Tomar vs. Pegar in Brazilian Portuguese: Take a Bus, Have a Drink, or Take Medicine
Both verbs appear in everyday combinations, but common collocations change with the thing you take or do.
Real Life Portuguese · 6 min read · Updated October 15, 2026
The short answer
Pegar means pick up, catch, or take in many Brazilian Portuguese expressions. Pegar o ônibus and pegar um táxi are common ways to say take the bus or a taxi. The context tells you which meaning applies.
Use pegar with catching or boarding transport
Some speakers also say tomar o ônibus, so treat this as a common pattern rather than an absolute rule. Name the route or destination when asking for directions.
Onde eu pego o ônibus para o centro?
Where do I catch the bus to downtown?
Vamos pegar um táxi na saída.
Let’s take a taxi at the exit.
Use tomar in food and medicine phrases
Tomar commonly appears with drinks and medicine: tomar um café, tomar água, tomar um remédio. Learn these as whole verb phrases because English uses take or have for several different actions.
For health questions, this vocabulary helps you ask about instructions. A qualified professional or the product label should confirm what to take and when.
Vou tomar um café antes da reunião.
I’m going to have a coffee before the meeting.
Devo tomar este remédio com água?
Should I take this medicine with water?
Learn the verb with its object
English uses take for transport, food, medicine, and more. Portuguese distributes those meanings across pegar, tomar, levar, and other verbs. The noun after the verb helps you learn a natural combination.
Regional usage varies and some expressions overlap. Save a full sentence when learning a verb so you remember its usual object.
A gente pega o metrô e depois toma um café.
We’ll take the subway and then have a coffee.
Ele tomou o remédio antes de sair.
He took the medicine before leaving.
Put it into practice
Pegar o ônibus is common in Brazil; tomar is common with drinks and medicine. Learn each verb together with its object and context.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “He took the medicine before leaving”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
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