You’ll probably come across the word pois a lot when learning European Portuguese. It can be confusing for non-native speakers because it’s used in many different contexts and can have a wide variety of translations.
Pois
Once you get the hang of it, pois is a very versatile word. It appears as a conjunction, an adverb, within many common expressions, and even as an “active listening” tool in conversations!
Pois as a Conjunction
A conjunction is a word that connects two clauses in a sentence. Pois can function as a conjunction, more specifically, as an explicative (explanatory) conjunction or as a conclusive conjunction.
As an explicative conjunction, pois indicates that you’re going to explain something, or give additional information. In those contexts, it’s a synonym for porquebecause , visto quesince, as long as , já queas, since , and others.
Os bombeiros não conseguem apagar o fogo, porque está muito vento.The fire brigade can’t put the fire out, because it’s very windy.
Os bombeiros não conseguem apagar o fogo, pois está muito vento.The fire brigade can’t put the fire out, because it’s very windy.
Eu não quero ir à festa, visto que ele vai.I don’t want to go to the party, since he’s going.
Eu não quero ir à festa, pois ele vai.I don’t want to go to the party, since he’s going.
As a conclusive conjunction, pois is frequently used to introduce a conclusion, similar to how we use portantoso, therefore and logoso .
A minha família vai se mudar para o estrangeiro, logo vou ter que mudar de escola.My family is moving abroad, so I’ll have to change schools.
A minha família vai se mudar para o estrangeiro, vou ter, pois, que mudar de escolaMy family is moving abroad, so I will have to change schools
You may have noticed that pois is placed at a different point in the sentence in the examples above. When offering an explanation, pois will come before the verb and after a comma. When concluding a thought, it will come after the verb and between 2 commas.
Pois as an Adverb
Pois is also used as an adverb, usually at the beginning of short answers, in order to emphasize the confirmation of something. It’s similar to realmenteindeed , de factoin fact, indeed , or na verdadeactually, in fact .
For example:
👵🏻 Gostas muito de chocolate!You(sing.,inf.) really like chocolate
🧑🏼🦱🍫 Pois gosto!Yes, I really do!
The use of pois adds emphasis to the verb gostar. You are confirming your love for chocolate to a high degree. Here are a couple more examples of how pois modifies a verb to confirm that action:
👩🏽 Tu bebes muito vinho, Sandra!You(sing.,inf.) drink a lot of wine, Sandra!
👩🏻🦱🍷 Pois bebo!Yeah, I do!
Sometimes it’s also possible to switch it up and put the adverb pois after the verb:
👤 Vocês estiveram no almoço da Maria?You(pl.) were at Maria's lunch?
👤👤👤 Estivemos pois!We sure were!
Pois Within Common Expressions
There are a number of common Portuguese expressions using pois. You will hear a lot of these in everyday speech.
For example, instead of just saying ClaroOf course , you can say Pois claroOf course to really emphasize that there’s no doubt!
At the pastry shop you might say…
😋Um bolo para mim também, pois claroA cake for me too, of course
Or when commenting on a friend…
😮 Ele chegou a casa e foi logo dormirHe arrived home and went straight to sleep
😏 Pois claro, estava cansadíssimoObviously, he was extremely tired
Another common expression is Pois éSo it is . This confirms that something is true and that you are in agreement with what has been said.
😍 Ela é muito linda!She is very beautiful
🥰 Pois é...She really is…
It’s also common to hear this phrase when someone just thought of something:
😮Pois é, esqueci-me de te dizer isto.Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you this.
You may hear Pois não?Right?, Do you? when someone asks you to confirm something:
😡Não queres levar porrada, pois não?You don’t want to get beaten up, do you?
😳Não vais cantar, pois não?You're not going to sing, are you?
🤔Isto não é uma ocasião especial, pois não?This isn't a special occasion, is it?
🤭Ela não foi visitar o ex marido, pois não?She didn’t go visit her ex-husband, did she?
Pois não can even be used ironically to express sarcasm:
😇Não se passa nada...There's nothing going on...
🙄Pois não...Yeah, sure...
Pois in Conversations
Finally, pois is often used as a sort of conversational “filler”, similar to “Okay, I understand”, “Right”, or an “Uh huh” / “Mm hmm”, as we so often use in English. Pois is something an active listener might say to keep the conversation going. It shows that you’re following the conversation, understanding what’s being said, and encouraging the speaker to keep talking.
For example:
🧑🏻🦱 Claro que eu não disse nada, não queria discutirObviously I didn't say anything, I didn't want to argue
🧑🏼🦱 PoisUh huh
🧑🏻🦱 Mas acho que ela ainda gosta do JoaquimBut I think she still likes Joaquim
🧑🏼🦱 Ah, pois, poisAh, I see
So, don’t be surprised if you hear the Portuguese using pois a lot… they’re probably in the middle of some juicy gossip. 🤭 😉