Agreeing & Disagreeing

Agreeing is easy. Disagreeing without being rude is the real skill. Brazilians rarely say "você está errado" ("you're wrong"). They say "olha, eu vejo de outro jeito" ("look, I see it another way"). The difference is everything.

The agreement ladder

Phrase	Strength
Acho que sim.	"I think so." — soft
Concordo.	"I agree." — neutral
É verdade.	"That's true." — affirming
Concordo plenamente.	"I fully agree." — strong
Você tirou as palavras da minha boca!	"You took the words out of my mouth!" — emphatic

The disagreement ladder

Phrase	Tone
Hmm, não sei não.	hesitant
Olha, eu vejo de outro jeito.	gentle
Por outro lado,…	balancing
Discordo.	firm
Pelo contrário!	strong contradiction

Match each English with its Portuguese

Choose the right register

A mini-debate between Marcos and Luana

Cloze — fill the discourse marker

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