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Em português brasileiro ninguem pergunta, como você vai? Perguntam "como vai você"?
'how are you going' for 'how are you' is commonly used in australia so should be accepted in my opinion
Normally "how are you doing".
It can mean "how do you go" as well, referring to which transport will you choose.
I believe "como vai (voce)?" is more commonly used in Br-PT. It is also less formal than "como voce vai?" Courtesy of Paulenrique...
It's common to shorten it to just "como vai?" So saying "como vai você" ends up feeling/sounding more natural
This actually really confused me at first, but seeing as how in other english speaking countries, "how are you going" is a way to ask how are you, it makes sense. I live in America, and the closest to that which we say is "How's it going?". More often though, "How are you doing?".
Just out of interest, "como esta" would mean the same thing? Woud this ever be mixed in with "vai", for example "como esta vai?"
You can say as a greeting, "How's it going." How are you going doesn't sound right in English.
"How are you going?" is standard New Zealand English, also "How are ya?" 4wiw.
I though then you'd say boa noite. When it's dark. Thank you, djeidot!
I think the general rule is before 5, it's boa tarde. after 5 it's boa noite. but nobody's going to check their watch and correct you of course. haha.
Most of Brazil is close to the equator. So the sun sets about the same time every day. When we lived in Porto Velho, 8 degrees off the equator, the sun always set around 6:30 year-round. We could tell time by the sun, especially tarde/noite. In North American and Great Britain, days are longer in the summer and shorter in the winter, so we go by the clock rather than the sun to decide when to say Good afternoon/evening.
In Portugal it is a bit different. Several agree that it is, "Boa Tarde" until you have had dinner which is often served at 8pm (20h00) or even later, no matter how light or dark it is.
Of course in the US there is actually a separation in, "Good Evening" and "Good Night" with evening being between 6pm-ish and 10-ish but the first is more of a greeting while the latter is a valediction when leaving.
Meanwhile, "Bom Dia" (Good Day) in Portugal is for mornings and not after lunch, which those in the US might say all day (though again when leaving – Paul Harvey made this really popular) with, "Good Morning" being the early greeting.
The main thing is that the world does not end if we use the greetings outside their prescribe times. Most listeners get it, and understand about learning curves (often being flattered you are trying).
Not quite. Vai = go, sai = leave (3rd person singular) . However, 'como vai' is an idiom that doesn't translate literally. The closest we have in English is the slang "How's it going?"
