Borrow vs. Lend in Portuguese: Emprestar or Pegar Emprestado — Practice

Use emprestar from the lender’s perspective

Emprestar means to lend or loan something. The sentence context identifies who gives the item and who receives it, so include the person when that might be unclear.

Use pegar emprestado to emphasize borrowing

Pegar emprestado literally means to take on loan and makes the borrower’s perspective explicit. The participle emprestado agrees with the item: emprestada, emprestados, emprestadas.

Include who gives and who receives

Portuguese often uses de or com to name where an item was borrowed from, and para to name the recipient when lending. If the item is important, agree on when it will be returned.

Remember: Think of emprestar as lend or loan, and use pegar emprestado when you want to clearly say borrow.

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. Can you lend me your pen?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você pode me emprestar sua caneta?

2. I lent my umbrella to Ana.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Emprestei meu guarda-chuva para a Ana.

3. Can I borrow your book?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Posso pegar seu livro emprestado?

4. I borrowed some tools from my neighbor.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Peguei umas ferramentas emprestadas com meu vizinho.

5. I borrowed this charger from Júlia.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Peguei esse carregador emprestado com a Júlia.

6. Can I return the book on Friday?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Posso devolver o livro na sexta-feira?

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.

Think of emprestar as lend or loan, and use pegar emprestado when you want to clearly say borrow.

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 Borrow vs. Lend in Portuguese: Emprestar or Pegar Emprestado? 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.