Dizer means to say and to tell. It is one of the most frequent verbs in the language and one of the most irregular: it has a special first-person present (digo), a strong, stress-on-the-stem preterite (disse), a contracted future stem (dir-), and an irregular past participle (dito). None of these can be guessed from the infinitive, so dizer simply has to be memorized — but it is worth the effort, because its irregularities repeat in related verbs and it powers the single most important Portuguese idiom for asking what a word means: querer dizer ("to mean").
Why dizer is so irregular
Dizer comes from Latin dīcere, and Latin verbs in -cere left behind a thick layer of irregularity all across Romance. The "c" softened differently depending on the following vowel, which is why you see digo (hard g-sound) next to diz (soft) in the present. The preterite disse descends from a Latin "strong" perfect (dīxī), where the stress fell on the stem rather than the ending — that's why disse stresses dis-, not the ending, and why its forms don't look like a regular -er preterite at all. The future direi comes from a contraction (dicere + hei → direi), dropping the middle of the infinitive. Recognizing these as inherited Latin patterns helps: the same contraction gives you farei from fazer and trarei from trazer.
Presente do indicativo
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | digo |
| tu | dizes |
| você / ele / ela | diz |
| nós | dizemos |
| vocês / eles / elas | dizem |
The only true irregularity here is digo (with a g, from the Latin pattern). Everything else uses the regular stem diz-.
Eu sempre digo a verdade, mesmo quando dói.
I always tell the truth, even when it hurts.
O que você diz quando alguém espirra no Brasil?
What do you say when someone sneezes in Brazil?
Pretérito perfeito
This is the famous strong preterite. Note that disse is both the eu and the você/ele/ela form.
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | disse |
| tu | disseste |
| você / ele / ela | disse |
| nós | dissemos |
| vocês / eles / elas | disseram |
The double -ss- and the stress on the stem (DIS-se) are the signatures of this preterite. Beware: the eu and ele forms are identical (disse / disse) — only the subject or context tells you who spoke.
Ele disse que ia chegar atrasado, mas nem apareceu.
He said he'd be late, but he didn't even show up.
Eu já disse que não quero falar sobre isso.
I already said I don't want to talk about this.
Pretérito imperfeito
Regular here — built on the diz- stem with -er imperfect endings.
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | dizia |
| tu | dizias |
| você / ele / ela | dizia |
| nós | dizíamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | diziam |
Minha avó sempre dizia que pressa é inimiga da perfeição.
My grandmother always used to say that haste is the enemy of perfection.
Futuro do presente & futuro do pretérito (conditional)
Both are built on the contracted stem dir-, not on the full infinitive. This is the trap: it is direi, never dizerei.
| Pronoun | Futuro do presente | Futuro do pretérito |
|---|---|---|
| eu | direi | diria |
| tu | dirás | dirias |
| você / ele / ela | dirá | diria |
| nós | diremos | diríamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | dirão | diriam |
As with most verbs, Brazilians usually replace the simple future with ir + dizer ("vou dizer") in speech, but the conditional diria ("I would say") stays very much alive, especially when softening an opinion.
Eu diria que essa é a melhor decisão, mas a escolha é sua.
I'd say that's the best decision, but the choice is yours.
Só direi o que aconteceu quando todos estiverem aqui.
I'll only tell what happened once everyone is here.
Presente do subjuntivo
Built on the dig- stem (the same g you see in digo), with -er subjunctive -a endings.
| Pronoun | Form |
|---|---|
| eu | diga |
| tu | digas |
| você / ele / ela | diga |
| nós | digamos |
| vocês / eles / elas | digam |
Quero que você me diga a verdade, doa a quem doer.
I want you to tell me the truth, no matter who it hurts.
