Mesmo in Portuguese

By James Hall / / (2) Beginning Portuguese
Mesmo in Portuguese
One of the first things you'll notice in Brazil is the word "mesmo." You'll hear it everywhere! The most common uses are as "really" to emphasize; as "even though" (triggering the subjunctive); and as "the same". This post will show how to use " mesmo", and when it needs to become "mesma" 😉

But mesmo/mesma is not one of those words that can mean just about anything depending on the situation!

Mesmo in Portuguese has several well-defined usages.

É mesmo? ➜ Is that so? / Really?

Isn't that something? You get the idea.

MESMO in Portuguese can mean REALLY

É mesmo? É mesmo, sim.
Mesmo is great at conveying emphasis.

É bom mesmo! ➜ It's really good!

Really!!!
Almost the same as muito.

É muito bom (It's very good!)
É bom mesmo! (It's really good!)... Notice the word order. Using mesmo like this it comes after the bom. Can you just swap the muito for mesmo like this ☞ É muito mesmo bom! --? Sim, pode. BUT get into the habit of saying, É bom mesmo! That's by, far the preferred word sequence.

É ele mesmo! (É ela mesma!) || Eu me sinto bem mesmo! || Sou eu mesmo (Sou eu mesma!)

MESMO in Portuguese can also mean EVEN THOUGH

Mesmo que seja tarde ➜ Even though it's late

But watch out!
When mesmo is used together with que, it triggers the (present) subjunctive. That's because this sentence has a hypothetical sound to it. Even though it seems obvious to occur, it's still in the realm of possibility - not a done deal.

Even more great examples of mesmo + que (the present subjunctive) can be found on Linguee.pt.

MESMO in Portuguese can also mean THE SAME

Ao mesmo tempo. ➜ At the same time.
☞ Presta atenção (pay attention)!

The gender ending must agree with the subject. Like this:

É a mesma coisa. ➜ It's the same thing. (feminine)

Vamos almoçar no mesmo lugar. ➜ Let's lunch at the same place. (masculine)

Mnemonic: Imagine a guy named "Moe" that is really very "meh": the same as everyone else -MESMO (dull)

*In Rio de Janeiro you'll here it pronounced MEZzzHMU