手早い答え
continuar は中立的な継続、seguir は前進の感覚を加え「従う・追う」も意味します。
確実な見分け方は、英語から訳す前に、その単語の働きを見きわめることです。
それぞれの単語の働き
continuar
to continue
Use continuar for maintaining an action or state without highlighting direction.
seguir
to continue or follow
Use seguir for moving onward, obeying a route or instruction, or continuing an action.
選び方
- continuar: Choose continuar if the sentence points to maintaining an action or state without highlighting direction.
- seguir: Choose seguir if the sentence points to moving onward, obeying a route or instruction, or continuing an action.
例文
Continuamos trabalhando apesar do barulho.
We continued working despite the noise.
Depois da pausa, seguimos trabalhando.
After the break, we carried on working.
よくある落とし穴
They overlap before gerunds, but only seguir naturally means follow a road, person, rule, or account.
文脈の中で練習する
自分の実生活から文を一つ選び、二回書いてみましょう。一度はcontinuarで、もう一度はseguirで。どちらも成り立ちそうなら、意味の違いを言葉にしてみましょう。