ser
Portuguese, noun/ˈse(ʁ)/
ser is spelled S-E-R (3 letters) and appears 3,020 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 32nd most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Ser is a Portuguese masculine noun meaning “being (a living creature)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “existir, aquilo que supõe-se existir”.
What does ser mean in English?
verb
- 1
to be (to have the given quality), especially a quality that is intrinsic or not expected to change, contrasting with estar which denotes a temporary quality
Ela está bonita, mas não é bonita.
- 2
to be (to be an example or type of, or the same as)
Pessoas são mamíferos.
- 3
to be; forms the passive voice
O carro foi vendido pelo seu antigo dono.
- 4
to be; indicates a point in time
Que horas são?
- 5
to be in (to be located in)
Minha casa é num bairro pobre.
- 6
to be (to have as one’s place of origin)
Esses equipamentos são da Alemanha.
- 7
to be (someone’s); to belong to
Essa casa é do prefeito.
- 8
to be for; to be to (to have as its purpose)
Esse tipo de faca é para cortar tomates.
noun
- 1
masculinebeing (a living creature)
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
noun: 1. existir, aquilo que supõe-se existir 2. todo ente vivo e/ou animado
verb: 1. ter como característica ou propriedade de si mesmo 2. ter ou estar em certa condição 3. estar 4. ter relação de pertinência com categoria a que pertence, ou com situação ou categoria definida por certos parâmetros, regras etc.
verb: 1. terceira pessoa do singular do infinitivo pessoal do verbo ser
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 ser
- sou first-person present singular
- fui first-person preterite singular
- sido participle past
- seres infinitive second-person singular
- sermos first-person infinitive plural
- serdes infinitive plural second-person
- serem infinitive plural third-person
- sendo gerund
- és indicative present second-person
- é indicative present singular
- somos first-person indicative plural
- sois indicative plural present
- são indicative plural present
- era first-person imperfect indicative
- eras imperfect indicative second-person
- éramos first-person imperfect indicative
- éreis imperfect indicative plural
- eram imperfect indicative plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce ser?
- Brazil /ˈse(ʁ)/
- Brazil [ˈse(h)]
- /ˈse(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 ser
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is ser in Portuguese?
ser appears 3,020 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).