Fala Gringo › Verbs › descansar
descansar — to rest
Full conjugation of descansar 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 descansar in Brazilian Portuguese
Descansar is the Brazilian Portuguese verb for to rest. 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 descanso — I rest. The pretérito perfeito is the finished past, the English simple past: eu descansei — I rested. The pretérito imperfeito is for habits, background and how things used to be: eu descansava — I used to rest / was resting.
Said the Rio way, descanso sounds like dehsh-KAHN-soo. The nós form descansamos ends in the carioca “sh”, dehsh-kahn-SAH-moosh — the most recognisable sound of the Rio accent, where São Paulo says a plain s.
Presente — present tense
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | descansoI rest | dehsh-KAHN-soo | Eu descanso no domingo. |
| você / ele / ela | descansayou rest | dehsh-KAHN-sah | Você descansa depois do almoço? |
| nós | descansamoswe rest | dehsh-kahn-SAH-moosh | Nós descansamos um pouco à tarde. |
| vocês / eles / elas | descansamyou all rest | dehsh-KAHN-sahng | Vocês descansam no fim de semana? |
Pretérito Perfeito — simple past
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | descanseiI rested | dehsh-kahn-SAY | Eu descansei bastante ontem. |
| você / ele / ela | descansouyou rested | dehsh-kahn-SOH | Você descansou no feriado? |
| nós | descansamoswe rested | dehsh-kahn-SAH-moosh | Nós descansamos depois da viagem. |
| vocês / eles / elas | descansaramyou all rested | dehsh-kahn-SAH-rahng | Vocês descansaram um pouco? |
Pretérito Imperfeito — past habitual, “used to”
| Person | Form | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | descansavaI used to rest / was resting | dehsh-kahn-SAH-vah | Eu descansava todo domingo de manhã. |
| você / ele / ela | descansavayou used to rest / were resting | dehsh-kahn-SAH-vah | Você descansava depois da aula? |
| nós | descansávamoswe used to rest / were resting | dehsh-kahn-SAH-vah-moosh | Nós descansávamos na rede à tarde. |
| vocês / eles / elas | descansavamyou all used to rest / were resting | dehsh-kahn-SAH-vahng | Vocês descansavam nas férias? |
More “Rotina e lazer” verbs
- comer to eat
- beber to drink
- tomar to take (a shower, a coffee, medicine)
- cozinhar to cook
- almoçar to have lunch
- jantar to have dinner
- assistir to watch
- escutar to listen (actively)
- dançar to dance
- viajar to travel
- praticar to practice
- treinar to train
- curtir to enjoy (slang)
- aproveitar to make the most of, to take advantage of
- frequentar to attend, to go regularly
- jogar to play (sports), to throw
- torcer to root for, to cheer (for a team)
- brincar to play (kids), to joke
- nadar to swim
- passear to go for a walk, to stroll
- ganhar to win, to earn
- perder to lose