Household Chores in Portuguese: Talk About Cleaning and Sharing Tasks
Use everyday verbs like lavar, varrer, and arrumar to explain what you need to do around the house.
Real Life Portuguese · 6 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
Brazilian Portuguese has useful verbs for household tasks: lavar (wash), varrer (sweep), limpar (clean), arrumar (tidy or organize), and cozinhar (cook). Combine each verb with a room or object to say exactly what needs to be done.
Learn the verbs for common tasks
For laundry, lavar roupa means to do laundry, and passar roupa means to iron clothes. The object makes the meaning clear when the same verb applies to different tasks.
Preciso lavar a roupa hoje.
I need to do laundry today.
Vou varrer a cozinha depois do almoço.
I'm going to sweep the kitchen after lunch.
A gente pode arrumar a sala juntos.
We can tidy the living room together.
Say when you do each task
Add a time expression to describe your routine: no fim de semana (on the weekend), depois do trabalho (after work), or uma vez por semana (once a week). The present tense works for regular habits, and vou + infinitive can describe a plan.
If you share a home, use a gente or nós to talk about a joint task. You can also ask Quem vai…? (Who is going to…?) to divide responsibilities clearly.
Eu cozinho durante a semana e ele lava a louça.
I cook during the week, and he washes the dishes.
Quem vai tirar o lixo hoje?
Who is going to take out the trash today?
A gente limpa o banheiro aos sábados.
We clean the bathroom on Saturdays.
Agree on what happens next
When you need help, make a specific request: Você pode lavar os pratos enquanto eu arrumo a mesa? (Can you wash the dishes while I set the table?). A specific task is easier to answer than a general request to help more.
Respond with a simple agreement or a different time: Posso fazer isso depois (I can do that later) or Claro, eu cuido disso agora (Sure, I'll take care of it now). These are everyday language examples, not rules about how any household should divide work.
Você pode estender a roupa?
Can you hang up the laundry?
Posso fazer isso depois do jantar.
I can do that after dinner.
Eu cuido da cozinha hoje.
I'll take care of the kitchen today.
Put it into practice
Choose three chores you actually do. Say when you do them, then make one clear request using pode or podemos.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “We can tidy the living room together”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
Keep practicing with the Real Life Portuguese app
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