a yes statement.

question

O John gosta de Bacalhau, não gosta? (John likes cod, doesn’t he?)

possible answers

Não, não gosta. (No, he doesn’t)

Sim, gosta. (yes he does)

statement plus question tag

O John não gosta de Bacalhau, pois não? (John doesn’t like cod, does he?)

possible answers

Não, não gosta. (No, he doesn’t)

Sim, ele gosta. (Yes, he likes)

Sim, gosta sim. (Yes, he does)

Não. Gosta. (No. He does.)*make sure you pause, otherwise, it will sound like “não gosta” = “he doesn’t like.”

Free Practice Quiz

Well done for making it over the second part! I’ve prepared another quiz to help you cement these new concepts!