Viver (To Live) — Full Conjugation

Viver means to live — in the broadest sense of the word. It covers being alive (o meu avô ainda vive), residing somewhere (vivo em Lisboa), earning a living (vive de traduções), and experiencing life (viveu intensamente). Whereas morar is narrow and only means "to reside (at an address)", viver is the general-purpose verb for every aspect of a life lived.

It is a completely regular second-conjugation (-er) verb. There are no stem changes, no irregular forms, and no spelling alternations. The only thing that can trip you up is the fact that the nós form is vivemos in both present indicative and preterite — a homograph typical of -er and -ir verbs.

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Present indicative — presente do indicativo

Imperfect indicative — pretérito imperfeito

Quando era pequena, vivia no campo = when I was little, I lived in the countryside.

Preterite indicative — pretérito perfeito simples

Vivi dez anos no estrangeiro = I lived abroad for ten years.

Note the homograph: vivemos is the same in the present (we live) and in the preterite (we lived). This is a feature of -er and -ir verbs generally. Context — and the presence of a time expression — tells you which is meant. Vivemos em Lisboa há dois anos = we've been living in Lisbon for two years (present). Vivemos em Lisboa durante dois anos = we lived in Lisbon for two years (preterite — implies it's over).

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

Formal/literary only. Compound pluperfect below is used in speech.

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

Present perfect — pretérito perfeito composto

Repeated or continuous action up to now. Tenho vivido momentos difíceis = I've been going through hard times.

Simple future — futuro do indicativo simples

Future perfect — futuro perfeito

Conditional — condicional

Conditional perfect — condicional composto

Present subjunctive — presente do conjuntivo

Formed with -a endings (since viver is -er): viva, vivas, viva...

Viva is also the classic exclamation of celebration — Viva Portugal!, Vivam os noivos! ("long live the bride and groom!"). This is the 3rd-person (singular or plural, matching the subject) subjunctive used as an optative. As a standalone interjection ("Viva!"), it is often treated as invariant.

Imperfect subjunctive — imperfeito do conjuntivo

Future subjunctive — futuro do conjuntivo

For regular verbs, the future subjunctive is identical to the personal infinitive in form.

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

Usage: viver vs morar

The difference between these two verbs is one of the most useful distinctions in Portuguese.

• morar — narrow, concrete: to reside at a specific address or dwelling. Always about a physical residence. Onde é que moras? = where do you live? (asking for your address)
• viver — broad: to live, in any sense — to be alive, to reside, to experience, to earn a living. Onde é que vives? is also acceptable and common; but Como é que vives? (how do you live?) cannot be expressed with morar.

A useful test: if English would accept "to reside" or "to be based", use morar. If the meaning is any broader than that, use viver.

Key constructions

viver em + place

Where you reside or live more broadly.

viver de + source

To live on / live off something — your income source or what you rely on.

viver com + person/condition

To live with a person, or to cope/live with a condition.

viver bem / mal

To live well / badly — quality of life, standard of living.

viver + direct object — to experience

Unusually, viver can take a direct object to mean "to live through" / "to experience".

Viva! — the exclamation

As a standalone exclamation, Viva! means "Hooray!" / "Long live!" — common at ceremonies, celebrations, and national holidays.

Example sentences in context

Common mistakes

Key takeaways

• Viver is a fully regular second-conjugation (-er) verb. No stem changes, no spelling alternations.
• Viver is broader than morar: use viver for existing, residing, earning a living, experiencing — use morar only for physical residence.
• The nós form vivemos is identical in the present and the preterite — typical of -er and -ir verbs. Context tells you which.
• Productive constructions: viver em (live in), viver de (live on/off), viver com (live with), viver bem/mal (live well/badly), viver + object (experience).
• Viva! as a standalone is an optative exclamation ("long live!"), derived from the 3rd-person present subjunctive.