Abrir Mão de: Give Up, Let Go, or Do Without in Portuguese
Abrir mão de means to give something up or decide to do without it. Use de before the item or an infinitive action.
Real Life Portuguese · 4 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
Abrir mão de means to give up, let go of, or do without something. It often describes a choice involving a right, opportunity, preference, or convenience. The object comes after de, or you can put an infinitive there to name an action.
Use abrir mão de for a choice to give something up
When de comes before a definite article, it contracts: de + o becomes do and de + a becomes da. That is why you may say abrir mão do desconto or abrir mão da viagem.
Não quero abrir mão do meu dia de folga.
I don’t want to give up my day off.
Ela abriu mão da vaga para cuidar da família.
She gave up the position to care for her family.
Ele abriu mão de viajar este mês.
He decided to do without traveling this month.
Distinguish abrir mão de from losing something involuntarily
Abrir mão de often presents the decision as voluntary. Perder describes losing something, whether or not you chose it. Desistir de focuses on stopping an attempt or abandoning a goal. The context may make two expressions possible, but their emphasis differs.
The verb abrir is conjugated normally: abro mão (I give up), abriu mão (gave up), and vamos abrir mão (we will give up). Mão remains singular in the phrase.
Abri mão de comprar o ingresso mais caro.
I decided not to buy the more expensive ticket.
Perdi o ingresso no caminho para o teatro.
I lost the ticket on the way to the theater.
Desistimos de procurar a loja depois que ela fechou.
We stopped looking for the store after it closed.
Put it into practice
Use abrir mão de when someone chooses to give up an option or do without something; use perder for an involuntary loss.
Quick practice
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