• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Street Smart Brazil

We teach smart Portuguese

  • Contact
  • My Account
  • Cart
  • Policies
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Disclaimer
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
Speak Portuguese With Ease
  • Home
  • About
  • Shop for Lessons
  • Starter Kit
  • Testimonials
  • Resources
  • Blog
Trazer vs Levar: Do I Bring or Do I Take – Differences in Use (with Video)

Trazer vs Levar: Do I Bring or Do I Take – Differences in Use (with Video)

posted on February 22, 2011

Any student can get a dictionary and look up the meaning of these verbs, right?

  • To bring = trazer
  • To take = levar

However what you do not find in dictionaries or in any traditional Portuguese language blog is the key difference in the use of these verbs in Portuguese and in English. These verbs are tricky for both students of Portuguese and for Brazilian students of English.

When studying the examples below keep in mind that in Brazil:

  • We bring things to where we are at the moment in which we are speaking
  • We take things to where we will be going

Situation 1:

Marta is throwing a party at her place later this evening. She is on the phone with her friend Rodrigo. Marta is at home. Rodrigo is at work. They are talking about the party:

Rodrigo, calling from work:
 
 
Marta, o que levo para a festa? Estou pensando em levar umas cervejas e pãozinho de queijo. O que você acha?
 
Marta, what do I take to the party? I am thinking about taking beer and pãozinho de queijo. What do you think?
Marta, speaking from her home:
 
 
 
Pode trazer qualquer coisa. Pãozinho é uma boa ideia, com certeza.
 
You can bring anything. Pãozinho is a good idea, for sure.

I intentionally translated Rodrigo’s question to English using the verb ‘to take’. This is how we would say it in Brazil. He will take food and drinks to where he is going, i.e., Marta’s place. Because she is at her home, she tells him to bring the stuff to where she is at the moment in which she is speaking.

Situation 2:

What if Rodrigo and Marta were both at work when they have this conversation? Check it out:

Rodrigo and Marta are at work:
Marta, o que levo para a festa? Estou pensando em levar umas cervejas e pãozinho de queijo. O que você acha?
 
Marta, what do I take to the party? I am thinking about taking beer and pãozinho de queijo. What do you think?
Pode levar qualquer coisa. Pãozinho é uma boa ideia, com certeza.
 
You can take anything. Pãozinho is a good idea, for sure.

Now both Rodrigo and Marta use the verb ‘levar = to take’ because they are talking about taking stuff to where they will be going. See the difference between English and Portuguese?

If you have Brazilian friends, at some point you probably heard them saying in English: “Yes, I will be at the party tomorrow. I will take a bottle of wine. Now you know why we Brazilians do so 🙂 It is the literal translation of how we speak in Portuguese.

Situation 3:

John lives in San Francisco and is packing to go to Brazil on vacation. This will be his first time in Brazil and he is unsure about what to pack. He thinks:

“Preciso levar um casaco? Com certeza vou levar minha máquina fotográfica.”
= Do I need to take a coat? I will surely take my camera.

Remember, we take things to where we are going. John is in the US and will take his camera to Brazil (not bring it, as we would say in English).

Situation 4:

When John is in Brazil, he thinks:

“Foi uma boa ideia trazer roupas leves.”
= It was a good idea to bring light clothes.

We bring things to where we are at the moment in which we are speaking.

Situation 5:

Now John wants to buy gifts for his friends in the USA. He is still in Brazil. He thinks:

“Vou levar café brasileiro para meus amigos.”
= I will take Brazilian coffee to my friends.

He is in Brazil and he will take coffee to the USA which is where he is going to.

I hope that helps you use ‘trazer’ and ‘levar’ with confidence.

Até a próxima.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB9JltJwQTA]

—————-

Schedule your Portuguese Demo Lesson.

Street Smart Brazil offers one-on-one and group classes online via webcam. We have a fantastic team of tutors, exclusive class materials, and complete programs from absolute beginner to fluent.  See what our customers are saying.

Related Posts:

  • My Favorite Online Dictionaries to Learn Portuguese
  • 4 language learning hacks for your Portuguese
  • To Turn On in Portuguese: 3 Different Verbs

About Luciana Lage

I’m Luciana, founder of Street Smart Brazil. I am so happy to be able to help you in your Portuguese speaking journey! Teaching Portuguese as a foreign language was one of the best things that could have happened in my life. I’ve had the privilege of teaching Portuguese at the University of California, Berkeley and the University of San Francisco. Now I am fully dedicated to the Street Smart Brazil community.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Will

    March 24, 2020 at 3:09 pm

    Obrigado, isto é muito útil!

    Reply
    • Luciana Lage

      March 24, 2020 at 4:32 pm

      Obrigada!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Want to see your pic by your comment? Get a free custom avatar at Gravatar.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Brazil
  • Brazilian music
  • Brazilian Portuguese
  • Business Culture
  • Culture and History
  • Flashcards
  • Food
  • Grammar
  • Idiomatic Expressions
  • Learning Languages
  • Pronunciation
  • Resources
  • Video lessons
  • Visiting Brazil
  • Vocabulary

Schedule a Trial Session

Testimonials

I highly recommend Street Smart Brazil. They’ll have you speaking Portuguese in surprisingly little time and you’ll learn a lot about Brazil and its people and culture.
Kenneth
If you can’t move to Brazil to learn Portuguese, the next best thing is to join the classes at Street Smart Brazil. Years ago, I started out with Luciana for one hour a week. It seemed a long tim… Read more
Gary
Street Smart Brazil has been incredible. As someone who is focused on international business as a profession and a passion, learning languages has always been critical in helping me bridge cultures an… Read more
Jessica
I started traveling to Brazil 3 years ago for business and used Pimsleur to give me some basic proficiency. My employees in Brazil were always impressed with my willingness to learn their language and… Read more
Richard

Find Resources

Make your learning fun and easy with good resources.
Learn More

Recent Posts

  • Brazilian Portuguese Idiom: Não é a minha praia
  • Brazilian Books You Need on Your Bookshelf
  • How to use ONDE and AONDE in Portuguese
  • Master Question Words in Portuguese: O que, Que, Qual
  • Meio or Meia? How to say KIND OF in Portuguese

Search

Cart

Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil

Footer Subscribe

Footer Full CTA

Book a Trial Lesson today to get started.

Get Started Now

Footer CTA

Street Smart Brazil

  • About
  • Shop For a Portuguese Class
  • Testimonials
  • Blog

Portuguese Classes

  • Trial Lesson
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Subscription
  • One-on-One Portuguese Lessons via Video Meetings – Packages
  • Celpe-Bras Prep Classes with Street Smart Brazil


Street Smart Brazil, LLC

phone 415.573.8180
email info@streetsmartbrazil.com
Oakland, California

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Disclaimer
  • Sitemap

© 2014–2023 Street Smart Brazil, All Rights Reserved.