This difference between por and para in Portuguese is a topic that is tricky for English speakers. Although both of these words can translate to “for”, you have to choose the correct one depending on the context. As with the other prepositions, it’s best to think about how each word is used, rather than the translation, since this will vary quite a bit.
Para
Para usually translates to for, to, in order to, or towards.
To refer to a destination or result, you would always choose para instead of por.
Nós vamos para casaWe go home
Eu vou para PortugalI go to Portugal
A salada é para ele, o peixe é para mimThe salad is for him, the fish is for me
A criança apontou para cimaThe child pointed up
Por
Por usually translates to for, by, via, per, or through.
Eu espero por tiI wait for you
A caixa foi aberta por PandoraThe box was opened by Pandora
Dividir o dinheiro por duas pessoasTo divide the money by (between) two people
Ela vai por aíShe goes through there
Nós corremos duas vezes por semanaWe run twice per week
Contractions
In general, you won’t see “por o” or “por a” in a sentence. When por is combined with the articles o or a, it becomes: pelo and pela
Estou feliz pelo meu paiI am happy for my father
Tu esperas pela tua mãeYou wait for your mother
Obrigado pelo presenteThank you for the present
Obrigada pelos presentesThank you for the gifts (female speaker)
This only applies to por, as para can be followed by a.
Eu vou para a escolaI go to the school
Por vs. Para
Here are a few sets of examples to help illustrate the differences in usage:
On Behalf Of vs. Recipient
- Fazer ___ por ti means doing (something) on behalf of someone or in someone’s honour.
- Fazer ___ para ti generally means doing (something) for someone in the sense of offering them the result of your action, so to speak. For example,
Because Of vs. In Order To
Por points backward, telling us the reason for the action, while para points forward, telling us the purpose of the action.
- Eu espero por tiI wait for you – In this context, it’s almost like a more subtle/neutral way of saying I wait because of you / You are the reason I’m waiting. The cause of the action “wait” is “you”.
- A máquina precisa de pilhas para funcionarThe machine needs batteries to work – It needs batteries in order to function. The purpose of “needing batteries” is “to make the machine work”.
Journey/Process vs. Destination
It can sometimes help to think about para having the more “directional” meaning, pointing toward the “destination” ahead of you, either in time or space. In contrast, por often describes the actual process of getting to that point.
- A mulher passa pela portaThe woman passes through the door – Remember that pela comes from por + a. She gets somewhere via the door / by using the door.
- Eu vou para PortugalI go to Portugal – Para points to the final destination, which is Portugal.
…
- A caixa foi aberta por PandoraThe box was opened by Pandora – Describes how the box was opened, i.e. the process by which this action occurred
- A salada é para ele, o peixe é para mimThe salad is for him, the fish is for me – The salad will be given to him and the fish will go to me. Para points to the “final destinations” of the fish and the salad.
Time Period vs. Time Until
Both are used in the context of time, but por indicates a period of time, while para is used to talk about how much time until something happens or just pointing at a set time.
São dez para as dez da manhãIt's ten to 10 a.m. – i.e. it’s 9:50 a.m. (10 minutes until 10a.m.)
Nós corremos duas vezes por semanaWe run twice per week – Twice within the time period of 1 week
Am I correct that “para mim” is ok when the waiter asks who a dish is for?
If so might more examples of use of para appear. I seem to hear it’s use in the Eastern Algarve much more than “por”.
Yes, you should use “para” to describe who the dish (or any other object) is for. Your suggestion/request is duly noted 🙂
Obrigado J.
O versão oral dá frase “Dividir o dinheiro por dois” não corresponde ao texto. A voz diz “duas pessoas”.
Eu gosto muito de PP! Contribui muito aos meus progressos em português. Obrigado!
If I want to say thank you for your work, do I use para or por? Or are they interchangeable in this example?
Muito obrigada
You should use only “por”, which is then be contracted to “pelo” (por + o) or “pela” (por + a). In this case, since “trabalho” is a masculine noun, it’s preceded by “pelo” (por + o). So you could say, for example, “Obrigada pelo vosso trabalho” 🙂
I had been wondering about pelo/pela but not looked it up yet, now I know!
