手早い答え
tentar は試みること、procurar は何かを探すことです。
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
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.
選び方
- 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.
例文
Vou tentar chegar cedo.
I will try to arrive early.
Estou procurando um apartamento.
I am looking for an apartment.
よくある落とし穴
Procurar plus infinitive can mean seek to in more formal language, but tentar is the natural everyday verb for trying to do something.
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tentarで、もう一度はprocurar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。