100 most common Portuguese verbs

Ranked by how often each verb is actually spoken in films and TV series (Brazilian Portuguese), with the English meaning and a short example. Free to download for Anki, Quizlet, Excel or print.

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The list

100 verbs

#	Portuguese	English and example
1	serverb	to beEla é professora de inglês. She is an English teacher.
2	estarverb	to be (state, place)Eu estou muito cansado hoje. I am very tired today.
3	irverb	to goNós vamos ao cinema hoje. We are going to the movies today.
4	terverb	to haveVocê tem tempo agora? Do you have time now?
5	poderverb	can, to be able to, mayVocê pode me ajudar? Can you help me?
6	fazerverb	to do, to makeO que você vai fazer hoje? What are you going to do today?
7	saberverb	to knowEu não sei a resposta. I don't know the answer.
8	quererverb	to wantEu quero ir para casa. I want to go home.
9	dizerverb	to say, to tellO que ela disse para você? What did she say to you?
10	acharverb	to think, to findEu acho que ele tem razão. I think he is right.
11	ververb	to seeEu não vejo nada aqui. I don't see anything here.
12	ficarverb	to stay, to becomeVocê pode ficar aqui hoje. You can stay here today.
13	haververb	there to be, to have (auxiliary)Há um problema aqui. There is a problem here.
14	deververb	must, should, to oweVocê deve falar com ele. You should talk to him.
15	falarverb	to speak, to talkEle fala três idiomas. He speaks three languages.
16	virverb	to comeVocê vem à festa hoje? Are you coming to the party today?
17	darverb	to givePode me dar um copo d'água? Can you give me a glass of water?
18	pensarverb	to thinkEu penso em você todo dia. I think about you every day.
19	deixarverb	to leave, to letEu deixei a chave em casa. I left the key at home.
20	precisarverb	to needEu preciso da sua ajuda. I need your help.
21	esperarverb	to wait, to hopeEspere aqui, por favor. Wait here, please.
22	gostarverb	to likeEu gosto muito deste filme. I like this movie a lot.
23	sentirverb	to feel, to senseEu sinto muito pelo seu pai. I am very sorry about your father.
24	parecerverb	to seem, to look likeVocê parece muito cansado. You look very tired.
25	acontecerverb	to happenO que aconteceu com você? What happened to you?
26	olharverb	to look, to watchOlhe para mim, por favor. Look at me, please.
27	pegarverb	to take, to grab, to catchVou pegar o ônibus agora. I am going to catch the bus now.
28	sairverb	to leave, to go outNós vamos sair hoje à noite. We are going out tonight.
29	ouvirverb	to hear, to listenVocê ouviu esse barulho? Did you hear that noise?
30	voltarverb	to return, to come backEu volto para casa amanhã. I am coming back home tomorrow.
31	tentarverb	to tryEu vou tentar de novo. I am going to try again.
32	chegarverb	to arrive, to get toEle chega em casa às seis. He gets home at six.
33	conseguirverb	to manage to, to get, to be able toEu não consigo dormir hoje. I can't sleep today.
34	entenderverb	to understandEu não entendo essa palavra. I don't understand this word.
35	conhecerverb	to know (a person or place), to meetEu quero conhecer sua família. I want to meet your family.
36	pararverb	to stopPare o carro, por favor. Stop the car, please.
37	acabarverb	to finish, to endO filme acabou agora. The movie just ended.
38	encontrarverb	to find, to meetEu não encontro minha chave. I can't find my key.
39	começarverb	to begin, to startO filme começa às oito. The movie starts at eight.
40	passarverb	to pass, to spend (time)Eu passo o dia em casa. I spend the day at home.
41	levarverb	to take, to carryVou levar você para casa. I am going to take you home.
42	matarverb	to killEsse calor está me matando. This heat is killing me.
43	desculparverb	to forgive, to excuseDesculpe, eu cheguei tarde. Sorry, I arrived late.
44	amarverb	to loveEu amo a minha família. I love my family.
45	acreditarverb	to believeEu acredito em você. I believe in you.
46	morrerverb	to dieO meu peixe morreu ontem. My fish died yesterday.
47	usarverb	to use, to wearPosso usar o seu telefone? Can I use your phone?
48	ajudarverb	to helpPosso ajudar você, senhora? Can I help you, ma'am?
49	trabalharverb	to workEu trabalho num banco. I work in a bank.
50	chamarverb	to call, to nameEu vou chamar um táxi. I am going to call a taxi.
51	entrarverb	to enter, to go inPode entrar, a porta está aberta. You can come in, the door is open.
52	perderverb	to lose, to missEu perdi a minha chave. I lost my key.
53	contarverb	to count, to tellEu posso contar até dez. I can count to ten.
54	pedirverb	to ask for, to orderVou pedir uma pizza hoje. I am going to order a pizza today.
55	ligarverb	to call, to turn onPode ligar a luz, por favor? Can you turn on the light, please?
56	lembrarverb	to remember, to remindEu não me lembro do nome. I don't remember the name.
57	tomarverb	to take, to drinkEu tomo café de manhã. I drink coffee in the morning.
58	tirarverb	to take out, to removeTire os sapatos, por favor. Take off your shoes, please.
59	importarverb	to matter, to mindIsso não importa para mim. That doesn't matter to me.
60	colocarverb	to put, to placeColoque o livro na mesa. Put the book on the table.
61	continuarverb	to continue, to keep goingVamos continuar amanhã, está bem? Let's continue tomorrow, okay?
62	trazerverb	to bringTraga seu casaco, vai esfriar. Bring your coat, it's going to get cold.
63	procurarverb	to look for, to searchEstou procurando as minhas chaves. I am looking for my keys.
64	mudarverb	to change, to moveEu quero mudar de casa. I want to move to a new house.
65	perguntarverb	to askPosso perguntar uma coisa? Can I ask something?
66	esquecerverb	to forgetEu esqueci o meu celular. I forgot my phone.
67	dormirverb	to sleepEu quero dormir um pouco. I want to sleep a little.
68	comerverb	to eatNós vamos comer pizza hoje. We are going to eat pizza today.
69	viververb	to liveEu quero viver no Brasil. I want to live in Brazil.
70	andarverb	to walk, to goEu gosto de andar no parque. I like to walk in the park.
71	preocuparverb	to worryNão se preocupe, vai ficar tudo bem. Don't worry, everything will be fine.
72	abrirverb	to openAbra a janela, por favor. Open the window, please.
73	jogarverb	to play, to throwNós vamos jogar futebol hoje. We are going to play soccer today.
74	descobrirverb	to discover, to find outEu quero descobrir a verdade. I want to find out the truth.
75	mandarverb	to send, to orderVou mandar uma mensagem para ela. I am going to send her a message.
76	ganharverb	to win, to earn, to getNós vamos ganhar o jogo! We are going to win the game!
77	mostrarverb	to showPosso mostrar a casa para você? Can I show you the house?
78	significarverb	to meanO que essa palavra significa? What does this word mean?
79	venderverb	to sellEle quer vender a casa dele. He wants to sell his house.
80	pagarverb	to payEu posso pagar o jantar hoje. I can pay for dinner today.
81	cuidarverb	to take care ofEu vou cuidar do bebê hoje. I am going to take care of the baby today.
82	escreververb	to writeEla gosta de escrever cartas. She likes to write letters.
83	terminarverb	to finish, to endPreciso terminar o trabalho hoje. I need to finish the work today.
84	comprarverb	to buyQuero comprar um presente para ela. I want to buy a gift for her.
85	conversarverb	to talk, to chatPodemos conversar um minuto? Can we talk for a minute?
86	manterverb	to keep, to maintainTente manter a calma, por favor. Try to keep calm, please.
87	cairverb	to fallCuidado para não cair da escada. Be careful not to fall off the stairs.
88	funcionarverb	to work, to functionO telefone não quer funcionar. The phone won't work.
89	receberverb	to receive, to getEu recebi uma mensagem dela. I got a message from her.
90	existirverb	to existEsse lugar não existe mais. This place no longer exists.
91	lerverb	to readEu gosto de ler à noite. I like to read at night.
92	adorarverb	to love, to adoreEu adoro viajar com você. I love traveling with you.
93	correrverb	to runEu corro todos os dias. I run every day.
94	seguirverb	to followPode me seguir, por favor? Can you follow me, please?
95	brincarverb	to play, to jokeAs crianças querem brincar lá fora. The children want to play outside.
96	imaginarverb	to imagineVocê consegue imaginar isso? Can you imagine that?
97	escutarverb	to listen, to hearVocê precisa me escutar agora. You need to listen to me now.
98	beberverb	to drinkEu não quero beber nada. I don't want to drink anything.
99	virarverb	to turn, to becomeVire à direita na esquina. Turn right at the corner.
100	baterverb	to hit, to knockAlguém está batendo na porta. Someone is knocking on the door.

