What does it mean word for word?
Literally, the phrase translates to "that good to see you".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Que bom ver você is suitable for informal or standard friendly interactions. For a more formal and polite way to say "good to see you", you can use É bom vê-lo(a). If you want to express more emotion, Fico feliz em vê-lo(a) can be used in formal contexts to mean "I'm happy to see you". In very formal or respectful situations, you can replace você with o senhor for a man or a senhora for a woman, resulting in que bom ver o senhor or que bom ver a senhora. In informal settings with friends or people you have a close relationship with, you can use Que bom te ver or the even more casual Bacana te ver, which is similar to saying "cool to see you".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Brazilian Portuguese, it is common to say Legal te rever or Bom te ver de novo to mean "Nice to see you again".
How does it change in a sentence?
In this context, the word que functions as an intensifier, similar to how "how" or "so" is used in English.
How do you pronounce it?
/ki ˈbõ ˈve(ʁ) voˈse/
Did you know?
- The word você actually began as a highly respectful title. It is a shortened contraction of vossa mercee, which literally means 'your mercy'.
- When saying que bom ver você in Brazil, it is culturally common to accompany the phrase with a beijinho (a light kiss on the cheek) or a hug.
- The word legal in the phrase Legal te rever means 'cool' or 'nice', despite being the same word used for 'legal' in a courtroom.
Examples in context
- Que bom ver você!It's so good to see you.This sentence is useful for practicing the phrase que bom ver você.Tatoeba #9834096 by Ricardo14, translation #3818276 by CK
- É bom vê-lo novamente, Sr. Silva. Como tem passado?Good to see you again, Mr. Silva. How have you been?
- Que bom te ver! Quanto tempo!Good to see you! Long time no see!
- Legal te rever, cara! O que tem feito?Nice to see you again, dude! What have you been up to?
- Que bom ver você hoje!It is good to see you today!
- Oi, que bom ver você por aqui.Hi, it is good to see you around here.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Beatriz and Gabriel run into each other at a coffee shop.
- BeatrizOi, Gabriel! Que bom ver você!Hi, Gabriel! It is good to see you!
- GabrielOi, Beatriz! Que bom ver você também.Hi, Beatriz! It is good to see you too.
- BeatrizVocê está bem?Are you doing well?
- GabrielSim, estou muito bem, obrigado.Yes, I am very well, thank you.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (que, bom, ver, você) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bom, que, ver, você, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
