Cuidar de vs. Tomar Conta de: Say ‘Take Care of’ in Portuguese — Practice

Use cuidar de for care, attention, and maintenance

Cuidar de can mean taking care of a person, animal, object, or responsibility. It highlights attention and care and also appears in expressions about looking after yourself or maintaining something.

Remember the preposition: cuidar de alguém or cuidar de alguma coisa. When a definite article follows de, it may contract: de + o becomes do and de + a becomes da.

Use tomar conta de to emphasize watching over someone or something

Tomar conta de is another common pattern for looking after a child, pet, place, or task while someone else is away. It often emphasizes responsibility for supervising or keeping an eye on the person or thing.

The expressions can overlap. Choose the one you know, include de, and add a time or reason if the other person needs to know how long the care is needed.

Remember: Both patterns are useful: cuidar de highlights care and attention, while tomar conta de often emphasizes supervision or responsibility for a period.

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. She takes care of her grandparents on weekends.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ela cuida dos avós aos fins de semana.

2. I need to look after the plant while you travel.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Preciso cuidar da planta enquanto você viaja.

3. It’s important to take care of yourself.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   É importante cuidar de si mesmo.

4. Can you look after the dog tonight?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você pode tomar conta do cachorro hoje à noite?

5. My brother watched the shop during lunch.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Meu irmão tomou conta da loja durante o almoço.

6. Who will look after the children tomorrow?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Quem vai cuidar das crianças amanhã?

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.

Both patterns are useful: cuidar de highlights care and attention, while tomar conta de often emphasizes supervision or responsibility for a period.

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 Cuidar de vs. Tomar Conta de: Say ‘Take Care of’ 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.