What Does Passar Mean in Portuguese? Spend, Pass, or Happen — Practice

Use passar to talk about time

Passar can mean to spend or pass time. The phrase passar um tempo can describe spending some time with a person or in a place.

Name the duration or activity so the listener understands which kind of time you mean.

Use passar for movement or handing something over

Passar can mean to go past or to hand something to someone. Add the object or destination to make the action clear.

For giving or taking an item, context helps distinguish passar from pegar, levar, or trazer.

Ask what is happening

O que está acontecendo? and O que se passa? can ask what is going on. In conversation, the surrounding details help you understand whether passar refers to an event, change, or movement.

Our guide to dar certo and other phrases explains another common verb with several context-dependent meanings.

Remember: Record one sentence about time, one about movement, and one about what is happening. Keep the object or context with passar.

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 spent the afternoon with my cousins.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Passei a tarde com meus primos.

2. We’re going to spend the weekend at the beach.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Vamos passar o fim de semana na praia.

3. Time passed quickly.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   O tempo passou rápido.

4. The bus passed through downtown.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   O ônibus passou pelo centro.

5. Could you pass me the salt?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Pode me passar o sal?

6. I’m going to stop by the pharmacy before returning.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Vou passar na farmácia antes de voltar.

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.

Record one sentence about time, one about movement, and one about what is happening. Keep the object or context with passar.

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 What Does Passar Mean in Portuguese? Spend, Pass, or Happen 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.