The 130 most common Portuguese verbs

These are the 130 verbs among the 500 most common Portuguese words, in the order a corpus of everyday writing says you will meet them.

Meanings are given in English on this page. In the app they appear in your own language, translated on your device.

#WordTypeMeaning
4serVerbsto be (to have the given quality)
17terVerbsto own; to possess; to have; to have got
22estarVerbsto be (indicates location in space)
26fazerVerbsto create; to produce
27irVerbsto go (to move to a destination)
30poderVerbsto be able to; can (to have the ability to)
36verVerbsto see; to observe (to perceive with one’s eyes)
43saberVerbsto be aware, to know
46dizerVerbsto speak; to pronounce; to utter; to say
50quererVerbsto want; to wish; to desire
53darVerbsto transfer one’s possession of something to someone
58ficarVerbsto become; to get; to end up
60haverVerbsthere be; exist
71partirVerbsto split
75deverVerbsshould
80falarVerbsto speak; to talk (to say words out loud)
81acharVerbsto find
89deixarVerbsto leave; to exit (to go out of or away from a place)
93passarVerbsto pass; to pass by (to move past)
95virVerbsto come (to move towards the speaker or the agent)
98chegarVerbsto arrive (at)
100usarVerbsto use; to utilise; to employ; to make use of
102começarVerbsto start; to begin; to commence
108levarVerbsto take (to move something to a destination)
112conhecerVerbsto know (be acquainted or familiar with)
114pensarVerbsto think (communicate to oneself in one’s mind)
123sairVerbsto exit
124acontecerVerbsto happen; to occur; to take place
125conseguirVerbsto get, obtain
131sentirVerbsto sense
135encontrarVerbsto meet
137parecerVerbsto seem
140esperarVerbsto wait (for); to await
141seguirVerbsto follow (to go or come after in physical space)
146rirVerbsto laugh
151acabarVerbsto finish (to be over, completed)
152morrerVerbsto die (to stop living)
160tornarVerbsto make (to cause to be)
168pedirVerbsto ask for
173gostarVerbsto like
174tentarVerbsto try, go for, attempt
178voltarVerbsto return; to come back
180lerVerbsto read (to look at and interpret written information)
185receberVerbsto get; to receive
188criarVerbsto create, to put into existence
190escreverVerbsto write (to form letters, etc.)
193existirVerbsto exist (to be)
194ouvirVerbsto hear
195perderVerbsto lose (an object, a job, interest etc.)
196entrarVerbsto enter; to go into
197continuarVerbsto continue; to go on (with) (to not stop)
199viverVerbsto live; to have life
208acreditarVerbsto believe (to accept that someone is telling the truth)
210vamosVerbsforms the analytic first-person plural imperative; let's
212colocarVerbsto place; to put
213trabalharVerbsto work (to do a specific task)
219abrirVerbsto open
220ganharVerbsto win (to achieve victory in a game, a war, etc)
222entenderVerbsto understand, to grasp, to comprehend
228lembrarVerbsto remember
230ajudarVerbsto help, aid; to assist
231tomarVerbsto take
238mudarVerbsto change
240governarVerbsto govern
244apresentarVerbsto introduce
248realizarVerbsto realise
251comprarVerbsto buy
261comerVerbsto consume meals
265perguntarVerbsto ask (request an answer)
267tirarVerbsto take, take out, take away
268pararVerbsto stop (to no longer move)
269manterVerbsto keep, maintain
274mostrarVerbsto show
276considerarVerbsto consider
279matarVerbsto kill (to cause to die)
286contarVerbsto tell (to convey given information)
292tratarVerbsto treat
293amarVerbsto love, to have great affection for
294escolherVerbsto choose
296precisarVerbsto need
302melhorarVerbsto improve, to ameliorate, to better
308incluirVerbsto include
311pagarVerbsto give [someone] money in exchange for a good or
319lançarVerbsto launch
326publicarVerbsto publish
327lutarVerbsto fight (participate in a conflict)
329descobrirVerbsto discover (to find something for the first time)
331jogarVerbsto play (to participate in a sport or game)
333livrarVerbsto save
338aparecerVerbsto appear
343pegarVerbsto grab, hold
355permitirVerbsto permit, to allow, to let
361controlarVerbsto control (to determine the behavior of)
362mandarVerbsto order, command
378trazerVerbsbring (to transport toward somebody/somewhere)
380andarVerbsto walk (to move on one’s feet)
381valerVerbsto be worth, valid or acceptable
386esquecerVerbsto forget
388cairVerbsto fall; to fall down; to drop
389acessarVerbsto access (to gain or obtain access to)
390militarVerbsto militate
395possuirVerbsto possess; to have; to own
396procurarVerbsto search; to seek; to look for
398enviarVerbsto send
400participarVerbsto take part, to participate
403resultarVerbsto result
405decidirVerbsto decide
408interessarVerbsto be interested in; to have an interest for
409significarVerbsto mean (to have a particular meaning)
410visitarVerbsto visit
412perceberVerbsto understand
413ligarVerbsto link; to connect
418aprenderVerbsto learn, to acquire knowledge
432ensinarVerbsto teach (to pass on knowledge to)
433ocorrerVerbsto occur, happen
440terminarVerbsto finish; to complete (to reach the end of an activity)
450listarVerbsto list (to create or recite a list)
455aceitarVerbsto accept
456venderVerbsto sell
457afirmarVerbsto state; to declare; to affirm (to make a declaration)
462envolverVerbsto involve (envelop completely)
467dormirVerbsto sleep
470servirVerbsto serve (to work as a servant for someone)
473responderVerbsto answer
475explicarVerbsto explain
479oferecerVerbsto offer, bid, tender
486obrigarVerbsto oblige; to force; to compel
488sofrerVerbsto endure hardship physically and/or emotionally
495baterVerbsto beat; to beat up (to attack someone violently)
498mentirVerbsto lie

