Which one should you use?
The forms bom and boa are adjectives used to describe the quality or pleasantness of something. In contrast, bem is an adverb meaning 'well'. Additionally, while bom/boa describes a quality, the noun bem refers to a piece of merchandise and vantagem refers to a good result.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective must agree in gender and number with the noun it describes. Use bom for masculine singular nouns and boa for feminine singular nouns. For plural nouns, use bons for masculine plural and boas for feminine plural.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈbõ/
When do people say it?
Portuguese speakers use variations of these words for common greetings and expressions: Bom dia for 'Good morning', Boa tarde for 'Good afternoon' and Boa noite for 'Good evening' or 'Good night'. To ask if everything is okay or to say everything is fine, you can use Tudo bem. If you want to say something is 'cool' or 'good' in a casual sense, you might use Legal or use Ótimo for 'excellent' and Maravilhoso for 'wonderful'.
Did you know?
- In Brazil, the word legal is used as a casual synonym for bom to mean 'cool'. While its dictionary meaning is 'legal' or 'lawful', in daily speech it describes anything pleasant or awesome.
- The Portuguese word bom is a doublet of the word bónus. While bom evolved naturally from Latin, bónus was borrowed back into the language later as a separate loanword.
- In many Portuguese-speaking cultures, a 'good' greeting like Bom dia is often accompanied by a physical gesture such as a handshake or a kiss on the cheek, depending on the level of intimacy.
Examples in context
- É bom te ver.It is good to see you.This sentence shows how to express that seeing someone is a pleasant experience using bom.Tatoeba #1592080 by alexmarcelo, translation #1587304 by Spamster
- É bom, não é?That's good, isn't it?This sentence is a way to confirm that something is good using bom.Tatoeba #3490255 by piterkeo, translation #435579 by CK
- É um bom bolo.It is a good cake.This sentence describes a cake that is of high quality using bom.Tatoeba #1322815 by alexmarcelo, translation #707874 by KasperNymand
- 1696 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Camila and Rodrigo are talking about a movie they just watched.
- CamilaVocê gostou do filme?Did you like the movie?
- RodrigoSim, achei o roteiro muito bom.Yes, I thought the script was very good.
- CamilaEu também achei a história ótima.I also thought the story was great.
- RodrigoFoi um bom momento para relaxar.It was a good moment to relax.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “good” translations and entries bom, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bom, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
