Querer means to want. It is among the ten most-used verbs in Brazilian Portuguese, and it is highly irregular in nearly every tense that matters: the present has a bare 3sg quer (no -e ending), the preterite runs on a quis- stem (quis, quisemos, quiseram), the present subjunctive is queira, and the future subjunctive is quiser — the form you will hear constantly in "quando você quiser" (whenever you want). On top of the morphology, querer carries a cluster of idioms — querer dizer, querer bem, sem querer — and a famous semantic split between não quis (refused) and não queria (didn't want to). This page covers all of it.
Conjugation tables
The irregularities cluster in three places: (1) the present 3sg loses its ending (quer, not quere); (2) the preterite and everything built on it use the quis- stem; (3) the present subjunctive uses queira-. Note that the preterite 1sg and 3sg are identical: quis (eu quis / ele quis), and the s is an s, never a z.
Indicative
| Pronoun | Presente | Pretérito perfeito | Pretérito imperfeito | Futuro do presente | Futuro do pretérito |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| eu | quero | quis | queria | quererei | quereria |
| tu/você | quer | quis | queria | quererá | quereria |
| ele/ela | quer | quis | queria | quererá | quereria |
| nós | queremos | quisemos | queríamos | quereremos | quereríamos |
| vocês | querem | quiseram | queriam | quererão | quereriam |
| eles/elas | querem | quiseram | queriam | quererão | quereriam |
The full present is quero, quer, queremos, querem. The 3sg quer is the form to watch: it has no -e ending (compare regular comer → come), so você quer, ele quer, never quere.
Subjunctive
| Pronoun | Presente do subjuntivo | Imperfeito do subjuntivo | Futuro do subjuntivo |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | queira | quisesse | quiser |
| tu/você | queira | quisesse | quiser |
| ele/ela | queira | quisesse | quiser |
| nós | queiramos | quiséssemos | quisermos |
| vocês | queiram | quisessem | quiserem |
| eles/elas | queiram | quisessem | quiserem |
Three stems to keep apart: present subjunctive queira- (queira, queiramos, queiram), imperfect subjunctive and future subjunctive both off the quis- stem (quisesse and quiser). The future subjunctive quiser is one of the most frequently heard verb forms in the whole language — see the section below.
Imperative, non-finite
The imperative borrows from the present subjunctive, so it uses the queira- stem.
| Pronoun | Imperativo afirmativo | Imperativo negativo |
|---|---|---|
| você | queira | não queira |
| nós | queiramos | não queiramos |
| vocês | queiram | não queiram |
| Form | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Infinitivo impessoal | querer |
| Infinitivo pessoal | querer / querer / querer / querermos / quererem / quererem |
| Gerúndio | querendo |
| Particípio | querido |
The imperative queira is (formal) and mostly survives in polite set phrases: "Queira aguardar" (Please wait), "Queira entrar" (Do come in), the kind of thing you read on signs or hear from a receptionist. In everyday speech you don't usually command someone to want.
The everyday meaning: to want
Querer takes a noun directly, or an infinitive, with no preposition.
Eu quero um cafezinho, por favor.
I'd like a little coffee, please.
Ela não quer sair hoje, tá cansada.
She doesn't want to go out today, she's tired.
O que vocês querem fazer no fim de semana?
What do you guys want to do this weekend?
The future subjunctive: quando/se/enquanto + quiser
This is where querer shows up the most. After quando (when), se (if), enquanto (while/as long as), assim que (as soon as) — referring to the future — Portuguese requires the future subjunctive, and for querer that is quiser. English has no equivalent tense here; it just uses the present ("whenever you want").
Pode vir quando você quiser, a casa é sua.
You can come whenever you want, make yourself at home.
Se eles quiserem, a gente remarca pra outro dia.
If they want, we'll reschedule for another day.
Fica o tempo que quiser.
Stay as long as you like.
The polite 'queria'
Brazilians soften requests by shifting quero (I want) into the imperfect queria (I would like / I wanted). It is gentler — the imperfect distances the wish, making it less blunt, much like English I was wondering or I'd like.
Oi, queria marcar um horário pra quinta.
Hi, I'd like to book an appointment for Thursday.
Eu queria um quilo de tomate, por favor.
I'd like a kilo of tomatoes, please.
You'll also hear the conditional quereria, but in BR the imperfect queria is by far the more natural polite form.
não quis vs não queria: refused vs didn't want to
This is a genuinely important semantic split that English collapses into one phrase. The preterite não quis means the person actively refused — a completed decision against. The imperfect não queria means they simply didn't want to — an ongoing disinclination, with no implication that they acted on it.
Eu ofereci ajuda, mas ele não quis.
I offered help, but he refused (turned it down).
Eu não queria ir à festa, mas acabei indo.
I didn't want to go to the party, but I ended up going.
The positive mirrors this: quis = decided to / made up one's mind to (a willed act), while queria = was wanting / felt like.
Key idioms
Querer anchors several high-frequency expressions:
- querer dizer = to mean (literally "to want to say").
- querer bem (a alguém) = to care for / be fond of someone — warm, often family or close friends.
- sem querer = by accident / unintentionally (literally "without wanting").
O que você quis dizer com isso?
What did you mean by that?
Ela quer muito bem aos sobrinhos.
She's very fond of her nieces and nephews.
Desculpa, foi sem querer!
Sorry, it was an accident!
Common Mistakes
❌ Você quere um café?
Incorrect — the 3sg has no ending: quer.
✅ Você quer um café?
Do you want a coffee?
❌ Eu queri sair, mas não deu.
Incorrect — the preterite 1sg is quis, not 'queri'.
✅ Eu quis sair, mas não deu.
I wanted (decided) to go out, but couldn't.
❌ Quando você querer, me avisa.
Incorrect — after 'quando' (future) use the future subjunctive: quiser.
✅ Quando você quiser, me avisa.
Whenever you want, let me know.
❌ Quero que você quer ficar.
Incorrect — after 'que' use the subjunctive: queira.
✅ Quero que você queira ficar.
I want you to want to stay.
❌ Ofereci ajuda mas ele não queria.
Wrong nuance if you mean he refused — that's 'não quis'.
✅ Ofereci ajuda mas ele não quis.
I offered help but he refused.
Key Takeaways
- querer = to want; highly irregular -er verb.
- Forms to memorize: present quero, quer (bare 3sg), preterite quis, quisemos, quiseram, present subjunctive queira, future subjunctive quiser.
- quiser appears constantly after quando / se / enquanto about the future — it has no English tense equivalent.
- queria is the everyday polite "I'd like"; não quis = refused, não queria = didn't want to.
- Idioms: querer dizer (to mean), querer bem (to be fond of), sem querer (by accident).
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Present Indicative of Querer and SaberA2 — How to conjugate querer (want) and saber (know) in the Brazilian Portuguese present, the bare quer form, and saber vs conhecer.
- Subjunctive after Verbs of Desire and WillA2 — Why querer que, pedir que, and other verbs of wanting force the subjunctive — and the English-speaker error to avoid.
- PreferirA1 — The stem-changing -ir verb 'preferir' (to prefer), with the e→i change in prefiro and the present subjunctive prefira, plus the crucial 'preferir A' construction ('prefiro chá a café') instead of the wrong 'do que'.
- 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'.
- Verbs and Their Required PrepositionsB1 — A comprehensive reference list of Brazilian Portuguese verbs grouped by the preposition each one requires before its object.