Faltar vs. Sentir Falta in Portuguese: Be Absent or Miss Someone — Practice

Use faltar for absence or shortage

Faltar can mean to be absent, missing, or left, depending on the sentence. A person can faltar à aula (be absent from class); a shop can be described as estar faltando leite (running out of milk).

Pay attention to the subject: in falta pão, bread is what is missing. This can feel different from English ‘we are out of bread,’ but it is natural Portuguese.

Use sentir falta de to say you miss something

Sentir falta de means to miss someone or something because they are absent or you wish they were present. The person who feels the absence is the subject: sinto falta da minha família.

The preposition de contracts with articles: de + a becomes da and de + o becomes do. Put the person, place, or activity after it.

Compare attendance with a feeling

Ana faltou à reunião means Ana did not attend. Senti falta da Ana na reunião means I noticed and missed her presence. One describes attendance; the other expresses a person’s feeling or observation.

Ask whether an item is missing with está faltando…? When you want to express nostalgia, say sinto falta de… and name the person, place, or activity.

Remember: Use faltar for absence or shortage; use sentir falta de to say that you miss someone or something.

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. Pedro was absent from work on Monday.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   O Pedro faltou ao trabalho na segunda-feira.

2. A chair is missing from the room.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Está faltando uma cadeira na sala.

3. I miss my friends from Brazil.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Sinto falta dos meus amigos do Brasil.

4. She misses living near the sea.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ela sente falta de morar perto do mar.

5. Is any document missing?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Está faltando algum documento?

6. I missed talking with you.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Senti falta de conversar com você.

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Use faltar for absence or shortage; use sentir falta de to say that you miss someone or something.

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Faltar vs. Sentir Falta in Portuguese: Be Absent or Miss Someone? lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.