Imperfeito & futuro do subjuntivo
Both are built on the preterite stem diss- (remember: the future subjunctive always derives from the third-person plural preterite, disseram → disser).
| Pronoun | Imperfeito do subjuntivo | Futuro do subjuntivo |
|---|---|---|
| eu | dissesse | disser |
| tu | dissesses | disseres |
| você / ele / ela | dissesse | disser |
| nós | disséssemos | dissermos |
| vocês / eles / elas | dissessem | disserem |
Se ele me dissesse a verdade, eu o perdoaria.
If he told me the truth, I'd forgive him.
Faça o que eu disser, não o que eu fizer.
Do as I say, not as I do.
Imperativo
The affirmative você imperative is diga (from the subjunctive); the tu form is dize (or the clipped diz in casual Brazilian speech). The negative always uses the subjunctive.
| Pronoun | Afirmativo | Negativo |
|---|---|---|
| tu | dize / diz | não digas |
| você | diga | não diga |
| nós | digamos | não digamos |
| vocês | digam | não digam |
Me diz uma coisa: você já tinha vindo aqui antes?
Tell me something: had you been here before?
Non-finite forms
The past participle dito is irregular — never dizido.
| Form | Result |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo | dizer |
| Infinitivo pessoal (eu / você / ele) | dizer |
| Infinitivo pessoal (nós) | dizermos |
| Infinitivo pessoal (vocês / eles) | dizerem |
| Gerúndio | dizendo |
| Particípio | dito |
The participle shows up everywhere: o dito ("the saying"), dito e feito ("said and done"), melhor dizendo ("rather / better put"), and é a tal da fulana, digo, fulano in self-corrections.
Meaning, structures, and register
dizer que — reported speech
The default frame for indirect speech is dizer que + clause. Unlike English, the conjunction que ("that") is not optional in Portuguese.
A médica disse que eu preciso descansar uma semana.
The doctor said (that) I need to rest for a week.
dizer a / para alguém — telling someone
To say something to someone, use a (more formal) or para/pra (more colloquial), or just the clitic me/te/lhe.
Não conta pra ninguém o que eu vou te dizer agora.
Don't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you now.
querer dizer — to mean
This is essential. O que quer dizer...? = "What does ... mean?" Literally "What does it want to say?"
O que quer dizer 'saudade'? Não tem tradução exata em inglês.
What does 'saudade' mean? It has no exact translation in English.
Dizer vs. falar vs. contar
English "say" and "tell" both land on dizer, but Brazilians very often reach for falar instead in casual speech: Ele falou que vinha ("He said he was coming") is extremely common. Use contar for "tell" in the sense of narrating (a story, news, a secret). Roughly: dizer = state/report a fact; falar = speak/say (colloquial catch-all); contar = recount/tell a story.
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu dizo a verdade.
Incorrect — the first person is digo (with g), not dizo.
✅ Eu digo a verdade.
I tell the truth.
❌ Ele dizeu que vinha.
Incorrect — the preterite is irregular: disse, not dizeu.
✅ Ele disse que vinha.
He said he was coming.
❌ Eu dizerei o que penso.
Incorrect — the future uses the contracted stem dir-: direi.
✅ Eu direi o que penso.
I'll say what I think.
❌ Quero que você diz a verdade.
Incorrect — after quero que you need the subjunctive diga.
✅ Quero que você diga a verdade.
I want you to tell the truth.
❌ Ela tinha dizido tudo.
Incorrect — the past participle is irregular: dito, not dizido.
✅ Ela tinha dito tudo.
She had said everything.
❌ A médica disse eu preciso descansar.
Incorrect — the conjunction que is required in reported speech.
✅ A médica disse que eu preciso descansar.
The doctor said I need to rest.
Key Takeaways
- Three irregular stems: present dig-/diz-, preterite diss-, future/conditional dir-.
- Memorize the danger zones: digo, disse, direi, diga, disser, and the participle dito.
- querer dizer = "to mean"; O que quer dizer X? = "What does X mean?"
- In reported speech the conjunction que is obligatory.
- In casual Brazilian speech, falar often replaces dizer for "say."
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