estar
Portuguese, verb/isˈta(ʁ)/
estar is spelled E-S-T-A-R (5 letters) and appears 501 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 189th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Estar is a Portuguese verb meaning “to be (indicates location in space)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “associa uma característica (momentânea, não permanente) a um ser”.
What does estar mean in English?
verb
- 1
to be (indicates location in space)
Onde estás?
- 2
to be (denotes a transient quality; a quality expected to change)
O tempo estava frio.
- 3
to be; forms the progressive aspect
Ela está cantando? / Ela está a cantar?
- 4
to look, to appear (to give an appearance of being)
Você está bonita.
- 5
to cost (to be worth a certain amount of money), especially of something whose price changes often
O quilo de maçã está a dois euros.
- 6
to stand
Aqui estou.
- 7
Brazilto possess, have, or have in possession
Ele está com o meu livro desde semana passada.
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
verb: 1. associa uma característica (momentânea, não permanente) a um ser 2. acompanhado de expressão locativa, denota a situação de um ser no espaço 3. acompanhado de verbo no gerúndio, denota aspecto contínuo a este verbo
The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.
Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of estar
- estou first-person present singular
- estive first-person preterite singular
- estado participle past
- estares infinitive second-person singular
- estarmos first-person infinitive plural
- estardes infinitive plural second-person
- estarem infinitive plural third-person
- estando gerund
- estás indicative present second-person
- está indicative present singular
- estamos first-person indicative plural
- estais indicative plural present
- estão indicative plural present
- estava first-person imperfect indicative
- estavas imperfect indicative second-person
- estávamos first-person imperfect indicative
- estáveis imperfect indicative plural
- estavam imperfect indicative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce estar?
- Brazil /isˈta(ʁ)/
- Brazil [isˈta(h)]
- Brazil /esˈta(ʁ)/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to estar
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is estar in Portuguese?
estar appears 501 times per million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).