Turn this distinction into automatic recall
Falando teaches Brazilian Portuguese through grammar, vocabulary, audio, examples, and spaced review, so confusing pairs stop feeling like guesses.
Quick answer
Aprovar accepts a result or proposal after evaluation; autorizar grants permission for an action.
A reliable test is to identify the job of the word before translating from English.
What each word does
aprovar
to approve or pass
Use aprovar for judging a proposal, result, product, or candidate acceptable.
autorizar
to authorize
Use autorizar for giving someone formal permission or legal power to act.
How to choose
- aprovar: Choose aprovar if the sentence points to judging a proposal, result, product, or candidate acceptable.
- autorizar: Choose autorizar if the sentence points to giving someone formal permission or legal power to act.
Examples
O conselho aprovou o novo orçamento.
The council approved the new budget.
A gerente autorizou o pagamento.
The manager authorized the payment.
Common trap
A plan can be aprovado but still await someone to autorizar its execution.
Practice it in context
Pick one sentence from your real life and write it twice: once with aprovar, then once with autorizar. If both versions feel possible, name the meaning shift.
Turn this distinction into automatic recall
Falando teaches Brazilian Portuguese through grammar, vocabulary, audio, examples, and spaced review, so confusing pairs stop feeling like guesses.