Procurar vs. Buscar in Portuguese: Look for, Search, or Go Get — Practice

Use procurar to describe looking or searching for something

Procurar commonly means to look for or search. You can procurar uma chave (look for a key), procurar um endereço (search for an address), or procurar informações (look for information). The verb can describe a search even when you have not found the target.

If you are asking for help, name the thing and where you are looking. This turns a broad statement into a useful request.

Use buscar when you go to get or obtain something

Buscar can also mean to seek or search, so the two verbs overlap. In everyday plans, buscar often emphasizes going to get a person or item: buscar as crianças na escola (pick up the children at school) or buscar um pacote (go get a package).

Do not treat this as a strict rule. For information or a missing object, both verbs may fit. Learn common combinations and use the full sentence to clarify whether you are searching or collecting something.

Remember: Procurar and buscar both work for searching. Buscar often appears when someone goes to collect a person or item; use the context to make the action clear.

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’m looking for the subway station.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Estou procurando a estação de metrô.

2. I searched for the reservation in the app, but I didn’t find it.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Procurei a reserva no aplicativo, mas não encontrei.

3. Are you looking for someone?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Você está procurando alguém?

4. I’m going to pick up the order at the counter.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Vou buscar o pedido no balcão.

5. My friend picked me up at the airport.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Meu amigo me buscou no aeroporto.

6. We are looking for a solution to the problem.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Estamos buscando uma solução para o problema.

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.

Procurar and buscar both work for searching. Buscar often appears when someone goes to collect a person or item; use the context to make the action clear.

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 Procurar vs. Buscar in Portuguese: Look for, Search, or Go Get 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.