ligar
Portuguese, verb/liˈɡa(ʁ)/
ligar is spelled L-I-G-A-R (5 letters) and appears 55 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 1,743rd most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Ligar is a Portuguese verb meaning “to link; to connect; to join (to put things together so they work together)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “segurar uma coisa a outra; atar; amarrar; pegar; fixar; cimentar”.
What does ligar mean in English?
verb
- 1
to link; to connect; to join (to put things together so they work together)
O ferreiro ligou os ferros com um maçarico.
- 2
to connect; to associate (to consider multiples things related)
O detetive tentou ligar as evidências.
- 3
to turn on (to make a device start operating)
Liguem os motores e se preparem para a largada!
- 4
to call; to dial (to attempt to talk to someone with a telephone)
Tentei ligar para a minha mãe, mas ela não atendeu.
- 5
to turn on (to start operating, said of a device)
Computador não quer ligar.
- 6
Brazilinformalto care (about); to mind (to have concern or interest in)
Antes eu não ligava para a política.
- 7
Brazilinformalto become aware; to realize or perceive something
Só me liguei depois.
- 8
to alloy (to make an alloy from)
Para fazer bronze, deves ligar estanho com cobre.
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
noun: 1. o mesmo que ligário
verb: 1. segurar uma coisa a outra; atar; amarrar; pegar; fixar; cimentar 2. unir com qualquer ligadura; deligar 3. misturar intimamente; reunir; vincular 4. realizar chamada telefônica a alguém
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 ligar
- ligo first-person present singular
- liguei first-person preterite singular
- ligado participle past
- g-gu alternation
- ligares infinitive second-person singular
- ligarmos first-person infinitive plural
- ligardes infinitive plural second-person
- ligarem infinitive plural third-person
- ligando gerund
- ligados masculine participle past
- ligada feminine participle past
- ligadas feminine participle past
- ligas indicative present second-person
- liga indicative present singular
- ligamos first-person indicative plural
- ligais indicative plural present
- ligam indicative plural present
- ligava first-person imperfect indicative
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce ligar?
- Brazil /liˈɡa(ʁ)/
- Brazil [liˈɡa(h)]
- /liˈɡa(ɾ)/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to ligar
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is ligar in Portuguese?
ligar appears 55 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).