Wait, Hope, and Expect in Portuguese: What Does Esperar Mean?
Esperar covers waiting and expecting; use torcer para when you mean to hope for a favorable outcome.
Real Life Portuguese · 5 min read · Updated October 15, 2026
The short answer
Esperar can mean to wait. Add por before the person or thing you are waiting for, or use esperar para + infinitive for waiting to do something.
Use esperar for waiting
Estou esperando pelo ônibus.
I’m waiting for the bus.
Vamos esperar para pedir a sobremesa.
Let’s wait to order dessert.
Use esperar for an expectation
Esperar also means to expect or anticipate. Context usually makes the intended meaning clear; use espero que + subjunctive when expressing an expectation about a full clause.
Espero que o trânsito melhore.
I hope the traffic improves.
A gente espera uma resposta amanhã.
We expect an answer tomorrow.
Use torcer para when you are rooting for an outcome
Torcer para expresses hoping that something goes well, often with a sense of rooting for the result. In speech, you may hear torço para que followed by the subjunctive or torço para + infinitive when the subject is the same.
Estou torcendo para você conseguir o emprego.
I’m hoping you get the job.
Torço para que tudo dê certo.
I hope everything works out.
Put it into practice
Use esperar for waiting or expecting, and torcer para when you are hoping for a good result.
Quick practice
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