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How To Translate Verbs “Esperar” and “Chegar” Correctly Posted by on Jul 10, 2014 in Vocabulary

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Hello there!

Today we’re going to learn how to translate two very common verbs in Portuguese: esperar and chegar.

Esperar

The verb esperar can be translated in three different ways into English. Let’s check them out!

01. to hope. The noun is esperança (hope).

Espero ganhar na loteria no fim de semana.
I hope to win the lottery on the weekend.

Esperamos que você possa vir.
We hope you’ll be able to come.

Espero que você não se importe, mas…
I hope you don’t mind, but…

02. to wait

Não tem pressa, posso esperar.
There’s no hurry, I can wait.

Esperarei aqui até você voltar.
I’ll wait here until you come back.

Ela estava esperando o ônibus.
She was waiting for the bus.

Por quem você está esperando?
Who are you waiting for?

03. to expect

Espero que você passe!*
I expect you to pass.

*This sentence can also be translated as “I hope you pass!”,it all depends on the context.

Não espere muito dele porque ele é muito irresponsável.
Don’t expect much from him because he’s too irresponsible.

Todos esperávamos que nosso time ganhasse.
We all expected our team to win.

Chegar

Chegar means to arrive, but we can also use “get” or “come”, depending on the situation. Check out some examples:

Quando o ônibus chegou, eu já estava na rodoviária há meia hora.
When the bus arrived, I’d already been at the bus station for half an hour.

Ele chegou bem cedo para a reunião.
He came very early for the meeting.

Os alunos que chegarem atrasados não poderão entrar.
The students who come late won’t be allowed to enter.

Quando cheguei aqui, a sala ainda estava vazia.
When I got here, the classroom was still empty.

Ontem à noite, cheguei em casa muito tarde.
Last night I got home very late.

Quando você chegar ao hotel, não se esqueça de me ligar.
When you get to the hotel, don’t forget to call me.

We translate chegar as come when we arrive late or early:

chegar cedo – come early
chegar atrasado – come late

We translate chegar as get when we mention where we arrive.

chegar em casa – get home
chegar aqui – get here
chegar lá – get there
chegar ao cinema – get to the movies

And to finish our post there are two very cool expressions with chegar:

Chega pra lá! – Move over!
Chega pra cá! – Come closer!

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About the Author: Adir

English / Spanish teacher and translator for over 20 years. I have been blogging since 2007 and I am also a professional singer in my spare time.