Procurar means to look for, to search for, to seek. It is the everyday verb for hunting something down — "Tô procurando minhas chaves" (I'm looking for my keys) — and, despite its length, it is a fully regular -ar verb with no spelling change anywhere in its conjugation. That last point matters: many learners expect a c → qu shift like ficar → fiquei, but procurar ends in -rar, not -car, so the c never sits before e or i in a way that would force a spelling change. The form is simply procurei, procure, procuro — plain c throughout.
Conjugation: fully regular, no spelling trap
The verbs that change spelling are the ones whose stem ends in a consonant that would change sound before e/i: ficar → fiquei (the c would soften to /s/ before e, so it becomes qu). In procurar, the stem is procur-, ending in the vowel-plus-r sequence -ur-. The c in procurar belongs to the syllable cu (/ku/) and is never followed by an ending vowel — the r always sits between. So there is nothing to protect: procurei keeps its plain c.
Indicative
| Pronoun | Presente | Pretérito perfeito | Pretérito imperfeito | Futuro do presente | Futuro do pretérito |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu | procuro | procurei | procurava | procurarei | procuraria |
| tu/você | procura | procurou | procurava | procurará | procuraria |
| ele/ela | procura | procurou | procurava | procurará | procuraria |
| nós | procuramos | procuramos | procurávamos | procuraremos | procuraríamos |
| vocês | procuram | procuraram | procuravam | procurarão | procurariam |
| eles/elas | procuram | procuraram | procuravam | procurarão | procurariam |
Subjunctive
| Pronoun | Presente do subjuntivo | Imperfeito do subjuntivo | Futuro do subjuntivo |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | procure | procurasse | procurar |
| tu/você | procure | procurasse | procurar |
| ele/ela | procure | procurasse | procurar |
| nós | procuremos | procurássemos | procurarmos |
| vocês | procurem | procurassem | procurarem |
| eles/elas | procurem | procurassem | procurarem |
Note again: the subjunctive forms are procure, procuremos, procurem with a plain c. The c lives in the syllable cu (always hard /k/), and the personal endings attach after the -ur- of the stem — so no ending vowel ever sits directly after the c. There is nothing to protect, hence no qu.
Imperative, non-finite
| Pronoun | Imperativo afirmativo | Imperativo negativo |
|---|---|---|
| você | procure | não procure |
| nós | procuremos | não procuremos |
| vocês | procurem | não procurem |
| Form | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo impessoal | procurar |
| Infinitivo pessoal | procurar / procurar / procurar / procurarmos / procurarem / procurarem |
| Gerúndio | procurando |
| Particípio | procurado |
Core meaning: to look for / search for
Procurar takes its object directly, with no preposition — exactly like English look for once you set aside the "for".
Não encontro as chaves em lugar nenhum — você viu? Tô procurando faz meia hora.
I can't find the keys anywhere — have you seen them? I've been looking for half an hour.
A polícia procura duas pessoas envolvidas no assalto. (newspaper)
The police are looking for two people involved in the robbery.
Procurei meu nome na lista e não achei.
I looked for my name on the list and didn't find it.
Notice the natural pairing with achar/encontrar (to find): you procurar (search) and then either achar or encontrar (find). Procurar is the process; achar/encontrar is the result.
procurar por: the optional 'por'
You can also say procurar por + object. With a concrete thing, the por is optional and adds a faint sense of "going around in search of". With a person, procurar por is especially natural in the sense of asking after or coming to see someone.
Um senhor esteve aqui mais cedo procurando por você.
A gentleman was here earlier asking for you / looking for you.
Passei a tarde procurando por um presente, mas não achei nada.
I spent the afternoon searching for a gift, but found nothing.
Both procurar algo and procurar por algo are correct; the bare object is more common for plain "look for", while por leans toward "go in search of / ask after".
The formal sense: procurar + infinitive = to try to / seek to
In (formal) and written registers, procurar followed by an infinitive means to try to / to endeavour to / to seek to. This is common in journalism, business, and officialese, where it sounds more measured than the everyday tentar (to try).
A empresa procura reduzir custos sem demitir ninguém. (formal)
The company is seeking to cut costs without laying anyone off.
Procure sempre ouvir os dois lados antes de julgar. (formal advice)
Always try to hear both sides before judging.
procurar vs buscar
In Brazilian Portuguese these two are not interchangeable, and this trips up Spanish speakers especially (Spanish buscar = "look for", but BR buscar leans toward "go and fetch").
- procurar = to look for / search for — the act of searching, eyes scanning, hunting something down.
- buscar = to go get / fetch / pick up — the act of going somewhere to bring something or someone back.
Vou buscar as crianças na escola às cinco.
I'm going to pick up the kids from school at five. (fetch — buscar)
Passei o dia procurando um apartamento pra alugar.
I spent the day looking for an apartment to rent. (search — procurar)
If you can replace "look for" with "go and fetch", use buscar. If you mean "search / try to find", use procurar. See the dedicated buscar page and the levar vs trazer vs buscar guide.
Common Mistakes
❌ Eu proquei o livro a tarde toda.
Incorrect — procurar is regular, no c→qu change: procurei.
✅ Eu procurei o livro a tarde toda.
I looked for the book all afternoon.
❌ Procure por suas chaves antes de sair.
Awkward — with a plain 'look for X', drop the 'por': procure suas chaves.
✅ Procure suas chaves antes de sair.
Look for your keys before you leave.
❌ Vou procurar meu filho na escola.
Wrong verb for 'pick up' — use buscar.
✅ Vou buscar meu filho na escola.
I'm going to pick up my son from school.
❌ A empresa procura de reduzir custos.
Incorrect — 'procurar + infinitive' takes no preposition.
✅ A empresa procura reduzir custos.
The company seeks to cut costs.
❌ Quero que você procure-a com cuidado.
Awkward placement in BR — bring the pronoun before the verb: a procure / procure ela.
✅ Quero que você a procure com cuidado.
I want you to look for it carefully.
Key Takeaways
- procurar = to look for / search for / seek; fully regular -ar verb, no spelling change (procuro, procurei, procure).
- Takes its object directly (procurar algo); procurar por is optional and leans toward "go in search of / ask after (a person)".
- Formal procurar + infinitive = to try to / seek to (procurar reduzir custos).
- procurar (search) ≠ buscar (go fetch). Spanish speakers especially must keep these apart.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- BuscarA2 — Conjugation and usage of buscar — to fetch, pick up, or search for — a regular -ar verb with a c→qu spelling change, contrasted with procurar and pegar.
- Levar vs Trazer vs Buscar: Carrying VerbsA2 — How deixis decides between levar (take away), trazer (bring here), and buscar/pegar (go fetch, grab) in Brazilian Portuguese.
- Present Indicative: Regular -ar VerbsA1 — How to conjugate regular -ar verbs in the Brazilian Portuguese present indicative — plus the mandatory 'de' after gostar.
- Verbs and Their Required PrepositionsB1 — A comprehensive reference list of Brazilian Portuguese verbs grouped by the preposition each one requires before its object.
- PrecisarA1 — The regular -ar verb 'precisar' (to need), with the crucial 'precisar de + noun' construction, the BR habit of dropping 'de' before an infinitive ('Preciso sair'), and the formal sense 'to specify'.