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Saying 'each other' in Portuguese with 'se' and 'nos'

English marks a two-way action with each other: they hugged each other, we met each other. Portuguese usually expresses this with a pronoun attached to the verb. It uses se for eles, elas and vocês, and nos for nós. So they kissed each other becomes beijaram-se, and we see each other becomes vemo-nos.

English speakers often leave the pronoun out, because English can just say they hugged or we met. In Portuguese, verbs like abraçar, beijar, ver and ajudar normally need an object. If you drop the pronoun, the listener is left waiting to hear who was hugged or helped.

Word list
ajudarA1 to help ajudam-se (uns aos outros) = they help each other amarA1 to love amam-se = they love each other conhecerA1 to meet conhecemo-nos em Lisboa = we met (each other) in Lisbon encontrar-seA1 to meet encontramo-nos = we met (each other) verA1 to see vemo-nos / nos vemos = we see each other adorarA2 to love adoram-se = they adore each other beijarA2 to kiss beijaram-se = they kissed (each other) detestarA2 to hate detestam-se = they can't stand each other odiarA2 to hate odeiam-se = they hate each other vemo-nos amanhãA2 see you tomorrow nos vemos amanhã = see you tomorrow (Brazil) abraçarB1 to hug abraçaram-se = they hugged each other cumprimentarB1 to greet cumprimentaram-se = they greeted each other saudarB1 to greet saudaram-se = they greeted each other (formal) respeitarB2 to respect respeitamo-nos = we respect each other
How it works

Take a verb that normally has an object, such as abraçar alguém (to hug someone). If the people in the subject are doing the action to one another, the object becomes se or nos. The subject must be plural, because it takes at least two people to do something to each other.

A Ana abraçou o Pedro.
(Ana hugged Pedro.)
Eles abraçaram-se e choraram.
(They hugged each other and cried.)

This does not mean the verb always needs se. The pronoun appears only when the meaning is each other. A rule of thumb: if the English sentence has each other, or could have it, add se or nos. Note one spelling change. With nós, the final -s of the verb drops before -nos: encontramos becomes encontramo-nos.

The words
Greetings and affection

Beijar, abraçar and cumprimentar describe actions that people typically do to one another.

Os dois beijaram-se no aeroporto.
(The two of them kissed at the airport.)
Os jogadores cumprimentaram-se antes do jogo.
(The players greeted each other before the match.)
Feelings

Amar, odiar and respeitar work the same way when the feeling goes in both directions.

Os meus pais amam-se muito.
(My parents love each other very much.)
Aqueles dois irmãos odeiam-se.
(Those two brothers hate each other.)
Na nossa equipa, respeitamo-nos.
(In our team, we respect each other.)
Meeting and seeing

Ver and encontrar-se are the everyday verbs for getting together, and the fixed phrase vemo-nos amanhã comes from ver.

Nós encontramo-nos ontem.
(We met yesterday.)
Já não nos vemos há anos.
(We haven't seen each other for years.)
Tchau, vemo-nos amanhã!
(Bye, see you tomorrow!)
Helping

Ajudar follows the same pattern.

Os vizinhos ajudam-se sempre.
(The neighbours always help each other.)

Other common verbs behave in the same way, such as cruzar-se (to cross paths) and separar-se (to split up).

Watch out
Each other or themselves?

The same se also means themselves. Usually the context makes the meaning clear. When it does not, add um ao outro (or uma à outra for two women, and uns aos outros for a group).

As duas irmãs ajudaram-se uma à outra.
(The two sisters helped each other.)
Brazilian word order

In Brazil, the pronoun normally goes before the verb: eles se abraçaram, nos vemos amanhã. The meaning is the same. Only the position changes.

Not every se verb means each other

Verbs like divorciar-se or casar-se always take a pronoun, even with a singular subject: divorciei-me. These are reflexive verbs, not verbs that mean each other.

Summary

When two or more people do something to one another, keep the verb's object slot filled with se (they, you all) or nos (we): abraçaram-se, encontramo-nos, vemo-nos amanhã. If the each other meaning could be confused with the reflexive one, add um ao outro.