Along with its brother
estar,seris one of the most irregular verbs in Portuguese - it doesn't just change its root with the person, it also changes depending on the tense. So take it easy!For simplicity, we’ll be using only the present tense here. In the future, I will post a few things about the past tenses.
Uses of Ser
If you’ve ever studied Spanish, you might already know that Portuguese has two verbs where English only has one: to be. That’s ser and estar. For English speakers, this is one of the first real walls you hit when learning Portuguese, and many people struggle with it for years and years.
The good news is that ser follows a clear logic. It handles the things that define you or something: who you are, where you’re from, what you look like, what you do. Think of it as the verb of permanent or inherent identity. Once you start seeing that pattern, choosing between ser and estar becomes much more intuitive.
Something interesting that helps people remember this is that the expression for
human beingis literallyser humano.
Identification
The most basic use of ser is to identify what something or someone is. This includes your name, your gender, your role.
Eu sou um homem.
I am a man.
Eu sou uma mulher.
I am a woman.
Ela é professora.
She is a teacher.
Isso é um cachorro.
This is a dog.
Aquele homem é gentil.
That man is kind.
Ele é o Diretor Executivo da empresa.
He is the company’s CEO.
Nós somos pessoas honestas.
We are honest people.
One small note: in Brazilian Portuguese, you’ll often hear people drop the article before professions and roles - ela é professora, not ‘ela é uma professora’. Both are grammatically fine, but without the article sounds more natural in speech.
Place of Origin / Nationality
Where you’re from - not where you currently are - uses ser. This is one of the clearest distinctions between ser and estar: origin is ser, location is estar.
Você é do Brasil.
You are from Brazil.
Você é canadense.
You are Canadian.
Ele é brasileiro.
He is Brazilian.
Nós somos da Jamaica.
We are from Jamaica.
Eles são italianos.
They are Italians.
Ele é alemão.
He is German.
Physical Traits
Stable, inherent physical characteristics belong to ser. Height, build, eye color - these are things that define a person’s appearance in a lasting way.
Ele é alto.
He is tall.
Ela é bonita.
She is beautiful.
Eu sou careca.
I am bald.
Ele é muito feio.
He is very ugly.
Ele queria ser mais alto.
He’d like to be taller.
Nós somos mais baixos que nossos pais.
We are shorter(lit. lower) than our parents.
Profession / Occupation
What someone does for a living is considered part of their identity in Portuguese, so it takes ser.
Ela é médica.
She is a doctor.
Ela é estudante.
She is a student.
Eu sou um professor de português.
I am a Portuguese teacher.
Ela é programadora.
She is a coder.
Nós somos consultores de TI.
We are IT consultants.
Eles todos são advogados.
They all are lawyers.
Personal Relationships
The connections that define who people are to each other - family, partnerships, friendships - use ser.
Nós somos irmãs.
We are sisters.
Nós somos sócios.
We are business partners.
Você é minha família, Maria.
You are my family, Maria.
Ela é casada com o Antônio.
She’s married to Antônio.
Nós somos casados.
We are married.
General Statements
Universal truths, proverbs, and timeless observations use ser. These are statements that aren’t tied to any specific moment - they’re just… true.
O amor é cego.
Love is blind. (Lit: The love is blind)
Tempo é dinheiro.
Time is money.
A necessidade é a mãe de todas as invenções.
Necessity is the mother of all inventions.
A vingança é um prato que se come frio.
Vengeance is a dish that gets eaten cold. 1
You’ll notice Brazilian Portuguese often uses the equivalent of the before abstract words like o amor, a vida, a saudade - something English doesn’t do. It’s one of those small details that makes the language feel warmer and more expressive.
Numbers and Time
Mathematical facts and telling the time both use ser - or more specifically, the third-person plural form são when the number is plural.
Dois mais dois são quatro.
Two plus two is four. 2
A raiz quadrada de 16(dezesseis) é quatro.
The square root of 16 is four.
São doze horas.
It is twelve o’clock.
São 8:30(oito e meia) da manhã.
It’s 8:30 AM.
Now that you’ve seen all the main uses of ser, the pattern should be coming into focus. Ser is the verb you reach for when you’re talking about something that defines, classifies, or identifies - things that aren’t going to change depending on the moment or the mood. Of course, there is more to it, but you don’t need to worry about that, just focus on absorbing the language, and you will be fine. Over time you will be able to use ser correctly and ignore the English inside your head telling you to use just one verb for everything.
In the next article, we’ll look at estar, and you’ll start to see exactly where the line between the two falls. Now, it’s time to test yourself and see if you really can recognize the uses of ser. But for now, test your knowledge of ser by reviewing the flashcards.
Test yourself
Footnotes
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I know, native English speakers say: Vengeance is a dish best served cold. But we say differently. ↩
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The plural here trips up a lot of learners. In English, “two plus two is four” is singular. In Portuguese, since the result (quatro) is plural, the verb agrees with it: são, not é. But the good thing is; many Brazilians will say dois mais dois é quatro, so it’s wrong in this sense. ↩