Dar uma Olhada: Ask Someone to Take a Look in Portuguese — Practice

Use dar uma olhada em for a quick look

Dar uma olhada means ‘to take a look’ or ‘to have a quick look.’ It is common in everyday Brazilian Portuguese and works for a message, document, room, menu, or other thing you want to check briefly.

When you name what you want someone to look at, use em: dar uma olhada no texto (look at the text), na mensagem (at the message), or em um lugar (at a place). The preposition combines with an article in forms such as no and na.

Choose a direct or more polished alternative

Olhar is the direct verb ‘to look.’ Dar uma olhada can sound conversational and brief; revisar (review) is clearer when you want someone to check the content carefully. For a formal request, explain what you would like reviewed and by when.

If you are asking for a favor, add por favor and a reason. That makes the request clearer than relying on the idiom alone, especially in a work message or when there is a deadline.

Remember: Use dar uma olhada em for a quick look and revisar when you need someone to check something carefully.

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. Could you take a look at this message?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você pode dar uma olhada nesta mensagem?

2. I’ll take a look at the menu.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Vou dar uma olhada no cardápio.

3. We took a look at the room before the meeting.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A gente deu uma olhada na sala antes da reunião.

4. Could you take a look at my schedule, please?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Pode dar uma olhada no meu horário, por favor?

5. Can you review the report by tomorrow?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você consegue revisar o relatório até amanhã?

6. I’ll look at the photo more carefully.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Vou olhar a foto com mais atenção.

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.

Use dar uma olhada em for a quick look and revisar when you need someone to check something carefully.

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 Dar uma Olhada: Ask Someone to Take a Look 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.