The Portuguese Verb Ficar – Conjugation and Usage

Ficar is a high-frequency and versatile Portuguese verb that every learner should master early on.

Depending on the context, ficar can mean ‘stay’, ‘be’, ‘get’, or ‘become’. It’s also commonly used to indicate location, among other things.

Let’s take a closer look.

Conjugation

Here’s how we conjugate ficar in the Present and Past tenses:

Pronoun	Present	Past Perfeito	Past Imperfeito	Reflexive/Object pronouns
Eu	fico	fiquei	ficava	-me
Tu	ficas	ficaste	ficavas	-te
Você Ela	fica	ficou	ficava	-se / -lhe
Nós	ficamos	ficamos	ficávamos	-nos
Vocês	ficam	ficaram	ficavam	-vos
Elas	ficam	ficaram	ficavam	-se / -lhes

🔍 Learn more about the differences between Perfeito and Imperfeito past tenses.

1. Expressing States and Changes

Stay

Vais ficar em casa esta noite?
Are you staying home tonight?

Fica onde estás, não te mexas!
Stay where you are, don’t move!

Fica bem e até à próxima.
Stay well and see you next time.

Be

Ela ficou destroçada com as notícias.
She was crushed by the news.

Fiquei triste quando soube que não vinhas.
I was sad when I realized you weren’t coming.

Get

Ficou frio de repente.
It got cold all of a sudden.

Ela fica facililmente amuada!
She gets easily sulky.

2. Describing Appearance

Ficar is often used pronominally to say something suits someone:

Estas calças ficam-lhe bem.
These trousers look good on him.

Achas que este casaco me fica bem?
Do you think this jacket suits me?

🔍 Learn more about Portuguese pronominal conjugation:

3. Talking About Location

Braga fica no norte de Portugal.
Braga is in the north of Portugal.

Onde fica a casa de banho?
Where’s the restroom?

💡Note. Ficar and ser can be used interchangeably in this context.

Onde é a casa de banho?
Where’s the restroom?

But use estar for people or movable things:

O teu telemóvel está na mesa.
Your phone is on the table.

🔍Learn more about estar vs ser.

4. Ownership and Cost

Obtain (ficar com)

Use ficar com to say someone ends up with something:

Ela ficou-lhe com o dinheiro todo.
She got all his money.

Eu posso ficar com as laranjas e tu com os limões.
I can take the oranges, and you the lemons.

Cost

We use ficar to talk about costs and expenses:

Por quanto fica?
How much is it?

As férias ficaram caras.
The holidays were expensive.

5. Postponing (ficar para)

Use ficar para to say that something is or was postponed:

O concerto ficou adiado para abril.
The concert was postponed to April.

Fica para a próxima.
Let’s do it next time.

6. Expressing Restraint or Reaction (ficar-se)

Use ficar-se to show holding back – or not:

Ele ficou-se e não respondeu à provocação.
He held back and didn’t respond.

Ele não se ficou e respondeu à provocação.
He couldn’t hold back and replied.

Não te fiques!
Don’t put up with it!

Idiomatic Expressions

Expression	Meaning	Example
Ficar de boca aberta	Get blown away	Ela ficou de boca aberta com as novidades. She was blown away by the news.
Ficar de pé atrás	Get suspicious	Fiquei de pé atrás com essa oferta. I was wary about that offer.
Ficar nas lonas	Become broke	Ficou nas lonas depois de perder o emprego. She went broke after losing her job.
Ficar às escuras	Be in the dark	Fiquei às escuras sem saber o que fazer. I was left in the dark.
Ficar às aranhas	Become perplexed	Ele ficou às aranhas com a pergunta. He was stumped by the question.
Ficar sem fala	Become speechless	Fiquei sem fala com a surpresa. I was speechless from the surprise.
Ficar a ver navios	Miss out on something	Ficou a ver navios por não se candidatar. She missed out because she didn’t apply.
Ficar de mãos a abanar	Be left empty-handed	Ficou de mãos a abanar. He ended up empty-handed.
Ficar-se nas tintas	Not give a damn	Fiquei-me nas tintas. I couldn’t care less.

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