Hello, dear students!
In this lesson, you’re going to learn 15 verbs that are very commonly used in Brazil but don’t have a direct translation into English.
To express the same idea in English, we’d need to use several words.
Learning to use these verbs will allow you to speak Portuguese more naturally.
This lesson comes with a free worksheet with the list of words, examples, and exercises to help you memorize the vocabulary. Click here to download your worksheet.
15 verbs that don’t exist in English
1. Apaixonar-se
It means to feel passion for someone or something.
For example:
Eles se apaixonaram na faculdade. (They fell in love in college.)
Eu me apaixonei por essa cidade. (I fell in love with this city.)
Quando eu comecei a estudar português, eu me apaixonei pela língua. (When I started studying Portuguese, I fell in love with the language.)
Eu me apaixonei por ela instantaneamente. (I fell in love with her instantly)
2. Combinar
It means to set something up or agree on something with another person. It’s a verb more often used among friends, much less formal than the verb “to plan.”
For example:
Combinei de encontrar minha amiga às 7 horas. (I made plans to meet my friend at 7.)
Não posso ir, porque já combinei com minha irmã de ir ao cinema com ela. (I can’t go, because I already arranged with my sister to go to the movies with her.)
Nós combinamos de dividir os gastos da viagem. (We agreed to split the travel expenses.)
We also use the term “combinado” to agree to do something. For example:
A: Vamos tomar um café depois da aula? (Shall we have coffee tomorrow after class?)
B: Combinado! (Deal!)
3. Demorar
It means to take a long time.
For example:
Ele demorou para responder a mensagem. (He took a long time to reply to the message.)
A comida demorou para chegar. (The food took a long time to arrive.)
O ônibus demorou meia hora para chegar. (The bus took half an hour to arrive.)
Ela sempre demora para se arrumar. (She always takes a long time to get ready.)
4. Desabafar
It means to talk about our problems to relieve an emotional burden.
For example:
Joana desabafou comigo sobre os problemas no trabalho. (Joana opened up to me about her problems at work.)
É importante ter um amigo com quem você possa desabafar. (It’s important to have a friend you can confide in.)
Ele ligou só para desabafar comigo. (He called just to vent to me.)
Se precisar de alguém com quem possa desabafar, pode contar comigo. (If you need someone to talk to, you can count on me.)
5. Marcar
It means to schedule or set a specific date and time to do something. It can be something professional or personal.
For example:
Preciso marcar uma consulta com minha dentista. (I need to schedule an appointment with my dentist.)
Vamos marcar um café? (Want to meet up for coffee?)
Eles marcaram a data do casamento. (They set the wedding date.)
Eles conversaram bastante, mas até agora não marcaram um encontro. (They talked a lot, but so far they haven’t arranged a date.)
6. Passear
It means to go out for a walk just for leisure. You can also say “passear de carro” (go for a drive), that is, drive around somewhere just to enjoy the scenery or discover new places.
For example:
Eu adoro passear no parque. (I love going for a walk in the park.)
João levou Maria para passear de carro pela cidade. (João took Maria for a drive around the city.)
Vou passear com meu cachorro no parque. (I’m going to walk my dog in the park.)
Domingo é dia de passear com a família. (Sunday is family outing day.)
7. Topar
It means to accept a proposal or an invitation. It’s an informal term.
For example:
Eles toparam participar do projeto. (They agreed to take part in the project.)
A: Você topa comer comida italiana hoje? (Are you up for some Italian food today?)
B: Topo. (I’m in./I’m down)
Vocês topam jantar fora hoje? (Are you guys up for dining out today?)
Ele topou viajar de última hora. (He agreed to travel at the last minute.)
8. Cursar
It means to attend a certain university or to take a certain course or program, usually at universities.
For example:
Estou cursando Linguística Aplicada na Universidade de Columbia. (I’m studying Applied Linguistics at Columbia University.)
Maria quer cursar Letras na USP. (Maria wants to major in Literature at USP.)
