Which one should you use?
While English uses 'relate' for both connecting things and empathizing with people, Portuguese distinguishes these. Use relacionar for the formal sense of connecting or linking objects or ideas.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Brazilian Portuguese, the phrase Se pôr no lugar do outro is used to denote the act of relating to someone else's perspective or situation, much like the English idiom 'to put yourself in someone else's shoes'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The past participle relacionado functions as an adjective meaning 'related' or 'connected'. If you want to refer to a romantic or social connection, use the noun relacionamento.
How do you pronounce it?
relacionar has 5 syllables and the stress is on the 5th syllable: /ʁe.la.si.oˈna(ʁ)/.
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often mistakenly use relacionar to mean 'to empathize with someone's situation'. To express the sense of identifying with or relating to a person or feeling, you should use identificar-se com instead.
Did you know?
- In Portuguese, if you say you want to relacionar com a person, you might accidentally imply you want to start a romantic relationship with them rather than simply understanding their point of view.
- In a professional context, relacionar can mean 'to list' or 'to enumerate' items, which has nothing to do with empathy or human connection.
- The English word 'relation' and the Portuguese relação share the same Latin roots, but they have drifted apart in how they describe personal connections in everyday speech.
Examples in context
- Eu me identifico com o que você está passando.I can relate to what you are going through.
- Sinto afinidade com esse grupo de pessoas.I feel a connection with this group of people.
- Eu me acho muito nas suas histórias.I can relate a lot to your stories.
- Eu me ponho no lugar do outro para entender melhor seus sentimentos.I put myself in the other person's shoes to better understand their feelings.
- Ele tem uma experiência de vida que se relaciona com a minha.He has a life experience that relates to mine.
- Eu consigo me relacionar com essa história.I can relate to this story.
- É difícil se relacionar com personagens assim.It is hard to relate to characters like that.
- Muitos jovens conseguem se relacionar com essa música.Many young people can relate to this song.
Example conversation
Juliana and Gabriel are talking about a movie they just watched.
- JulianaVocê conseguiu se relacionar com o protagonista, Gabriel?Were you able to relate to the protagonist, Gabriel?
- GabrielSim, eu me relaciono com a solidão dele.Yes, I relate to his loneliness.
- JulianaEu não. Achei a vida dele muito diferente.I didn't. I thought his life was very different.
- GabrielÉ verdade, cada pessoa sente de um jeito.That's true, every person feels differently.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry relacionar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries relacionar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