How this list was made

Most frequency lists count newspapers and books. This one counts what people say on screen: word counts from the OpenSubtitles 2018 collection of film and TV subtitles (426 million Brazilian Portuguese words), published by the FrequencyWords project.

Different forms of the same word are counted together under the dictionary form, so every form of a verb adds to the verb's rank. Names, English words, typos and swear words were removed. Nouns are shown with their article where the language has one, so you learn the gender with the word.

Ranking: OpenSubtitles 2018 via FrequencyWords by Hermit Dave (CC BY-SA 4.0). This list is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Questions

How many Portuguese words do you need to understand films and TV?

In 426 million words of Brazilian Portuguese subtitles, the 100 most common words make up 62.2% of everything said, the top 500 make up 77.7% and the top 1000 make up 82%. The rest are rarer words that are easiest to pick up from the shows themselves, in context.

How do I import this list into Anki?

Download the Anki deck (.apkg) and open it, or in Anki choose File, Import and pick the file. The cards arrive in the order of the list, most common first, with the meaning and an example on the back. AnkiDroid and AnkiMobile open the same file.

Can I use it in Quizlet?

Yes. Open the Quizlet file, copy everything, then in Quizlet create a set, choose Import and paste. Keep "Tab" between term and definition and "New line" between cards. Knowt and Brainscape accept the same text.

Is it free to use and share?

Yes. Download it, print it and share it. The list is published under CC BY-SA 4.0: if you publish it or a changed version, credit Fluent by Accident and the FrequencyWords project and share it under the same licence.

Where do the translations and examples come from?

The ranking comes only from real word counts. The English meanings and example sentences were drafted with AI and can contain small mistakes. If you spot one, write to rk@coldabry.com.