Fala Gringo › Verbs › chamar
chamar — to call
Full conjugation of chamar in the tenses that matter for everyday speech, with pronunciation hints in the Rio (carioca) accent and example sentences the way Brazilians actually talk — not textbook European Portuguese.
How to use chamar in Brazilian Portuguese
Chamar is the Brazilian Portuguese verb for to call. It is a regular -ar verb, so once you know the endings there are no surprises.
Three tenses do almost all the work in conversation. The presente covers the present and the near future: eu chamo — I call (summon). The pretérito perfeito is the finished past, the English simple past: eu chamei — I called (summon). The pretérito imperfeito is for habits, background and how things used to be: eu chamava — I used to call (by name).
Said the Rio way, chamo sounds like SHAH-moo. The nós form chamamos ends in the carioca “sh”, shah-MAH-moosh — the most recognisable sound of the Rio accent, where São Paulo says a plain s.
Presente — present tense
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | chamoI call (summon) | SHAH-moo | Eu chamo um táxi. |
| você / ele / ela | chamayou call (summon) | SHAH-mah | Você chama o garçom pra mim? |
| nós | chamamoswe call (summon) | shah-MAH-moosh | Nós chamamos o garçom. |
| vocês / eles / elas | chamamyou all call (summon) | SHAH-mahng | Vocês chamam um médico? |
Pretérito Perfeito — simple past
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | chameiI called (summon) | shah-MAY | Eu chamei a Marina ontem. |
| você / ele / ela | chamouyou called (summon) | shah-MOH | Você chamou o Uber? |
| nós | chamamoswe called (summon) | shah-MAH-moosh | Nós chamamos o garçom. |
| vocês / eles / elas | chamaramyou all called (summon) | shah-MAH-rahng | Vocês chamaram o médico? |
Pretérito Imperfeito — past habitual, “used to”
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | chamavaI used to call (by name) | shah-MAH-vah | Eu chamava o meu cachorro de Rex. |
| você / ele / ela | chamavayou used to call (by name) | shah-MAH-vah | Você chamava a sua avó de vovó? |
| nós | chamávamoswe used to call (summon) | shah-MAH-vah-moosh | Nós chamávamos a vizinha para o café. |
| vocês / eles / elas | chamavamyou all used to call (by name) | shah-MAH-vahng | Vocês chamavam ele de Zé? |
More “Comunicação” verbs
- falar to speak, to talk
- gritar to shout, to scream
- dizer to say
- perguntar to ask
- responder to answer
- explicar to explain
- conversar to chat
- contar to tell, to count
- repetir to repeat
- entender to understand
- aprender to learn
- ensinar to teach
- sugerir to suggest
- receber to receive, to get (mail, a message)
- mandar to send
- avisar to let (someone) know, to warn