ser.
to be (to have the given quality), especially a quality that is intrinsic or not expected to change, contrasting with estar which denotes a temporary quality
Meaning & usage
to be (to have the given quality), especially a quality that is intrinsic or not expected to change, contrasting with estar which denotes a temporary quality
Ela está bonita, mas não é bonita.
to be (to be an example or type of, or the same as)
Pessoas são mamíferos.
A soma de um e dois é três.
to be; forms the passive voice
O carro foi vendido pelo seu antigo dono.
Espero que os criminosos sejam punidos.
to be; indicates a point in time
Que horas são?
São cinco horas.
to be in (to be located in)
Minha casa é num bairro pobre.
Onde são essas cidades?
to be (to have as one’s place of origin)
Esses equipamentos são da Alemanha.
Nenhum de nós é de um país estrangeiro.
to be (someone’s); to belong to
Essa casa é do prefeito.
Não mexa em nada que não for seu.
to be for; to be to (to have as its purpose)
Esse tipo de faca é para cortar tomates.
to be supposed to; should; introduces an expected or demanded action
Não sei porque está demorando, já era para o filme ter começado.
É para comermos toda a carne.
to be; to cost (to be worth a given amount of money)
Duas maçãs são dez centavos.
to happen; to take place; to occur
O que será, será.
Quando é seu aniversário?
to be against or in favour of
Alguns foram contra a guerra, mas a maioria foi a favor.
to exist; to be
O mal não é.
used for emphasis
Eu é que vim.
Where this word comes from
From Old Galician-Portuguese ser, from Early Medieval Latin essere, from Latin esse. The forms sou (“I am”) and sois pl (“you are”) derive from a Vulgar Latin *sonō and *sutis. Along the way, the verb absorbed Old Galician-Portuguese seer < Latin sedēre (“sit”). The latter supplied the present subjunctive of modern ser, where /-ʒ-/ reflects Late Latin /-(d)j-/, as in seja < sedeat).
being (a living creature)
Where this word comes from
From Old Galician-Portuguese ser, from Early Medieval Latin essere, from Latin esse. The forms sou (“I am”) and sois pl (“you are”) derive from a Vulgar Latin *sonō and *sutis. Along the way, the verb absorbed Old Galician-Portuguese seer < Latin sedēre (“sit”). The latter supplied the present subjunctive of modern ser, where /-ʒ-/ reflects Late Latin /-(d)j-/, as in seja < sedeat).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.