Household Chores in Portuguese: Talk About Cleaning and Sharing Tasks — Practice

Learn the verbs for common tasks

Brazilian Portuguese has useful verbs for household tasks: lavar (wash), varrer (sweep), limpar (clean), arrumar (tidy or organize), and cozinhar (cook). Combine each verb with a room or object to say exactly what needs to be done.

For laundry, lavar roupa means to do laundry, and passar roupa means to iron clothes. The object makes the meaning clear when the same verb applies to different tasks.

Say when you do each task

Add a time expression to describe your routine: no fim de semana (on the weekend), depois do trabalho (after work), or uma vez por semana (once a week). The present tense works for regular habits, and vou + infinitive can describe a plan.

If you share a home, use a gente or nós to talk about a joint task. You can also ask Quem vai…? (Who is going to…?) to divide responsibilities clearly.

Agree on what happens next

When you need help, make a specific request: Você pode lavar os pratos enquanto eu arrumo a mesa? (Can you wash the dishes while I set the table?). A specific task is easier to answer than a general request to help more.

Respond with a simple agreement or a different time: Posso fazer isso depois (I can do that later) or Claro, eu cuido disso agora (Sure, I'll take care of it now). These are everyday language examples, not rules about how any household should divide work.

Remember: Choose three chores you actually do. Say when you do them, then make one clear request using pode or podemos.

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 need to do laundry today.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Preciso lavar a roupa hoje.

2. I'm going to sweep the kitchen after lunch.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Vou varrer a cozinha depois do almoço.

3. We can tidy the living room together.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A gente pode arrumar a sala juntos.

4. I cook during the week, and he washes the dishes.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Eu cozinho durante a semana e ele lava a louça.

5. Who is going to take out the trash today?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Quem vai tirar o lixo hoje?

6. We clean the bathroom on Saturdays.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A gente limpa o banheiro aos sábados.

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.

Choose three chores you actually do. Say when you do them, then make one clear request using pode or podemos.

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 Household Chores in Portuguese: Talk About Cleaning and Sharing Tasks 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.