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
Prescrever orders or legally expires. Proscrever prohibits.
A reliable test is to identify the job of the word before translating from English.
What each word does
prescrever
to prescribe or expire legally
Use prescrever for ordering medicine or treatment, or legal expiration by limitation.
proscrever
to proscribe or ban
Use proscrever for forbidding, outlawing, or excluding something formally.
How to choose
- prescrever: Choose prescrever if the sentence points to ordering medicine or treatment, or legal expiration by limitation.
- proscrever: Choose proscrever if the sentence points to forbidding, outlawing, or excluding something formally.
Examples
O medico prescreveu antibiotico.
The doctor prescribed an antibiotic.
A norma proscreve essa pratica.
The rule proscribes that practice.
Common trap
The prefixes point in opposite directions: prescribe versus ban.
Practice it in context
Pick one sentence from your real life and write it twice: once with prescrever, then once with proscrever. 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.