bom
/ˈbõ/masculine
The English word "good" is translated into Portuguese as bom when used as an adjective meaning pleasant or enjoyable.
bom is used as an adjective to describe something that is pleasant, enjoyable or of high quality.
Meaning: pleasant, enjoyable (adj)
Which one should you use?
Use bom or its variations as an adjective to mean "pleasant" or "high quality," whereas the related word bem is an adverb meaning "well."
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The form of the adjective must match the gender and number of the noun it describes. The masculine singular form is bom. The feminine form is boa, which must be used when describing a feminine noun. For plural forms, use bons for masculine plural and boas for feminine plural.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈbõ/
Did you know?
- In some Portuguese slang, calling someone bom or boa is a common way to describe them as physically attractive or 'hot'.
- The word bom has a modern doublet in bónus. While bom evolved naturally from Latin, bónus was borrowed back into Portuguese from Latin later as a loanword.
- While bom means 'good', the phrase bom! can be used as a conversational filler similar to 'alright' or 'okay' to signal that a speaker is moving to a new topic.
Examples in context
- É bom te ver.It is good to see you.This sentence is useful for expressing pleasure at seeing someone using bom.Tatoeba #1592080 by alexmarcelo, translation #1587304 by Spamster
- É bom, não é?That's good, isn't it?This sentence is useful for confirming 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 is useful for describing the quality of a cake using bom.Tatoeba #1322815 by alexmarcelo, translation #707874 by KasperNymand
- O trabalho que você realizou é muito bom.The work you've done is very good.
- Essas são boas notícias.These are good news.
- O serviço prestado foi excelente.The service provided was excellent.
- A viagem foi ótima!The trip was great!
- Que legal encontrar você aqui!How nice to meet you here!
- A festa ontem foi muito bacana!The party yesterday was really nice!
- A praia estava show hoje!The beach was awesome today!
- 1696 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mariana and Felipe are talking about a movie they just watched.
- MarianaO filme foi muito bom!The movie was very good!
- FelipeEu também achei ótimo.I also thought it was great.
- MarianaO final foi um bom toque.The ending was a good touch.
- FelipeSim, foi surpreendente.Yes, it was surprising.
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.
