How to use ‘por’ vs. ‘para’ in Brazilian Portuguese?

In Brazilian Portuguese, both por and para are common prepositions that look and sound similar to one another and that can sometimes be translated into English using the same words. However, por and para are not used exactly the same way. Usually…

• para means “to,” “toward,” or “for”

• por means “for,” “by,” or “through”

In this post, we’ll review how to use these prepositions, the contractions that can be made with por and para, how to select the appropriate preposition to use, and the individual uses of por and para. Let's go!

Before we look at the differences between the uses of por and para, let’s make sure you can tell them apart in all their forms. Like many other Brazilian Portuguese prepositions, por and para can form contractions with the definite article (o, a, os, as). Sometimes these contractions can make it hard for language learners to figure out whether they’re looking at por + definite article or para + definite article. Let’s review!

Here are some examples:

• por + definite article

  Nós acordamos pelas 8 horas e caminhamos pelo parque.

  Translation: We woke up at around 8 am and walked through the park.
• para + definite article

  Ana viajou pro Rio de Janeiro e trouxe esse presente pra você.

  Translation: Ana traveled to Rio de Janeiro and brought this gift for you.

The preposition por means “because” or “because of” when it is used to explain the reason why something is done, while para means “to” or “in order to” and describes the purpose or goal of something.

The best way to determine whether you need to use por or para is to ask yourself: Do you want to know por que (meaning why) or para que (meaning for what)?

• por (meaning because of) → describes the cause of a situation

  • Os sócios discutiram por problemas financeiros.

    Translation: The partners argued because of financial problems.
  • A apresentação foi interrompida por problemas técnicos.

    Translation: The presentation was interrupted because of technical problems.

  In this use, por can be replaced by the expression por causa de (meaning because of):

  A apresentação foi interrompida por causa de problemas técnicos.

  Translation: The presentation was interrupted because of technical problems.

  If you want to give a reason or cause for an action that contains a conjugated verb, you’ll want to use the conjunction porque (meaning because), instead of por:

  • Ele parou no restaurante por estar com fome.

    Translation: He stopped at the restaurant due to being hungry.

    Use por before infinitive verbs (estar) or noun phrases
  • Ele parou no restaurante porque está com fome.

    Translation: He stopped at the restaurant because he was hungry.

    Use porque before conjugated verbs, like está

• para (meaning to, in order to) → gives the purpose or goal or ideal outcome of an action

  • Luísa saiu para fazer compras.

    Translation: Luísa went out to go shopping.
  • Ele faz exercícios para se manter em boa forma.

    Translation: He does exercises to keep in good shape.
  • Hoje eu vou ficar em casa para estudar mais.

    Translation: Today I will stay at home in order to study more.

Both por and para can be used as prepositions of movement, but por (meaning through, around, via) refers to the way or route of the movement, while para (meaning to, toward) describes the direction or final destination of the movement.

• Por → the way to or means of access to a place (“through,” “around,” “via”)

  • Este ônibus passa pelo centro da cidade.

    Translation: This bus passes through the city center.
  • O gato entrou pela janela.

    Translation: The cat came in through the window.

• Para → the direction or final destination (“to” or “toward”)

  • Esse ônibus vai para o centro da cidade?

    Translation: Does this bus go toward the city center?

    direction
  • Nós vamos para a praia amanhã.

    Translation: We are going to the beach tomorrow.

    final destination

In the example below, both por and para are used as prepositions of movement, but notice how the two are functionally different:

Both por and para can be used as prepositions of time in Brazilian Portuguese, but por is used for duration, approximate time, and expressions of frequency, while para is used for deadlines and to anticipate the coming hour.

• Por is used for…

  1. Duration of time (“for” + amount of time):

     Por quanto tempo vocês viajaram? Viajamos por duas semanas.

     Translation: How long did you travel? We traveled for two weeks.

  2. Approximate time (“at around” + time):

     Ela vai chegar pelas duas da tarde.

