Tomar vs. Pegar in Brazilian Portuguese: Take a Bus, Have a Drink, or Take Medicine — Practice
A guided practice lesson with English explanations, Brazilian Portuguese examples, and answers you can check. Read the examples, recall the meaning, then say a version of your own.
Use pegar with catching or boarding transport
Pegar means pick up, catch, or take in many Brazilian Portuguese expressions. Pegar o ônibus and pegar um táxi are common ways to say take the bus or a taxi. The context tells you which meaning applies.
Some speakers also say tomar o ônibus, so treat this as a common pattern rather than an absolute rule. Name the route or destination when asking for directions.
| Brazilian Portuguese | English meaning |
|---|---|
| Onde eu pego o ônibus para o centro? | Where do I catch the bus to downtown? |
| Vamos pegar um táxi na saída. | Let’s take a taxi at the exit. |
Use tomar in food and medicine phrases
Tomar commonly appears with drinks and medicine: tomar um café, tomar água, tomar um remédio. Learn these as whole verb phrases because English uses take or have for several different actions.
For health questions, this vocabulary helps you ask about instructions. A qualified professional or the product label should confirm what to take and when.
| Brazilian Portuguese | English meaning |
|---|---|
| Vou tomar um café antes da reunião. | I’m going to have a coffee before the meeting. |
| Devo tomar este remédio com água? | Should I take this medicine with water? |
Learn the verb with its object
English uses take for transport, food, medicine, and more. Portuguese distributes those meanings across pegar, tomar, levar, and other verbs. The noun after the verb helps you learn a natural combination.
Regional usage varies and some expressions overlap. Save a full sentence when learning a verb so you remember its usual object.
| Brazilian Portuguese | English meaning |
|---|---|
| A gente pega o metrô e depois toma um café. | We’ll take the subway and then have a coffee. |
| Ele tomou o remédio antes de sair. | He took the medicine before leaving. |
Remember: Pegar o ônibus is common in Brazil; tomar is common with drinks and medicine. Learn each verb together with its object and context.
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.
Where do I catch the bus to downtown?
Show a Portuguese answer
Onde eu pego o ônibus para o centro?
Let’s take a taxi at the exit.
Show a Portuguese answer
Vamos pegar um táxi na saída.
I’m going to have a coffee before the meeting.
Show a Portuguese answer
Vou tomar um café antes da reunião.
Should I take this medicine with water?
Show a Portuguese answer
Devo tomar este remédio com água?
We’ll take the subway and then have a coffee.
Show a Portuguese answer
A gente pega o metrô e depois toma um café.
He took the medicine before leaving.
Show a Portuguese answer
Ele tomou o remédio antes de sair.
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.
Pegar o ônibus is common in Brazil; tomar is common with drinks and medicine. Learn each verb together with its object and context.
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 Tomar vs. Pegar in Brazilian Portuguese: Take a Bus, Have a Drink, or Take Medicine 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.
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