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
Tentar makes an attempt. Procurar searches for something.
A reliable test is to identify the job of the word before translating from English.
What each word does
tentar
to try or attempt
Use tentar for making an effort to perform an action or achieve a result.
procurar
to look for or seek
Use procurar for searching for a person, object, service, or information.
How to choose
- tentar: Choose tentar if the sentence points to making an effort to perform an action or achieve a result.
- procurar: Choose procurar if the sentence points to searching for a person, object, service, or information.
Examples
Vou tentar chegar cedo.
I will try to arrive early.
Estou procurando um apartamento.
I am looking for an apartment.
Common trap
Procurar plus infinitive can mean seek to in more formal language, but tentar is the natural everyday verb for trying to do something.
Practice it in context
Pick one sentence from your real life and write it twice: once with tentar, then once with procurar. 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.