Quick answer
Receita is incoming value; lucro is what remains after the relevant costs and expenses.
A reliable test is to identify the job of the word before translating from English.
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What each word does
lucro
profit
Use lucro for the positive amount remaining after relevant costs and expenses.
receita
revenue or income
Use receita for money earned or received before subtracting the relevant expenses.
How to choose
- lucro: Choose lucro if the sentence points to the positive amount remaining after relevant costs and expenses.
- receita: Choose receita if the sentence points to money earned or received before subtracting the relevant expenses.
Examples
A empresa teve lucro no último trimestre.
The company made a profit in the last quarter.
A receita com vendas cresceu 12%.
Sales revenue grew by 12%.
Common trap
High receita does not guarantee lucro. Treating gross sales as profit hides what the operation cost.
Practice it in context
Pick one sentence from your real life and write it twice: once with lucro, then once with receita. If both versions feel possible, name the meaning shift.
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