     Translation: She will arrive at around two in the afternoon.

  3. Expressions of frequency and speed (“per” + time unit):

     • Ana vai à academia duas vezes por semana.

       Translation: Ana goes to the gym two times per week.
     • Carla está dirigindo a 60 quilômetros por hora.

       Translation: Carla is driving at 60 kilometers per hour.

• Para is used for…

  1. Deadlines (“for” + deadline):

     Speaker A:

     Para quando é esse trabalho?

     Translation: When is this job due?

     Speaker B:

     É para amanhã!

     Translation: It’s for tomorrow!

  2. The number of minutes remaining before the next hour (“to” + hour”):

     São quinze para às dez.

     Translation: It’s fifteen to ten.

     Check out our post on how to tell time in Brazilian Portuguese to learn more!

In addition to the uses above, the preposition por can be used with numbers and quantities, prices and purchases, agents in the passive voice, exchanges of something, and means. Now, let’s see some examples.

• Numbers and quantities

  • Dimensions (dimension 1 + “by” + dimension 2)

    Ele tirou uma foto três por quatro (3x4).

    Translation: He took a three by four photo.

  • Ratios (numerator + “per” + denominator)

    A taxa de juros é de 10 por cento.

    Translation: The interest rate is ten percent.

  • Multiplication (number 1 + “times” + number 2)

    Cinco por dois é igual a 10.

    Translation: Five times two is equal to ten.

• Prices and purchases (“for” + amount of money)

  • Eles estão vendendo o carro por vinte mil.

    Translation: They are selling the car for twenty thousand.
  • Comprei essas frutas pela metade do preço.

    Translation: I bought these fruits for half of the price.

• Agent in passive voice (“by” + agent)

  Este livro foi escrito por Jorge Amado.

  Translation: This book was written by Jorge Amado.

• Exchange of something (“for” + item exchanged)

  Eu troquei a camisa pela camiseta.

  Translation: I exchanged the shirt for the t-shirt.

• Holding on to something (“by” + thing grabbed)

  O bebê me agarrou pelo cabelo.

  Translation: The baby grabbed me by the hair.

• Means of communication (“by”/“via” + means of communication)

  • Ana e Cláudia conversam todos os dias por telefone.

    Translation: Ana and Cláudia talk everyday by phone.
  • Nós nos falamos pelo WhatsApp todos os dias.

    Translation: We talk via WhatsApp everyday.

The preposition para can also be used to refer to the purpose of an item, the designated recipient of something, employment, and opinions. Check out these examples:

• To explain what something is used for (para + infinitive = “for” + use)

  infinitive

  A caneta serve para escrever.

  Translation: The pen is for writing.

• Designated recipient → when something is intended for someone, such as a gift, an order, or a gesture

  • Comprei um presente para o meu irmão.

    Translation: I bought a gift for my brother.
  • O pai esquentou a sopa para a filha.

    Translation: The father heated the soup for the daughter.

• Employment (“for” + employer)

  O meu irmão trabalha para uma empresa brasileira.

  Translation: My brother works for a Brazilian company.

• To express an opinion (“according to” + holder of opinion)

  We use para followed by a stressed pronoun or a name to express an opinion with the meaning of “according to…” This is also equivalent to na minha opinião… (meaning in my opinion…).

  Para mim, os problemas ainda existem.

  Translation: According to me, the problems still exist.

In this post, we learned about the major differences between the prepositions por and para. We saw that…

• Por must contract with the definite article, while para can informally contract

• Por is used to give a reason, whereas para can express the purpose of something

• Por describes the way or route of movement, but para refers to the direction or final destination of the movement

• Por is used as a preposition of time more often than para, which is only used for deadlines and to express how many minutes there are until the next hour

• Por and para each have their own additional uses

To review what we covered here, check out this summary of the main differences between por and para in Brazilian Portuguese. Or, if you’re ready, try our activities to practice using the prepositions por and para!