Fiz uma pesquisa rápida para comparar os preços.

Fiz is the 1st person singular form of fazer in the pretérito perfeito (the simple past in Portuguese).

• fazer = to do / to make
• fiz = I did / I made

So Fiz uma pesquisa rápida literally means I did a quick search/research.

This tense is used for a completed action in the past. In this sentence, the speaker is saying they already completed the quick search.

A few forms of fazer in this tense:

• eu fiz = I did
• você/ele/ela fez = you/he/she did
• nós fizemos = we did
• eles/elas fizeram = they did

Portuguese often uses fazer + noun where English might prefer a simple verb.

So:

• fazer uma pesquisa = to do some research / to do a search
• English often says I searched or I looked it up
• Portuguese often says fiz uma pesquisa

You can also use related verbs in some contexts, but fazer uma pesquisa is very natural and common.

Examples:

• Fiz uma pesquisa no Google. = I did a search on Google.
• Fiz uma pesquisa sobre o assunto. = I did some research on the subject.

This is a very common pattern in Portuguese:

• fazer uma pergunta = ask a question
• fazer uma visita = make a visit / pay a visit
• fazer um teste = do a test

In this sentence, pesquisa means something like:

• search
• research
• lookup

The exact translation depends on context.

Here, because of rápida and para comparar os preços, it sounds like a quick search or quick bit of research—probably online or by checking a few sources.

Useful related meanings:

• pesquisa acadêmica = academic research
• pesquisa de mercado = market research
• pesquisa no Google = Google search

So pesquisa can range from very informal to very formal, depending on context.

In Portuguese, adjectives often come after the noun.

So:

• uma pesquisa rápida = a quick search

This is the most neutral and natural order.

You may sometimes see adjectives before the noun, but that can sound more literary, emphatic, or stylistically marked. For everyday speech, pesquisa rápida is the normal choice.

Also notice agreement:

• pesquisa is feminine singular
• so the adjective must also be feminine singular: rápida

Compare:

• um teste rápido = a quick test
• uma pesquisa rápida = a quick search
• duas pesquisas rápidas = two quick searches

Because adjectives in Portuguese must agree with the noun in gender and number.

Here:

• pesquisa is a feminine singular noun
• so the adjective must also be feminine singular
• therefore: rápida

Examples:

• um carro rápido = a fast car
• uma resposta rápida = a quick answer
• pesquisas rápidas = quick searches

This kind of agreement is very important in Portuguese.

Para here means in order to or simply to.

So:

• para comparar os preços = to compare the prices / in order to compare the prices

After para, Portuguese often uses the infinitive when expressing purpose.

Structure:

• para + infinitive

Examples:

• Estudo para aprender. = I study to learn.
• Saí cedo para evitar trânsito. = I left early to avoid traffic.
• Fiz uma pesquisa rápida para comparar os preços. = I did a quick search to compare the prices.

This is very common and straightforward in Portuguese.

Because after para expressing purpose, Portuguese normally uses the infinitive.

So:

• para comparar = to compare

If you said comparei, that would mean I compared, which would create a different structure.

Compare:

• Fiz uma pesquisa rápida para comparar os preços. = I did a quick search to compare the prices.

• Fiz uma pesquisa rápida e comparei os preços. = I did a quick search and compared the prices.

The first sentence focuses on purpose. The second gives two completed actions.

Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English does.

So os preços literally means the prices, but in English we might naturally just say prices depending on context.

In Portuguese, the article often sounds more natural when referring to a specific set or category being considered.

Here, comparar os preços means comparing the relevant prices—probably the prices of the products or services the speaker was checking.

This is very common in Portuguese:

• gosto de ouvir música = I like listening to music
• vou ao mercado = I’m going to the market
• comparei os preços = I compared the prices

English often drops the article where Portuguese keeps it.

Yes, that is grammatically correct, but it feels a bit different.

Compare:

• Fiz uma pesquisa rápida para comparar os preços.
• Pesquisei rapidamente para comparar os preços.

The first one is often more natural in everyday Brazilian Portuguese for the idea of doing a quick search / some quick research.

The second one means more literally I researched quickly. It is correct, but it may sound a bit more formal or less idiomatic in some everyday contexts.

So if you want a very natural conversational sentence, fiz uma pesquisa rápida is an excellent choice.

They are related, but not always interchangeable.

pesquisa

Usually means:

• research
• investigation
• search, especially informational search

It often suggests looking for information.

busca

Can mean:

• search
• pursuit
• retrieval

It is common in contexts like:

• busca na internet = internet search
• ferramenta de busca = search tool

procura

Often emphasizes:

• the act of looking for something
• demand, in some business contexts

Examples:

• Estou à procura de um apartamento. = I’m looking for an apartment.
• A procura aumentou. = Demand increased.

In your sentence, pesquisa fits very well because the speaker is checking information in order to compare prices.

A natural approximate pronunciation is:

feez OO-ma pehs-KEE-zah HAH-pee-dah PAH-rah kom-pah-RAHR oos PREH-sos

A few notes:

• Fiz sounds roughly like feez
• pesquisa is stressed on qui: pehs-KEE-zah
• rápida is stressed on rá: RAH-pee-dah
• comparar is stressed on the last syllable: kom-pah-RAR
• preços is stressed on pre: PREH-sos

In natural speech, para is often reduced in Brazil:

• careful: PAH-rah
• casual: often closer to pra

So you may hear:

• Fiz uma pesquisa rápida pra comparar os preços.

That version is extremely common in spoken Brazilian Portuguese.