What Does Perder Mean in Portuguese? Miss, Lose, or Waste
Use context to tell whether perder describes a missed bus, a lost object, or wasted time.
Real Life Portuguese · 6 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
Perder can mean to lose an object: perdi a chave (I lost the key). If you are still looking for it, you can say não encontro (I can’t find it).
Use perder when you cannot find something
Add when or where you last had the item if you need someone’s help. Keep the description specific.
Perdi minha carteira.
I lost my wallet.
Não encontro meu carregador.
I can’t find my charger.
Acho que deixei o guarda-chuva no carro.
I think I left the umbrella in the car.
Use perder for a missed bus or appointment
Perder also means to miss something scheduled: perder o ônibus is to miss the bus, and perder uma reunião is to miss a meeting. The sentence makes clear that the event happened without you.
Use chegar atrasado (to arrive late) when you did attend but arrived after the start.
Perdi o ônibus por dois minutos.
I missed the bus by two minutes.
Ela perdeu a reunião de manhã.
She missed the meeting this morning.
Cheguei atrasado, mas ainda participei.
I arrived late, but I still took part.
Recognize the meaning from the object
With tempo, perder can mean to waste or spend time in an unhelpful way. With a match, the same verb can mean that a team lost. The noun after the verb often signals the intended meaning.
For verb forms, compare perder in the present and past with complete sentences and a real situation rather than learning translations alone.
Não quero perder tempo com isso.
I don’t want to waste time on that.
Meu time perdeu o jogo.
My team lost the game.
Você perdeu alguma coisa?
Did you lose anything?
Put it into practice
Pair perder with one object, one scheduled event, and one abstract noun. Translate each sentence only after identifying the context.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “I don’t want to waste time on that”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
Keep practicing with the Real Life Portuguese app
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