What are the most difficult verbs to learn in Brazilian Portuguese?

The verbs ser and estar are at the top of our list of confusing verbs in Brazilian Portuguese. Both verbs mean “to be,” but they are used in different contexts:

• Ser is used for long lasting or permanent states and characteristics:

  Sabrina é médica.

  Translation: Sabrina is a doctor.

• Estar is used for temporary or situational states:

  As crianças estão cansadas.

  Translation: The children are tired.

There are many nuances and particularities that make us choose one verb instead of another. If you are curious to know more about these two verbs, check out our post on ser vs. estar in Brazilian Portuguese .

The verbs saber and conhecer are also very confusing, since both mean “to know.” But don’t worry, because they are used in very different circumstances in Brazilian Portuguese:

• Saber refers to knowing information or how to do something:

  • Você sabe se essa loja abre aos domingos?

    Translation: Do you know if this shop is open on Sundays?
  • Maria e seu irmão sabem falar inglês.

    Translation: Maria and her brother know how to speak English.

• Conhecer means to be familiar with someone or something:

  • Você conhece a irmã do Pedro?

    Translation: Do you know Pedro’s sister?
  • Eu conheço a cidade de São Paulo.

    Translation: I am familiar with the city of São Paulo.

These two verbs are very important and often used. For that reason, we talk more about them in this post about modal verbs in Brazilian Portuguese.

The verbs achar and pensar have very similar meanings, as they both mean “to think.” But like the verbs above, they are used in different contexts:

• Achar expresses an opinion, uncertainty and supposition:

  Eu acho que o verão é melhor do que o inverno.

  Translation: I think that summer is better than winter.

• Pensar refers to the act of thinking or reflecting about something, or having thoughts.

  Estou pensando em viajar para o Brasil.

  Translation: I am thinking about traveling to Brazil.

Achar and encontrar both mean “to find.” They can often be used interchangeably in Brazilian Portuguese, but they do have a very subtle difference. They may or may not indicate a purposeful action. Let’s talk more about this below:

• Achar means “to find” something or someone, even if you were not intentionally looking:

  Achei minha carteira na mesa da cozinha.

  Translation: I found my wallet on the kitchen’s table.

• Encontrar means to find something or someone as a result of intentionally looking:

  Encontramos finalmente o ingrediente que faltava.

  Translation: We finally found the missing ingredient.

The verbs ver (meaning to see) and olhar (meaning to look) both relate to the sense of sight, but they are used in slightly distinct situations:

• Ver means “to see” and refers to the general act of perceiving something visually, whether intentional or unintentional:

  Eu consigo ver as montanhas daqui.

  Translation: I can see the mountains from here.

• Olhar means “to look (at)” or “to gaze (at).” In relation to ver, olhar implies a more intentional or focused act of directing your attention to something visually:

  Vou olhar o pôr do sol da janela.

  Translation: I’m going to look at the sunset from the window.

Both pegar and apanhar can both mean “to pick (up),” but pegar is more similar in meaning to “to grab” or “to pick up (physically)” in English, while apanhar is more close to “to collect” or “to pick/pluck (fruit, flowers, etc.).” For this reason, the two can be confused and sometimes it is challenging to know which one to use.

• Milena, você pode pegar essa caixa para mim?

  Translation: Milena, can you grab/pick up this box for me?
• Milena, você pode apanhar flores no jardim?

  Translation: Milena, can you pick flowers in the garden?

The verbs levar and trazer are both used to describe the act of transporting something from one place to another. However, their use depends on the direction of the movement:

• Levar means “to take,” “to carry,” or “to transport” something or someone away from you:

  Vou levar minha filha para a escola.

  Translation: I will take my daughter to school.

• Trazer means “to bring,” “to carry,” or “to transport” something or someone with you somewhere:

  Vou trazer os documentos aqui para você assinar.

  Translation: I will bring the documents here for you to sign.

When we talk about drinking, the verbs beber and tomar are synonyms and can be used interchangeably.

However, beber and tomar can have slightly different meanings when referring to liquid-like foods that are not beverages. Whereas beber is always only used with the meaning of “to drink,” tomar (which also can mean “to drink”) can also be used to refer to the intake specific types of food, such as soup and ice-cream:

• Vamos tomar um sorvete?

  Translation: Let’s eat some ice-cream?
• Hoje tomamos uma sopa muito saborosa.

  Translation: Today we ate a very tasty soup.

The verbs pedir and perguntar can be confusing not only because they look alike, but also because both involve the action of asking. However, they have slightly different uses. Let’s take a look:

• Pedir means “to ask for” or “to request” something:

  Mário pediu à Marcela um favor.

  Translation: Mário asked Marcela for a favor.

• Perguntar means “to ask a question”:

  Olá. Posso te perguntar uma coisa?

  Translation: Hello. Can I ask you something?