All 500 A1 words are on this page, free, with no sign-up.

The rest of the list

  • A2A2 Beginner: 500 more wordsimportar · mundial · fechar · voz · tecnologia
  • B1B1 Intermediate: 750 more wordsmáximo · avisar · cedo · pobre · governador
  • B2B2 Upper intermediate: 750 more wordspresidência · senado · cadeira · conexão · desempenho

A2 to B2 are part of Oqou Pro, in the app, where you can also send any word straight into spaced review and meet it again on the day you are about to forget it.

Download on the App Store

Where this comes from

The order is measured: it comes from how often each word appears in a large corpus, counted across all the forms of a word rather than each form separately, so a verb is ranked where you really meet it. The band edges are a convention rather than a measurement. Nothing says word 501 is harder than word 500; the levels are cut where established graded reader series cut theirs.

wordfreq 3.1 (frequency order) + en.wiktionary via kaikki.org (part of speech, gender, gloss). Corpus read on 2026-09-16.

Questions

Where does the order come from?

From how often each word appears in a large corpus of everyday writing. Frequency is counted across all the forms of a word and attributed to the dictionary form, so a verb is ranked where a reader really meets it rather than being spread thinly over a dozen endings.

Why are these lists shorter than the ones with 5,000 or 10,000 words?

Because past about 2,500 a frequency rank stops meaning much. Rank 6,000 in a web corpus is not a harder word, it is a word that happens to be common in journalism. Established graded reader series top out near 2,500 headwords for the same reason.

Is every word in the list a real dictionary word?

Yes. Every headword is checked against the language's own Wiktionary entry, which is where the part of speech, the gender and the meaning come from. That check is what removes the proper nouns, single letters and corpus noise that raw frequency lists are full of.

Do I need the app?

Not for this page. The A1 list is free here and free in the app. A2 to B2 are part of Oqou Pro, and the app is also where a word can go from a list into a review queue, which is the part a page cannot do.

Has a native speaker checked these?

Not yet. The frequency order and the part of speech are mechanical, and the meanings come from a dictionary rather than being written by hand, but nothing here has been through native review. If you spot a meaning that is technically right and practically useless, we would like to hear about it.