Errar é humano.

To err is human.

Breakdown of Errar é humano.

• ser: to be
• errar: to get wrong
• humano: human

Questions & Answers about Errar é humano.

What does errar mean here?

Here, errar means to make a mistake or to be wrong.

In other contexts, errar can also mean things like to miss a target or answer, but in Errar é humano, it means making mistakes in a general sense.

Why is errar in the infinitive?

Because Portuguese, like English, can use the infinitive as the subject of a sentence.

So:

• Errar = to make mistakes / making mistakes
• é humano = is human

Literally, the structure is very close to To make mistakes is human in English.

This is a very normal construction in Portuguese.

What does é mean, and why does it have an accent?

É is the 3rd person singular of the verb ser:

• ser = to be
• é = is

The accent is important because:

• é = is
• e = and

So the accent distinguishes two different words.