The verbs falar, dizer, and contar are all related to communication, but they are used in slightly different ways and have distinct nuances in meanings:

• Falar means “to speak” or “to talk.” It refers to the act of using words to communicate verbally:

  Eu falo português com os meus pais e inglês com os meus amigos estrangeiros.

  Translation: I speak Portuguese with my parents, and English with my foreign friends.

• Dizer means “to say” or “to tell.” It is used when you want to convey a specific message, statement, or information that someone has said or communicated:

  Marta disse que vai chegar mais tarde.

  Translation: Marta said she will arrive later.

• Contarmeans “to tell” or “to narrate.” It’s used when you want to recount or relate a story, an event, or a series of connected facts:

  Os alunos contaram histórias engraçadas sobre suas férias.

  Translation: The students told funny stories about their vacations.

In Brazilian Portuguese, andar and caminhar are often used interchangeably for “to walk,” but there are subtle differences in their usage:

• Andarmeans “to walk,” and it’s a more general and versatile term used to describe the action of moving on foot:

  Eu gosto de andar no parque todas as manhãs.

  Translation: I like to walk in the park every morning.

• Caminhar also means “to walk.” However, it can imply a more purposeful, intentional, or leisurely stroll. It’s often used to emphasize a deliberate walking activity:

  Vamos caminhar à beira-mar no fim de semana.

  Translation: Let’s walk along the seaside on the weekend.

Both the verbs pôr and colocar mean “to put” or “to place,” and they can be used interchangeably. However, they have different levels of formality:

• Pôr is a more general term for “to put” or “to place.” It’s commonly used in everyday situations to describe the action of putting something in a certain location or position.

  É hora de pôr as malas no carro.

  Translation: It’s time to put the baggage in the car.

• Colocar is a more formal verb for “to put” or “to place.” It’s often used in written and formal contexts:

  Onde você colocou as chaves?

  Translation: Where did you put the keys?

The verb pôr can also be found in numerous idiomatic expressions in Brazilian Portuguese. To learn some, have a look at this list of common phrases with pôr.

The verbs decidir and resolver can be confusing because both are related to making decisions or solving problems. Let’s see below how they are used in different circumstances:

• Decidir means “to decide,” and it refers to the act of making a choice or reaching a conclusion after considering various options or possibilities:

  Eu decidi estudar engenharia.

  Translation: I decided to study engineering.

• Resolver means “to solve” or “to resolve.” It’s used when dealing with a problem, challenge, or situation that requires finding a solution or making a decision to overcome it:

  Precisamos resolver esse problema rapidamente.

  Translation: We need to solve this problem quickly.

Both amar and gostar express positive feelings and can be used to show affection for something or someone. They do, however, demonstrate a different intensity of affection:

• Amarmeans “to love”:

  Sandra ama a sua família.

  Translation: Sandra loves her family.

• Gostar means “to like”:

  Minha filha gosta de assistir desenhos animados.

  Translation: My daughter likes to watch cartoons.

Some people may think that the verbs ouvir and escutar are synonyms, because they are used to refer to hearing. However, they are needed in different situations:

• Ouvir means “to hear” and is used to express a passive perception:

  Eu ouvi um barulho estranho.

  Translation: I heard a strange noise.

• Escutar means “to listen (to)” and is used to express an active attention:

  Escutamos a música da banda.

  Translation: We listened to the music of the band.

The verbs chegar and partir are related to arriving and leaving, respectively.

• Chegar means “to arrive” or “to land”:

  O avião chegou dez minutos atrasado.

  Translation: The plane landed ten minutes late.

• Partir means “to leave” or “to depart”:

  O trem vai partir às 15h.

  Translation: The train will depart at 3 pm.

The verbs entrar and sair can be tricky, because both are related to movement. However, they indicate different directions, as we can see below:

• Entrar means “to enter” or “to get inside”:

  Vamos entrar em casa? Está chovendo.

  Translation: Shall we get inside home? It is raining.

• Sair means “to exit” or “to leave”:

  Marcela saiu do trabalho mais cedo hoje.

  Translation: Marcela left work earlier today.

These verbs can also be mixed up, because they are used to refer to transactions. However, they have opposite meanings:

• Comprar means “to buy”:

  Eu preciso comprar um livro novo.

  Translation: I need to buy a new book.

• Vender means “to sell”:

  Minha amiga quer vender sua bicicleta antiga.

  Translation: My friend is selling her old bicycle.

Both verbs are related to sleep, but let’s take a look below at their different meanings:

• Dormir means “to sleep”:

  Eu gosto de dormir tarde aos sábados.

  Translation: I like to sleep late on Saturdays.

• Acordar means “to wake up”:

  Maria acorda cedo todos os dias.

  Translation: Maria wakes up early every day.

Although both verbs carry a meaning of movement, they express different directions. Let’s see:

• Ir means “to go” and indicates a movement away:

  Fui ao Brasil no ano passado.

  Translation: I went to Brazil last year.

• Vir means “to come” and indicates a movement of approach:

  Minha amiga virá aqui nas férias.

  Translation: My friend will come here during vacation.