Fazer Falta in Portuguese: Say Someone or Something Is Missing — Practice

Use fazer falta to describe an absence that matters

Fazer falta means to be missed, be absent in a noticeable way, or be needed. The person or thing that is missing is the subject: Você faz falta aqui means “You are missed here.” The person who feels the absence can be added with para or a pronoun such as me.

The verb fazer agrees with that subject. One person or thing faz falta; plural things fazem falta. This pattern is useful for people, objects, support, and other things whose absence has an effect.

Compare fazer falta with sentir falta de

Sentir falta de puts the feeling first: Sinto falta de você means “I miss you.” Fazer falta puts the effect of the absence first: Você faz falta para mim means “I miss you” or “Your absence matters to me.” Both can be natural; the emphasis changes.

Do not translate English “I miss” word for word with perder. Perder usually means to lose or miss an event, while sentir falta de and fazer falta express emotional or practical absence.

Remember: Use sentir falta de to foreground who feels the longing and fazer falta to foreground the person or thing whose absence is felt or whose presence is needed.

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. You’re missed in our conversations.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você faz falta nas nossas conversas.

2. Your help was missed during the move.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Sua ajuda fez falta na mudança.

3. Those documents are needed to finish the registration.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Esses documentos fazem falta para terminar o cadastro.

4. I miss living near the beach.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Sinto falta de morar perto da praia.

5. The missing chair leaves a gap in the room.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A cadeira vazia faz falta na sala.

6. I missed the eight o’clock bus.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Perdi o ônibus das oito.

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 sentir falta de to foreground who feels the longing and fazer falta to foreground the person or thing whose absence is felt or whose presence is needed.

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 Fazer Falta in Portuguese: Say Someone or Something Is Missing 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.