I’m uncertain as when to combine por with an article. In the example above it sais: ” … por semana”, but if I want to specify that it’s about this week “esta semana”, would I then say “… pela esta semana”?
Olá, Karl! You should only combine “por” with a definite article when an article is required in the sentence. In the example “Nós corremos duas vezes por semana”, there is no need for a definite article, even if you changed it to this week. You’d just say “Nós corremos duas vezes esta semana”. On the other hand, in the example “Estou feliz pelo meu pai”, the definite article is needed because of the noun “pai” (father). So, you first have “Estou feliz por o meu pai” and from there, you end up with “Estou feliz pelo meu pai”.
Here’s more about Portuguese definite articles and when to use them: Definite Articles in Portuguese
I have a question on one of the examples. In the sentence ‘La caixa foi aberta por Pandora’. why isn’t it ‘por a Pandora’?
I really appreciate these comment sections, it’s useful to see what other learners are having problems with and your replies.
Olá, Pat. Both ways are fine!
– Without a definite article: “A caixa foi aberta por Pandora”
– With a definite article: “A caixa foi aberta pela Pandora” -> pela = por + a. “Por a” doesn’t sound natural for us; save for specific sentence structures that require this separation, we always contract these two words.
We usually omit the definite article, for example, in more formal, journalistic or literary writing. The definite article adds a more informal touch to it, generally speaking.
I think maybe I wasn’t clear as to what I was asking. It wasn’t about the contraction, it was the omission of the ‘a’ before the name that confused me, I thought it was correct to use the definite article with a name?
Olá, Pat. I understood your question and tried to give you the most complete answer possible, but maybe I failed at that! No problem, hah.
I was trying to tell you two things:
1) That yes, it is correct to use the definite article with names, but also equally correct not to use the article (and then added how one option is particularly appropriate in certain contexts, like formal writing, while the other seems perhaps more casual);
2) That even when we do use the definite article, you won’t see it the way you might be expecting. I.e., you wouldn’t see “por a Pandora”, but always “pela Pandora”, because it’s one of those contractions that we have to make if we want to sound natural (save for few exceptions).
I hope that this is clearer on my part now 🙂
Hello this lesson is still not very clear to me? Do you have other tips or exercises to get use to the difference between para and por?
Thank you for your amazing work!
You may have already done these, but the next few lessons in the Prepositions 1 unit include some phrases with por and para, especially Lessons 2 and 3. We are working on a few Shorties that will help as well, but they aren’t quite ready yet. In the meantime, the best way to get used to the differences is to keep an eye out for other phrases including por and para throughout the units and listening for them in the episodes. Over time, it will start to feel more natural to use one or the other in different contexts.
Another way to think of the distinction is that “para” is usually used to talk about direction (going to the school), whereas “por” is used to talk about the way you got there (passing by the school). “Para” is often used where we would say “in order to” in English. “Por” is often used where we would say “due to” or “because of”. “Por” is also used to talk about lengths of time (for two weeks). That doesn’t cover all the uses, but I hope it helps a little. 🙂
You comment that por can mean “for, by, via, per, or through”, but then you give an example where the best English translation is “between” rather than “by”. So shouldn’t your original list include “between”?
I think we decided not to include “between” in the list because it only really means that in very specific contexts, such as that example — “dividing between” / “dividing by“. (Actually, I think one could argue that “among / amongst” might be an even better way to word it in English here.) With prepositions in particular, it’s tough because there isn’t really an exact word to word translation. It’s more about figuring out which Portuguese prepositions are used in which contexts. I changed the wording a bit to make it clear that these are just the most common translations.
Would a native Portuguese cringe at hearing “por a” or “por o” being used? I live in Silicon Valley where there are many immigrants (I’m one too) and it’s completely normal to hear various levels of competence in spoken English. It’s never an issue though, and we just ask for clarification if there is ever any doubt about what someone said. No one is ever offended. I’ve heard that some European countries are more “sensitive” about foreigners doing a poor job at speaking their language. How would a Portuguese react to a well intentioned Canadian stumbling over their language?
