How to Say ‘Make a Decision’ in Portuguese: Decidir or Tomar uma Decisão
Use decidir for the verb ‘decide’ and tomar uma decisão for ‘make a decision’ in Brazilian Portuguese.
Real Life Portuguese · 4 min read · Updated October 15, 2026
The short answer
Decidir is the direct verb “to decide.” It can be followed by a noun, a question word, or an infinitive. This is often the most concise choice in conversation.
Use decidir to say what someone chooses
Ainda não decidi o que vou pedir.
I haven’t decided what I’m going to order yet.
Decidimos viajar de ônibus.
We decided to travel by bus.
Use tomar uma decisão for the noun phrase
Tomar uma decisão literally uses “take” and means to make a decision. Use it when you want to emphasize reaching a conclusion or the decision-making process.
Preciso tomar uma decisão até sexta-feira.
I need to make a decision by Friday.
Foi uma decisão difícil.
It was a difficult decision.
Talk about deciding together or taking more time
When a group is choosing, decidir em conjunto means to decide together. If you need more time, say ainda estou pensando or preciso de mais um dia. These phrases describe the process without making a promise you cannot keep.
Vamos decidir juntos depois de comparar os preços.
Let’s decide together after comparing the prices.
Ainda estou pensando; posso responder amanhã?
I’m still thinking; can I answer tomorrow?
Put it into practice
Decidir is the verb; tomar uma decisão is a natural phrase meaning ‘make a decision.’
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “I need to make a decision by Friday”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
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