bastante dar importância

Using this phrase is like building a small LEGO set. You start with the verb dar, which you need to conjugate based on who is doing the caring (e.g., eu dou, você dá, nós damos). Then comes your intensifier, bastante, and finally the noun importância. Crucially, you need a bridge to connect it to the object of your attention. We usually use the prepositions a or para. For example, Eu dou bastante importância à minha saúde (I give a lot of importance to my health). It works just as well for abstract concepts like 'opinions' as it does for physical things like 'punctuality.' Just remember: bastante usually sits between the verb and the noun to sound most natural, even though Portuguese word order can be flexible when you're feeling poetic.

Let’s look at a modern WhatsApp scenario. Your friend leaves you on 'read' (the dreaded blue ticks). You might tell another friend, "Eu não deveria dar bastante importância a isso, mas me irrita!" (I shouldn't give so much importance to this, but it bugs me!). Or think about a job interview on Zoom. The recruiter might say, "Damos bastante importância à pontualidade" (We give a lot of importance to punctuality). In the world of social media, you’ll see influencers talking about dar importância to mental health or sustainability. It’s a versatile phrase that pops up everywhere from deep heart-to-hearts to corporate mission statements. It’s the 'VIP pass' of Portuguese vocabulary—it decides who gets into the club of your concerns.

You should pull this phrase out when you want to express value or concern. It’s perfect for discussing your priorities in life, like family, career, or that specific way your grandma makes coffee. It’s also great for giving advice. If a friend is crying over a TikTok hater, you might tell them, "Não dê bastante importância a ele" (Don't give him so much importance). It shows you understand the emotional weight of the situation. Use it in professional settings to show what your company values, or in romantic settings to tell someone that their feelings actually matter to you. It’s a very 'human' phrase that bridges the gap between logic and feeling.

Avoid using this for trivial, physical tasks that don't involve value judgments. You wouldn't dar bastante importância to the act of brushing your teeth unless you’re having a very deep philosophical debate with your toothbrush. Also, be careful with the word bastante if the thing is actually life-or-death; in those cases, importância fundamental might be better. If you’re just 'paying attention' to a lecture, use prestar atenção instead. Dar importância implies a choice of values, while prestar atenção is just a sensory action. Don't use it if you're trying to be super casual or 'cool'—if you want to sound like you don't care at all, there are much slangier ways to say it (like não estou nem aí).

One of the biggest traps for English speakers is trying to say fazer importância because they are thinking of the English phrase "to make a big deal." In Portuguese, we don't 'make' importance; we 'give' it.

Another mistake is the word order. While you might see bastante at the start of a sentence in specific literary contexts, saying bastante dar importância sounds like a robot trying to pass a Turing test. Keep it as dar bastante importância. Also, don't forget the preposition! You can't just dar importância o livro; it has to be dar importância AO livro. It’s like trying to mail a letter without an address—it just won’t get where it’s going.

If you want to spice things up, you can use dar valor. This is very similar but feels a bit more about 'appreciation.' If you dá valor to someone, you appreciate their worth. Then there’s levar a sério (to take seriously), which is great for actions or threats. If someone says they’re going to quit their job, you ask, "Você está levando isso a sério?" For a more informal, 'street' vibe, use dar bola. If someone is flirting with you and you ignore them, you are não dando bola. It literally means 'not giving the ball,' as if you’ve decided not to play the game of interaction with them. Each one has a slightly different flavor of 'caring.'

You can swap out bastante for other intensifiers depending on how much drama you want to inject. Dar muita importância is the most common and standard version. If you want to be more formal, try dar grande importância. On the flip side, if you want to say something doesn't matter, you use não dar nenhuma importância (to give no importance at all) or dar pouca importância (to give little importance). You can also change the noun to relevância in a professional report: dar bastante relevância a este fato. It’s like a volume knob—you can turn it from a whisper to a stadium rock concert just by changing one word.

Is bastante stronger than muito? Not necessarily; they are often used interchangeably, but bastante can sometimes feel 'sufficiently large' rather than 'infinitely large.' Can I use this for people? Yes! Eu dou bastante importância aos meus amigos means they are a top priority for you. Is it formal? It’s neutral. You can use it with your boss or your best friend. Why 'give' and not 'have'? Because 'importance' isn't something a thing *possesses* in a vacuum; it’s something we *assign* to it through our perspective. If nobody 'gives' it importance, does it even have any? (That’s a question for your next coffee shop philosophy session).