Meu irmão vai cursar Direito no próximo ano. (My brother will study Law next year.)
Estou cursando Engenharia Civil. (I’m pursuing a degree in Civil Engineering.)
9. Arrasar
In the past, the most common meaning of this verb was “destruir”(to destroy) or “danificar” (to damage).
Today, this verb is very commonly used in informal language to say that someone did something really well, with a lot of success.
For example:
Maria arrasou na apresentação! (Maria did amazing in the presentation!)
Ela sempre arrasa no look. (She always nails her outfit.)
Você vai arrasar na entrevista! (You’re going to crush it in the interview!)
If you want to compliment someone and say they did something really well, you can simply say:
Arrasou! (You crushed it!)
10. Atrapalhar
It means to bother or to get confused.
For example:
Desculpe, não quero atrapalhar. (I’m sorry, I don’t want to bother you.)
Eu me atrapalhei com os horários e cheguei atrasada para a aula. (I got mixed up with the times and arrived late to class.)
O barulho da rua atrapalhou meu sono. (The street noise disturbed my sleep.)
A chuva atrapalhou o passeio. (The rain spoiled the outing.)
11. Agasalhar-se
It means to put on warm clothes to protect yourself from the cold.
For example:
Eu me agasalhei antes de sair. (I wrapped up before going out.)
As crianças precisam se agasalhar bem no inverno. (The children need to bundle up well in the winter.)
Sempre me agasalho quando viajo para o sul. (I always put on warm clothes when I travel to the south.)
Os turistas não se agasalharam e passaram frio. (The tourists didn’t dress warmly and felt cold.)
12. Aproveitar
It means to take advantage of someone or a situation. It can have either a positive or a negative meaning.
For example:
Eu aproveitei as férias para descansar. (I took advantage of the vacation to rest.)
Pedro se aproveitou da ingenuidade de sua amiga. (Pedro took advantage of his friend’s naivety.)
Eles aproveitaram a promoção para comprar livros. (They took advantage of the sale to buy books.)
Vou aproveitar que está sol e calor para lavar roupas. (I’m going to take advantage of the sun and heat to wash clothes.)
We also often use this verb in the imperative to wish that someone makes the most of a situation. For example:
A: Vou viajar ao Brasil. (I’m going to travel to Brazil.)
B: Que legal! Aproveite! (That’s great! Enjoy!)
13. Despedir-se
It means to say goodbye to someone before leaving.
For example:
Depois do jantar, nos despedimos e fomos para casa. (After dinner, we said goodbye and went home.)
Os alunos se despediram do professor. (The students said goodbye to the teacher.)
Eles se despediram no aeroporto. (They said goodbye at the airport.)
Vou me despedir de todos na sexta-feira, porque me mudo para o Brasil na semana que vem! (I’ll say goodbye to everyone on Friday, because I’m moving to Brazil next week!)
14. Entreolhar
It means to look at each other. It’s a reciprocal action.
For example:
Os amigos se entreolharam e começaram a rir. (The friends looked at each other and started laughing.)
O casal se entreolhou apaixonado. (The couple looked at each other in love.)
Eles se entreolharam em silêncio. (They looked at each other in silence.)
As irmãs se entreolharam com cumplicidade. (The sisters looked at each other knowingly.)
15. Estranhar
It means to find something strange or not get used to something new.
For example:
Carlos estranhou não receber notícias dos seus pais. (Carlos found it odd not to hear from his parents.)
Carol está estranhando os costumes do seu novo país. (Carol is having a hard time getting used to the customs of her new country.)
Estranhei que você não me ligou ontem. (I found it strange that you didn’t call me yesterday.)
Quando chegaram no Brasil, estranharam o calor intenso. (When they arrived in Brazil, they were surprised by the intense heat).
Free Worksheet
This lesson comes with a free worksheet with the list of words, examples, and exercises to help you memorize the vocabulary. Click here to download your worksheet.
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