Oh, the Portuguese are usually genuinely appreciative when people try to speak their language! You (and whoever else reads this) shouldn’t worry about the mistakes you might make – it’s part of the learning process, and most people will give you room to make mistakes without judging you negatively. Just expect a number of them to try to switch to English if they think that would make you more comfortable or if they just want to grab an opportunity to dust off their own language skills.
I definitely agree with Joseph! Throughout my own learning journey, it has been rare for me to feel judged for making grammar mistakes (which of course still happen!) Right from the start, people were just impressed and excited I was learning EU PT, since I think Portuguese are more used to having to adapt to foreigners than the other way around. To me, this should be encouraging that we can just get out there and speak as much as possible instead of fear of snobbery. If you come across any snobs who will judge your grammar errors, they probably won’t be the type of person that deserve a second thought from you 😉
Thanks for the comments. I’m looking forward to making it to Portugal, hopefully in 2021, as soon as it’s safe to travel again. I’m keepong my fingers crossed that the worst of this pandemic will be over by the end of the summer.
How does por combine with indefinite articles?
por uma / por um / por umas / por uns ??
Good question! There are no contractions with por + indefinite articles. So it would just remain por uma, por um, etc. 🙂
Good job and really helpful.
Since I like to link everything possible to my flash cards I would like you to give “Tu esperas pela tua mae” a linking button.
Thanks and thanks a lot for giving me hope that after 3 years I might now be able to leatn this language a bit
Thank you, so glad this has been helpful for you! I added the Smart Review button for that phrase. You may notice some others without a button — we recently added this feature, so there is still some work to do to get ALL the phrases ready for Smart Review. But we’re gradually adding more and more. 🙂
Muito obrigado. Voces sao muito rapido.
I think the response is that when it’s an obviously famous person, real or mythical as in this case, to whom you are referring then the definite article is omitted. So I might have met my friend Cristiano at his house: encontrei o Cristiano na casa dele. But if I met Cristiano Ronaldo then it is : encontrei Cristiano na casa dele.
Olá, Mudan. The omission of the definite article has more to do with the writing style than with the person at hand. In formal/journalistic/literary writing, it’s more common to omit definite articles before any given names. This is unusual in informal writing and in speech.
Thank you for your clarification
You’re welcome! 🙂
I wished to ask about some subtleties as I have studied this and as I see it used in readings it is making me wonder.
Por is for cause and therefore:
Por tal motivo, o partido comunista tolerou o budismo durante esse período.
Therefore (for such), the Communist Party tolerated Buddhism during this period.
However, when the word motivo is not there, I am seeing Para used. Should it not still be Por because the word therefore implies cause just as we do for Por isso? Or, are they switching to Para to say For such just as something is for someone? Os livros são para Paul.
Para tal, deve sempre guardar os comprovativos de compra dos equipamentos.
Therefore, you must always keep the invoice or similar documents for your purchases.
Thank you in advance for any clarification on this particular set of situations.
Olá, Paul. “Para tal” doesn’t mean “Therefore; for that reason”, but “To that end; for that purpose; in order to do that”. It was just this subtlety that was throwing you off.
Thanks for this article! Por vs Para has always a puzzle for me, especially the ΅recipient “or “on behalf of” uses which would both just be “for” in English. Now its all coming together! Estou muito agradecida pela ajuda!
If ‘por’ is used to express a period of time, why is it not used in the phrase ‘vou de ferias quinze dias’ as featured elsewhere on the PP site? I would have expected to see ‘vou de ferias por quinze dias’ (I’m going on holiday for 15 days)…or is this too literal a translation from English?
Apologies for the missing accent on the ‘e’ in ‘ferias’….I haven’t worked out how to get the accents on my laptop keyboard…..
Olá! Good question and nice analysis, which is actually entirely correct 🙂 We can and do say “Vou de férias por quinze dias”, but we also omit the preposition just as often. Both ways are fine and sound natural to a native speaker.
