Perder vs. Faltar: Miss an Event or Be Absent in Portuguese — Practice

Use perder when you miss or lose something

Perder means to lose, miss, or fail to catch something. Use it for a bus you did not catch, an event you missed, or an opportunity that passed: perder o ônibus, perder uma reunião, perder uma chance.

This verb presents the event as something that got away from you. It is often the direct choice when the focus is the missed event or opportunity, rather than your attendance record.

Use faltar to say someone is absent or something is missing

Faltar means to be absent, be missing, or be lacking. To say someone did not attend an event, use faltar a: faltei à aula (I missed class / I was absent from class). In conversation, the contraction faltei na aula is also heard in Brazil, while faltar à aula is a useful standard pattern to learn.

Faltar can also describe time or items that remain: faltam dois dias (two days are left), falta sal (salt is missing). In these sentences, the subject may be the thing or amount that is missing, so verb agreement can change.

Remember: Perder focuses on something missed or lost. Faltar describes absence, something missing, or an amount left. For attendance, faltar à aula and perder a aula are both possible, with a different emphasis.

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. I missed the bus by two minutes.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Perdi o ônibus por dois minutos.

2. She missed the first part of the movie.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ela perdeu a primeira parte do filme.

3. I don’t want to miss this opportunity.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Não quero perder essa oportunidade.

4. He was absent from the morning meeting.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ele faltou à reunião de manhã.

5. There are three pages left to finish the book.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Faltam três páginas para terminar o livro.

6. We still need to buy the coffee.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ainda falta comprar o café.

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.

Perder focuses on something missed or lost. Faltar describes absence, something missing, or an amount left. For attendance, faltar à aula and perder a aula are both possible, with a different emphasis.

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 Perder vs. Faltar: Miss an Event or Be Absent in Portuguese 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.