True Cognate Verbs (English-Portuguese) | Portuguese (Brazil) Grammar

English and Portuguese share an enormous Latin-derived vocabulary, and nowhere is this more useful than with verbs. If you already speak English, you have a hidden head start: thousands of Portuguese verbs are recognizable cognates whose meaning you can guess on first sight. This page shows you the reliable correspondence patterns so you can convert English words into correct Brazilian Portuguese verbs almost mechanically — and warns you about where the trick stops working.

Why this works

English absorbed a vast layer of Latin and French vocabulary after 1066, while Portuguese descends directly from Latin. The result is that a huge slice of "educated" or "formal" English vocabulary has a Portuguese twin. When an English verb feels long, abstract, or Latinate — organize, demonstrate, classify, communicate — there is almost always a Portuguese cognate, and it is almost always a regular -ar verb.

This is genuinely free vocabulary. Because the verbs below are regular, once you can conjugate one -ar verb you can conjugate all of them. The hard work is already done by your English.

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The cognate strategy works best with abstract, formal, or technical verbs. Everyday concrete verbs (eat, sleep, walk, give) are usually short Germanic words in English and look nothing like their Portuguese equivalents (comer, dormir, andar, dar).

The core conversion patterns

English -ate → Portuguese -ar

This is the single most productive pattern. Drop the English -ate and add Portuguese -ar.

English	Portuguese
to communicate	comunicar
to demonstrate	demonstrar
to dedicate	dedicar
to indicate	indicar
to create	criar
to educate	educar
to fascinate	fascinar

A professora consegue comunicar ideias difíceis de um jeito simples.

The teacher manages to communicate difficult ideas in a simple way.

Esse documentário me fascinou do começo ao fim.

That documentary fascinated me from beginning to end.

English -ize / -ise → Portuguese -izar

English	Portuguese
to organize	organizar
to realize (carry out)	realizar
to memorize	memorizar
to analyze	analisar
to utilize	utilizar

Preciso organizar a apresentação antes da reunião de amanhã.

I need to organize the presentation before tomorrow's meeting.

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Watch the spelling: English analyze becomes analisar with an s, not a z — Portuguese spells the sound with s between vowels here. And realizar in Portuguese means "to carry out / accomplish," not "to realize" in the mental sense (that is perceber or se dar conta). This is a partial false friend.

Other dependable endings

English ending	Portuguese ending	Example
-ify	-ificar	classify → classificar, identify → identificar
-ide / -ate (split)	-idir / -arar	divide → dividir, decide → decidir, declare → declarar, prepare → preparar
-mit	-mitir	admit → admitir, permit → permitir
-ept	-eitar	accept → aceitar, adapt → adaptar

The A2 cognate verb list

These are the high-frequency cognate verbs every learner should recognize on sight. All are regular except where noted.

Portuguese	English	Notes
aceitar	to accept	regular -ar; participle aceito (irregular)
adaptar	to adapt	regular -ar
admirar	to admire	regular -ar
classificar	to classify	spelling: c→qu before e (classifique)
comunicar	to communicate	spelling: c→qu before e (comunique)
criar	to create / to raise (a child)	regular -ar
debater	to debate	regular -er
decidir	to decide	regular -ir
declarar	to declare	regular -ar
dedicar	to dedicate	spelling: c→qu before e
demonstrar	to demonstrate / to show	regular -ar
dividir	to divide / to share	regular -ir
educar	to educate / to raise well	spelling: c→qu before e
fascinar	to fascinate	regular -ar
identificar	to identify	spelling: c→qu before e
indicar	to indicate / to recommend	spelling: c→qu before e
informar	to inform	regular -ar
organizar	to organize	spelling: z stays z
preparar	to prepare	regular -ar
repetir	to repeat	regular -ir, but stem-changing: eu repito
representar	to represent / to act (theater)	regular -ar
terminar	to terminate / to finish	regular -ar

Decidi que vou aceitar a vaga de emprego em São Paulo.

I've decided I'm going to accept the job position in São Paulo.

A gente sempre divide a conta no fim do jantar.

We always split the bill at the end of dinner.

Você pode me indicar um bom restaurante por aqui?

Can you recommend me a good restaurant around here?

O ator representa o papel de um rei trágico.

The actor plays the role of a tragic king.

The two cognate verbs that aren't pure -ar

Most cognates are -ar, but the list above includes a few that take other endings — and these trip people up because the cognate instinct pushes you toward -ar.

debater (to debate) is an -er verb: eu debato, você debate, nós debatemos.
decidir, dividir, repetir are -ir verbs.

Os deputados vão debater o projeto de lei na próxima semana.

The representatives will debate the bill next week.

Repito a pergunta porque ninguém respondeu.

I'll repeat the question because nobody answered.

A note on the c → qu spelling shift

Cognate -car verbs (comunicar, dedicar, educar, indicar, classificar, identificar) keep the hard /k/ sound everywhere. Before an e — in the preterite eu-form and throughout the present subjunctive — the c becomes qu to preserve that sound. This is purely orthographic, not a real irregularity.

Ontem eu comuniquei a decisão para toda a equipe.

Yesterday I communicated the decision to the whole team.

É importante que você dedique mais tempo aos estudos.

It's important that you dedicate more time to your studies.

Common Mistakes

❌ Eu realizei que estava errado.

Incorrect — 'realizar' does not mean 'to realize (mentally).'

✅ Eu percebi que estava errado.

I realized I was wrong. (Use 'perceber' or 'me dei conta'.)

❌ Nós debatemos o assunto. (intended as -ar) → Nós debatamos.

Incorrect — 'debater' is an -er verb, so present is 'debatemos', not 'debatamos'.

✅ Nós debatemos o assunto na aula.

We debate the topic in class.

❌ Eu comunicei a notícia.

Incorrect spelling — before 'e' the c must become qu in the preterite.

✅ Eu comuniquei a notícia.

I communicated the news.

❌ Vou analizar os dados.

Incorrect — Portuguese spells this verb with s: analisar.

✅ Vou analisar os dados.

I'm going to analyze the data.

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The cognate trick is a recognition tool first and a production tool second. When reading or listening, trust it — a Latinate-looking verb almost always means what you think. When speaking, double-check the ending (-ar vs -er vs -ir) and the spelling, since that is where confident guessers slip.

Key Takeaways

English -ate / -ize / -ify verbs map almost perfectly onto Portuguese -ar / -izar / -ificar, and these are all regular.
A few important cognates break the pattern: debater (-er), decidir / dividir / repetir (-ir).
Beware realizar (= to carry out, not "to realize") and the analisar spelling — these are where the cognate looks identical but behaves differently.
Cognates ending in -car undergo the harmless c → qu spelling shift before e.

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