Traduzir (To Translate) — Full Conjugation

Traduzir is the Portuguese verb for to translate — between languages, between codes, between registers. It belongs to a small but important class of -ir verbs ending in -uzir (also produzir, conduzir, reduzir, introduzir, seduzir, deduzir, induzir, aduzir, reconduzir), all of which share a single mild irregularity: the third-person singular of the present indicative drops the final -e of the regular ending, giving traduz rather than traduze. Historically this goes back to the Latin ending -cit, and it survives in the same place as the more famous faz (from fazer) and diz (from dizer).

Beyond that one form, traduzir behaves as a regular third-conjugation (-ir) verb in every tense. The other place learners need to pay attention is prepositional: translating from one language into another uses the pair de … para …, not the English-feel-alike de … a … or em ….

Header

Present indicative — presente do indicativo

The only irregularity of the whole verb sits here: traduz (3sg) instead of the "regular" traduze. The pattern matches faz (from fazer), diz (from dizer), and produz (from produzir). Notice that tu has the predictable -es ending; only the bare 3sg form loses the final -e.

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Fully regular -ir preterite. Unlike the strong preterites of dizer (disse) and fazer (fiz), traduzir keeps the regular stem.

As with all -ir verbs, the nós form (traduzimos) is identical in the present and the preterite; context disambiguates.

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

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

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Conditional — condicional

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

Formed from the regular first-person stem traduz- + -a endings. The 3sg irregularity of the indicative does not propagate to the subjunctive.

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

The tu affirmative traduz is derived from the 3sg present indicative (minus the -e that would normally be dropped anyway) and is therefore identical to it. The você / nós / vocês forms borrow from the present subjunctive.

Affirmative:

Negative:

Personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal

Compound personal infinitive — infinitivo pessoal composto

Usage — the prepositions that follow

Traduzir de X para Y — from language X into language Y

This is the core pattern. The source language takes de, the target language takes para. Never use a for the target language in this context (that is a Spanish and French pattern).

Traduzir para + language (target only)

When the source is obvious or unspecified, just give the target:

Traduzir por (to render as)

Use por when you mean "translate this word/phrase as that word/phrase":

Traduzir palavra por palavra — literal translation

A fixed collocation meaning "word for word":

Traduzir-se em / por — to be reflected in / to result in (figurative)

In a more abstract sense, traduzir-se means "to be expressed as" or "to result in":

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Traduzir is a regular -ir verb with one single irregularity: the 3sg present indicative is traduz, not traduze. The tu affirmative imperative is identical: traduz.
• The 3sg drop is shared by the whole -uzir family (produz, conduz, reduz, introduz, deduz, seduz) and by the unrelated but parallel forms faz and diz.
• The canonical preposition pattern is traduzir DE X PARA Y — source language takes de, target language takes para. Do not use a or em for the target.
• Traduzir palavra por palavra = to translate word for word.
• The reflexive traduzir-se em / por is a useful figurative idiom: "to result in," "to be reflected as."
• Related lexicon: tradução (translation), tradutor / tradutora (translator), intérprete (interpreter — for spoken translation).