Chamar (To Call) — Full Conjugation

Chamar means to call — to call someone by name, to call for someone, to summon. It appears in every first lesson of Portuguese through its reflexive form chamar-se (como te chamas? = what's your name?), which is the standard way to introduce yourself in Portuguese. It is a fully regular first-conjugation (-ar) verb, which makes it an excellent model for the entire -ar class and an easy verb to learn — the only complication, for learners, is the word order of the clitic pronoun in its reflexive use.

This page gives you every conjugated form of chamar, usage notes on the reflexive construction chamar-se, and the word-order rules that are absolutely central to the A1 question como te chamas?.

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Present indicative — presente do indicativo

Use this tense for current actions, habits, and general truths. Chamo-me António = my name is António.

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Use this tense for past habits, background descriptions, and actions in progress in the past. Chamavam-lhe "o gordo" = they used to call him "the fat one".

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Use this tense for completed past actions. Chamei-te ontem = I called you yesterday.

Note the European Portuguese 1pl preterite chamámos with an acute accent on the penultimate -á-. Brazilian Portuguese has no accent (chamamos for both present and preterite). In EP, the accent distinguishes preterite from present.

Pluperfect indicative, simple — pretérito mais-que-perfeito simples

Literary/formal synthetic form; in speech, use the compound pluperfect (below).

Pluperfect indicative, compound — pretérito mais-que-perfeito composto

The everyday way to say had called. Formed with the imperfect of ter plus chamado.

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Describes an action that has been happening repeatedly or continuously up to now. Tenho chamado e não atendes = I've been calling you and you're not answering.

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Conditional — condicional (futuro do pretérito)

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

Used in subordinate clauses after verbs of wish, doubt, emotion, or command. Não quero que me chames assim = I don't want you to call me that.

Imperfect subjunctive — imperfeito do conjuntivo

Future subjunctive — futuro do conjuntivo

Present perfect subjunctive — pretérito perfeito do conjuntivo

Pluperfect subjunctive — pretérito mais-que-perfeito do conjuntivo

Future perfect subjunctive — futuro perfeito do conjuntivo

Imperative — imperativo

Affirmative:

Negative:

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

Compound personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal composto

Reflexive conjugation: chamar-se

The reflexive form chamar-se means to be named / to be called. It is the standard way to give or ask someone's name.

Present indicative (reflexive)

Note the special chamamo-nos form (not chamamos-nos): when a verb form ending in -mos combines with the clitic nos, the verb loses its final -s.

Word order: ênclise vs próclise

This is where European Portuguese differs sharply from Brazilian Portuguese and where learners most often stumble.

Default position: ênclise (clitic after the verb, linked with a hyphen):

Proclise (clitic before the verb, no hyphen) is triggered by certain words and constructions:

1. Negation: não, nunca, nada, ninguém
2. Interrogatives: como, quem, quando, onde, que, porquê, qual
3. Certain adverbs: já, ainda, talvez, só, também
4. Subordinate conjunctions: que, porque, se, quando, embora, porque
5. Indefinites at the start of the clause: alguém, tudo

Common uses and collocations

• chamar alguém (transitive) — to call someone, to summon them. Chamei o médico = I called the doctor.
• chamar por alguém — to call for / out for someone (shouting their name, seeking them). Ouvi-te chamar por mim = I heard you calling for me.
• chamar-se — to be named. Como te chamas? Chamo-me Marta.
• chamar a atenção — (a) to attract attention; (b) to tell someone off, to give them a talking-to. A professora chamou-me a atenção = the teacher told me off.
• chamar um táxi / uma ambulância — to call a taxi / an ambulance.
• chamar nomes a alguém — to call someone names (insults). Ele chamou-me nomes horríveis = he called me horrible names.
• chamar-lhe nomes — same idea with a dative clitic: chamaram-lhe mentiroso = they called him a liar.

The related noun is a chamada — a call (telephone call, summons, roll-call). Uma chamada telefónica = a phone call; fazer a chamada = to take the register (in a classroom).

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Chamar is a fully regular first-conjugation (-ar) verb — textbook model for the whole class.
• The reflexive chamar-se is the standard "to be named" structure in Portuguese. Como te chamas? — Chamo-me X.
• In European Portuguese, the 1pl preterite takes an acute accent: chamámos (distinguishes from present chamamos).
• Clitic placement: default ênclise (after the verb, hyphenated: chamo-me); próclise (before the verb, no hyphen) is triggered by negation, interrogatives, subordinating conjunctions, and certain adverbs.
• The nós reflexive form is chamamo-nos, not chamamos-nos — final -s drops before nos.
• Chamar a atenção is a high-frequency idiom with two meanings: to attract attention, or to tell someone off.