Support vs. Suportar: How to Say ‘Support’ in Portuguese — Practice

Use apoiar for emotional or practical support

When you mean to support a person, team, idea, or cause, apoiar is often the most direct verb. Dar apoio means to provide support. Match the verb ending to the subject: eu apoio, você apoia, nós apoiamos.

Understand when suportar means to endure

In everyday Brazilian Portuguese, suportar alguém or alguma coisa often means to put up with or tolerate it. The negative não suporto… is a common way to say “I can’t stand…” This is why using suportar for emotional support can sound different from what you intend.

Use suportar for weight or a load

Suportar also appears in technical or physical contexts, such as a shelf that can support a certain weight. The noun suporte can mean a stand, support, or help, so look at the surrounding words before deciding what a sentence means.

Remember: Choose apoiar or dar apoio for backing a person; reserve suportar for enduring something or physically bearing a load.

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 want to support my friend during this move.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Quero apoiar minha amiga durante essa mudança.

2. The team received support from their colleagues.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   A equipe recebeu apoio dos colegas.

3. I can’t stand noise while I’m studying.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Não suporto barulho enquanto estou estudando.

4. She can’t stand waiting without knowing the time.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ela não suporta esperar sem saber o horário.

5. This shelf supports up to twenty kilograms.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Esta prateleira suporta até vinte quilos.

6. I appreciate all the support you gave me.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Agradeço todo o apoio que você me deu.

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 apoiar or dar apoio for backing a person; reserve suportar for enduring something or physically bearing a load.

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 Support vs. Suportar: How to Say ‘Support’ 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.