Casar means to marry or to get married. It is a perfectly regular -ar verb in every tense, so the grammar is easy — the difficulty is entirely in how Brazilians use it: when (and whether) to add the reflexive se, and which preposition follows it. The headline rule is that you marry com ("with") someone, never a someone, and that in everyday Brazilian speech the reflexive se is very often dropped: Eu casei and Eu me casei both mean "I got married," with the bare form sounding more colloquial.
The three constructions
1. casar-se com / casar com — to get married (to someone)
Both the reflexive (casar-se) and the plain (casar) forms mean "to get married." The reflexive is the prescriptively "complete" form; spoken Brazilian Portuguese freely drops it.
Ela vai casar com o namorado dela em dezembro.
She's going to marry her boyfriend in December.
Eles se casaram numa praia no Nordeste.
They got married on a beach in the Northeast.
Eu casei muito novo, com vinte anos.
I got married very young, at twenty.
The first and third drop the se (informal, fully natural in BR); the second keeps it. Notice the placement in se casaram — proclisis (the pronoun before the verb) is the BR default. See reflexive verbs overview.
2. casar (transitive) — to marry someone off / to perform the marriage
Used for the person who conducts the wedding (a priest, a judge) or who gives someone in marriage:
O padre que casou meus pais já faleceu.
The priest who married my parents has passed away.
Foi o juiz de paz que casou a gente.
It was the justice of the peace who married us.
3. casar — to match / to go together
A very common, very Brazilian extended meaning: colors, flavors, ideas that "marry" — i.e., fit together well.
Essas cores casam bem no quarto.
These colors go well together in the bedroom.
O vinho tinto casa perfeitamente com carne vermelha.
Red wine pairs perfectly with red meat.
Indicative tenses
Presente do indicativo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | caso |
| tu | casas |
| você / ele / ela | casa |
| nós | casamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | casam |
Pretérito perfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | casei |
| tu | casaste |
| você / ele / ela | casou |
| nós | casamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | casaram |
As with all -ar verbs, casamos is identical in the present and the preterite; only context tells you "we marry" from "we married."
Pretérito imperfeito
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | casava |
| tu | casavas |
| você / ele / ela | casava |
| nós | casávamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | casavam |
The nós form casávamos carries an acute accent.
Futuro do presente
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | casarei |
| tu | casarás |
| você / ele / ela | casará |
| nós | casaremos |
| vocês / eles / elas | casarão |
In speech, Brazilians almost always prefer vou casar over casarei. See the periphrastic future.
Futuro do pretérito (conditional)
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | casaria |
| tu | casarias |
| você / ele / ela | casaria |
| nós | casaríamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | casariam |
Eu nunca casaria sem ter certeza.
I'd never get married without being sure.
Subjunctive
Presente do subjuntivo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | case |
| tu | cases |
| você / ele / ela | case |
| nós | casemos |
| vocês / eles / elas | casem |
A minha avó quer que eu case logo.
My grandmother wants me to get married soon.
Imperfeito do subjuntivo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | casasse |
| tu | casasses |
| você / ele / ela | casasse |
| nós | casássemos |
| vocês / eles / elas | casassem |
The nós form casássemos carries an acute accent.
Futuro do subjuntivo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | casar |
| tu | casares |
| você / ele / ela | casar |
| nós | casarmos |
| vocês / eles / elas | casarem |
Quando eu casar, quero uma festa pequena.
When I get married, I want a small party.
Imperative
| Pronoun | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tu | casa | não cases |
| você | case | não case |
| nós | casemos | não casemos |
| vocês | casem | não casem |
Non-finite forms
| Form | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo pessoal — eu | casar |
| Infinitivo pessoal — tu | casares |
| Infinitivo pessoal — você/ele/ela | casar |
| Infinitivo pessoal — nós | casarmos |
| Infinitivo pessoal — vocês/eles/elas | casarem |
| Gerúndio | casando |
| Particípio | casado |
The participle casado/casada doubles as the adjective "married": Você é casado? ("Are you married?"). This is the form on every official form and ID — estado civil: casado/solteiro/divorciado.
Ele é casado há quinze anos.
He's been married for fifteen years.
The se: drop it or keep it?
Strictly, casar-se is the pronominal verb for "to get married" (you marry yourself off), while bare casar is transitive ("to marry someone off"). In real Brazilian usage this distinction has largely collapsed for the "get married" sense: eu casei and eu me casei are both completely normal, with the bare form dominating casual speech and the reflexive sounding slightly more careful or formal.
A gente casou no civil ano passado.
We got married at the registry office last year.
Decidimos nos casar depois de cinco anos juntos.
We decided to get married after five years together.
False-friend and contrast notes
Casar looks like English "case" or Spanish casa (house) — it is unrelated to either. (It does share a root with casa, historically "to set up a household," but synchronically it's purely "to marry.") In European Portuguese, the reflexive casar-se is somewhat more consistently retained, and enclisis (casei-me) is the default placement; Brazilians prefer proclisis (me casei) or simply drop the pronoun. Spanish speakers should note Portuguese uses com where Spanish also uses con (casarse con) — so that one transfers cleanly, but English speakers get no help.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ela vai casar o namorado dela.
Incorrect — to marry someone you need 'com'; without it, this means she'll officiate his wedding.
✅ Ela vai casar com o namorado dela.
She's going to marry her boyfriend.
❌ Eu casei a ela.
Incorrect — never 'casar a'; the preposition is 'com'.
✅ Eu casei com ela.
I married her.
❌ Nós casavamos pensando em ter filhos.
Incorrect — missing the accent on the stressed vowel.
✅ Nós casávamos pensando em ter filhos.
We were getting married thinking about having kids.
❌ Esse vinho casa a carne.
Incorrect — the 'match/pair' sense also takes 'com'.
✅ Esse vinho casa com a carne.
This wine pairs with the meat.
❌ Você está casado? (asking marital status)
Wrong verb — marital status is a permanent classification, so use ser, not estar.
✅ Você é casado?
Are you married?
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