Ola!
Cab you help me with this context please
1 – É para onde?
2 – para a embaixada dos Estados Unidos
3 – por onde deseja ir?
4 – pelo caminho mais rápido, por favor.
Taxista ask Cliente in line 1 where she wants to go and in line 3 again ask her where she wants to go!
The answer in line 4 is “by the fastest way”
I’m not sure Taxista ask for destination or how she wants to go there!
I’m confused abit. Would be thankful if you could help me.
Muito Obrigada
Olá! In line 1, by asking “para onde”, the taxi driver is asking where the client wants to go. In line 3, by wasking “por onde”, the taxi driver is asking how the client wants to get there (which path). Just goes to show how “para” and “por” mean different things 🙂
Hi! This week I wanted to ask a Portuguese friend a question on behalf of cousin X. So I said : “Tenho uma pergunta pelo primo X”
Afterwards the friend told me I should have used ‘para’, so I checked this site. Now I am still confused because according to your explanation pelo/por can be used as “on behalf of” which should mean I used it the right way…but I didn’t. Can you help please?
Olá! “Pelo/por” can mean “on behalf of”, but this always depends on where/how it’s used. In this particular case, it doesn’t sound idiomatic to use “pelo” as you did.
It would fit better if you said “uma pergunta feita pelo primo X” (a question asked by cousin X). Another good alternative would be “uma pergunta do primo X” (a question from cousin X).
I don’t agree that “Uma pergunta para” is the best choice here, because that would be interpreted as “A question for cousin X”, i.e. you’re asking your cousin a question, rather than asking someone else a question on his behalf 🙂
Hi, I will add one more comment for this lesson. 🙂 Although I have worked my way through the comments, I didn’t find this one: Muito obrigada por estas reflexões. Would this be correct? Por + estas? Muito obrigada!
Yes, that’s perfect! 🙂
This is so very helpful. Thank you!
Olá! But in case of “por as reflexões”, Wouldn’t it be “pelas reflexões”?
Obrigada 🙂
Absolutely! “Por” does not contract with “estas”, not even with indefinite articles “um” and “uma”. Only with the definite articles.
“Por estas reflexões”
“Por umas reflexões”
“Por + as reflexões” -> “Pelas reflexões”
Then shouldnt we prefer to use “pela Pandora” in this specific context because unless im wrong, “La caixa foi aberta por Pandora” can also means “…opened for Pandora..(by someone else cause Pandora wasnt around, for exemple). right?
Olá! “Opened for Pandora” is indeed a possible interpretation, but it’s not the one we would most likely default to in Portuguese. We’re likely to read it as “opened by Pandora” unless something in context suggests otherwise. Apart from that, it is common to omit definite articles in formal/journalistic/literary writing, and that’s a suitable writing style for the tale of Pandora’s box 🙂
Im having trouble understanding the difference between para que and por que.
Does para que mean for what (reason) and por que mean for that (purpose) ie so that?
Olá! It’s the other way around: para que = for what purpose & por que = for what reason/why. For example:
– Para que queres isto? (What do you want this for)
– Por que motivo estás triste? (Why are you sad) – Note how ‘por que’ needs to be coupled with a noun. If there were no noun here, we’d need to use ‘porque’, without space (Porque estás triste?).
Olá! I have studied Latin American Spanish a fair bit, though still at times am unsure whether to use “por” or “para”. But I wonder if you happen to know how well the por/para question lines up in these two languages. Should I be able to apply my Spanish sensibilities to sorting this out in Portuguese (seems like it so far), or are there some usage differences that you’re aware of? Thank you so much — muito obrigada!!
Olá! As far as I can tell, the uses or ‘por’ and ‘para’ are pretty aligned between Spanish and Portuguese. But my knowledge of Spanish is not deep enough to give you a 100% certain answer (same for the rest of our team, hah), so be on the lookout for any potential exceptions 🙂
Olá!
É possível dizer “vou para casa” e também “vou a casa?” Ou, “vou para Portugal” e “vou a Portugal”?
