mais ou menos
/ˈmajz o(w) ˈmẽ.nus/
The Portuguese phrase for 'so so' is mais ou menos.
mais ou menos is used to indicate that something is mediocre, neither very good nor very bad. It can also be used to mean 'approximately' or 'more or less' when referring to a quantity or degree.
What does it mean word for word?
Literally, mais ou menos translates to 'more or less'.
How do you pronounce it?
/ˈmajz o(w) ˈmẽ.nus/. The stress is on the first syllable of the first word.
Did you know?
- Using mais ou menos to answer Tudo bem? (Are you okay?) can signal to a native speaker that you are feeling slightly unwell or having a bad day without saying it explicitly.
- In casual Brazilian speech, mais ou menos is often shortened to just mais ou or signaled by a specific shrug and a facial expression that makes the words almost unnecessary.
- The word mais comes from the Latin magis, making it a distant relative of the English word 'more' through their shared Indo-European roots.
Examples in context
- Sua idéia é mais ou menos.Your idea is so-so.This sentence shows how to use mais ou menos to describe an idea.Tatoeba #8225302 by josivangoncalves, translation #8225518 by josivangoncalves
- A comida no restaurante do hotel é mais ou menos.The food at the hotel restaurant is so so.
- O atendimento na loja foi apenas regular.The service at the store was just so so.
- O filme que assisti ontem foi nem bom, nem ruim.The movie I watched yesterday was so so.
- O filme foi mais ou menos.The movie was so so.
- A comida do restaurante é mais ou menos.The restaurant's food is so so.
Example conversation
Felipe and Juliana are talking about a meal they just ate.
- FelipeO que você achou da comida, Juliana?What did you think of the food, Juliana?
- JulianaAchei mais ou menos. Não estava salgada.I thought it was so so. It wasn't salty.
- FelipeEu concordo, faltou tempero.I agree, it lacked seasoning.
- JulianaSim, vamos tentar outro restaurante na próxima.Yes, let's try another restaurant next time.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry mais ou menos, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries mais, menos, ou, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
