Lembrar (To Remember/Remind) — Full Conjugation

Lembrar is one of those Portuguese verbs that punishes sloppy thinking. On the surface it looks like the English verb to remember, but in European Portuguese the same verbal root covers two distinct meanings — to remind (someone of something) and to remember (something) — and the difference between them is signalled by whether you use a reflexive pronoun. Get the reflexive right and you sound native; get it wrong and you produce a sentence that either makes no sense or means the opposite of what you intended.

This page gives you every conjugated form of lembrar (a completely regular first-conjugation verb) and then walks you through the usage patterns that really matter: lembrar alguém de algo (to remind someone of something) versus lembrar-se de algo (to remember something). Master this distinction and you will have solved one of the ten or so verbs that separate intermediate from fluent speakers of Portuguese.

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Present indicative — presente do indicativo

Use this tense for current actions, habits, and general truths. Lembro-me dela = I remember her.

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Use this tense for past habits, background descriptions, and actions in progress in the past. Eu lembrava-me sempre do aniversário dele = I always used to remember his birthday.

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Use this tense for completed past actions. Lembrei-me da senha = I remembered the password.

Note: European Portuguese distinguishes the 1st-person plural present lembramos from the preterite lembrámos by the acute accent. Brazilian Portuguese writes both without the accent.

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

A synthetic form used mainly in literary and formal writing. Everyday speech uses the compound pluperfect.

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

The everyday way to say had remembered / had reminded. Formed with the imperfect of ter plus lembrado.

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Describes an action that has been happening repeatedly or continuously up to now.

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

In everyday speech, Portuguese often prefers ir + infinitive (vou lembrar-me) over this synthetic future.

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Describes an action that will have been completed by some future moment.

Conditional — condicional

Expresses hypothetical actions or polite requests. Lembrar-me-ia do nome se me dessem tempo = I would remember the name if you gave me time.

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Describes hypothetical past actions: would have remembered / would have reminded.

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

Used in subordinate clauses after verbs of wish, doubt, emotion, or command. Espero que te lembres de mim = I hope you remember me.

Imperfect subjunctive — imperfeito do conjuntivo

Used for hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situations. Se eu me lembrasse do caminho... = If I remembered the way...

Future subjunctive — futuro do conjuntivo

Used in clauses about future possibilities, especially after se, quando, and enquanto. Quando te lembrares, telefona-me = when you remember, phone me.

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 (identical to the present subjunctive with não):

When the imperative is reflexive (to say remember!), the pronoun attaches: lembra-te (tu), lembre-se (você), lembremo-nos (nós — note the dropped final -s), lembrem-se (vocês). Negative: não te lembres, não se lembre, não nos lembremos, não se lembrem.

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

Compound personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal composto

The two meanings: lembrar vs lembrar-se

This is where learners burn time. The two constructions below are not interchangeable.

Transitive lembrar: to remind

When lembrar is used without a reflexive pronoun, it means to remind — to bring something to someone else's attention. The structure is:

lembrar + [direct object: person] + de + [thing]

or, increasingly common in modern European Portuguese:

lembrar + [indirect object: a alguém] + [thing] or lembrar a alguém que...

Both patterns occur. The de-pattern treats the person as a direct object; the a-pattern treats them as an indirect object. You will hear both.

Reflexive lembrar-se: to remember

When lembrar takes a reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, se), it means to remember — the memory is happening inside the subject. The structure is:

lembrar-se + de + [thing/person] or lembrar-se + que + [clause, indicative]

Common uses and expressions

• lembrar-se de + infinitivo — to remember to do something: Lembra-te de levar o guarda-chuva.
• lembrar-se que + indicativo — to remember that (a fact): Lembro-me que estavas lá.
• lembrar alguém de algo / a alguém algo — to remind someone of/about something.
• lembrar a / fazer lembrar — to be reminiscent of: Este vinho lembra os vinhos do Dão.
• se bem me lembro — if I remember correctly (a useful hedge).
• Nem me lembro! — I can't even remember! (informal).
• Olha que me lembro bem... — careful, I remember perfectly well... (mildly confrontational).

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Lembrar is fully regular as an -ar verb. Every conjugated form follows the standard pattern; no stems change, no spelling rules apply.
• The distinction between lembrar (to remind) and lembrar-se (to remember) is the crucial fact about this verb. The reflexive pronoun changes the meaning, not just the register.
• Lembrar-se always takes de before its object: lembro-me *de ti, lembra-te de comprar pão*.
• Lembrar (transitive) can mean remind (someone of something) or be reminiscent of (when the subject is inanimate): Esta foto lembra-me a minha avó.
• In reflexive form, the imperative is lembra-te / lembre-se / lembrem-se — pay attention to pronoun placement and the hyphen.
• 1st-person plural preterite lembrámos is spelled with an acute accent in European Portuguese (unlike Brazilian lembramos).