Acho que vi os dois exemplos nesta unidade.
Obrigada 🙂
Olá! É possível dizer as duas versões, nos dois exemplos, mas poderão ser interpretados de maneiras diferentes (a escolha da preposição sugere durações diferentes). Esta Learning Note ajuda a esclarecer esta questão do A vs. Para: Choosing Between Portuguese Prepositions | Practice Portuguese
I could use some more understanding of the difference between por and para when used to refer to periods of time.
Can you explain the difference in meaning (if these are all are correct usages) between:
para toda a eternidade
por toda a eternidade
por toda eternidade
Obrigado!
An easy way to put this is:
1. para toda a eternidade = for all eternity
2. por toda a eternidade = throughout all eternity
3. por toda eternidade could be more of a Brazilian Portuguese way to say the same thing. In European Portuguese you’d use the definite article “a” before “eternidade”.
Basically, both sentences mean exactly the same! In the 1st one – using “para” -, eternity could be seen as a final purpose, the object of the action. As if you wanted to do something with the purpose of doing it for eternity. In the 2nd one – using “por” – is more like a continuous action, or as if you were doing the action with the consequence of eternity rather than the purpose of eternity.
Another example:
1. Faço isto para ti = I do this for you (sing. informal)
2. Faço isto por ti = I do this for you (sing. informal)
In the 1st sentence, I’m doing something that I can give to you as a gift. It’s almost like it can be materialized. Or it can be, if it’s an actual birthday present, for example.
In the 2nd sentence, it can have two different meanings. I’m doing something to please you (I’m doing this for you. I hope you like me more after this) or I’m doing this instead of you/in your place (I’m doing this for you. Stay there, don’t bother. I’ll do it in your place).
Hope this helps! 🙂
Yes, very good explanation! Muito obrigado!
Why para instead of por here? Doesn’t seem that working for a company implies any kind of destination. Or is this where that distinction breaks down?
“Eu trabalho para uma impreza multinacional”
Olá! If it helps, you can consider that the results of their work are ‘destined for’/given to that company (empresa). When we say ‘trabalho por’, this is usually interpreted as working on behalf of or working via/through something, which is not the intended meaning here.
For example:
– Hoje vou trabalhar por ti (Today I’ll work on your behalf)
– Nós trabalhamos por Skype (We work via Skype)
Very, very well explained! Thank you ❤️
This article and the comments section are really very helpful! Still I got stumbled when doing an excersise in ‘Gramatica Ativa 1″ in the following sentence
“Eles disseram que voltaram … sete da tarde (19h00)”.
Could you please explain why the right answer here is “pelas” and not “para” ?
Thank you!
Thanks for your comment 🙂 “Voltar para” would be interpreted as “come back to”, which wouldn’t make sense here. In this context, we can use “voltar às” (come back at an exact time) or “voltar pelas” (come back at an approximate time). The latter is the option that was chosen for this particular exercise.
What is the difference between “ao” and “para” in conjunction with pequeno-almoço and jantar?
E.g. I see a lot of examples “ao pequeno-almoço” and “para pequeno-almoço”, and cannot figure the exact difference.
At the same time, there are almost no cases of “ao jantar”, it’s always “para jantar”
Olá! “Ao pequeno-almoço” translates to “at breakfast” and is typically used to refer to something that happens during the time of breakfast. For example, “Eu leio o jornal ao pequeno-almoço” means “I read the newspaper at breakfast”. On the other hand, “para o pequeno-almoço” means “for breakfast” and is used to indicate the purpose or destination of something, such as “Esta receita é para o pequeno-almoço”, which means “This recipe is for breakfast”. The same applies to “ao jantar” vs. “para jantar”
Great unit and very well explaind.
I still have a question:
How would you express that you are waiting for someone, but not because of someone? I mean for example a situation where you would tell someone something like “dont´t worry, I wait for you”? Can you use “Espero para ti” in this case?
Olá! We’d still say “eu espero por ti” or suitable alternatives such as “eu fico à tua espera” 🙂 “Eu espero para ti” would not be idiomatic.