Ways to say it
| Portuguese | IPA |
|---|---|
| restaurar | /ʁes.tawˈɾa(ʁ)/ (Brazil) /ʁes.tawˈɾa(ɾ)/ (São Paulo) |
| recuperar | /ʁe.ku.peˈɾa(ʁ)/ (Brazil) /ʁe.ku.peˈɾa(ɾ)/ (São Paulo) |
restaurar is used to bring something back to a previous condition or state. In technical contexts, it is the standard verb for restoring software, operating systems or factory settings, such as in the phrase restaurar o sistema.
Which one should you use?
The choice of word depends on what is being restored. restaurar is used for restoring objects, settings or abstract concepts like honor. In contrast, recuperar is more commonly used for recovering lost items, health or physical possession, meaning 'to recover' or 'to regain'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The past participle restaurado can be used as an adjective to describe something that has been restored.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of restaurar is /ʁes.tawˈɾa(ʁ)/. It has 3 syllables, with the stress on the 3rd syllable.
Did you know?
- The word restaurante for 'restaurant' comes from the verb restaurar because the first restaurants served broths intended to 'restore' the diner's health.
- In Portuguese, you can recuperar a grade, which means to 'recover' a bad grade in school by taking a make-up exam.
- The verb restaurar is a 'learned borrowing', meaning it was consciously reintroduced from Latin into Portuguese rather than evolving naturally through spoken folk speech.
Examples in context
- Fadil estava determinado a restaurar a honra de sua irmã.Fadil was determined to restore his sister's honor.This sentence shows the use of restaurar to restore honor.Tatoeba #5893733 by sergiomelo, translation #5892508 by OsoHombre
- Meu computador não está funcionando corretamente, acho que vou restaurar as configurações.My computer is not working properly, I think I will restore the settings.This sentence shows the use of restaurar for restoring settings.Tatoeba #8212892 by josivangoncalves, translation #8212929 by josivangoncalves
- Martha Berryman, a diretora do museu, diz que as fotografias antigas ajudaram a restaurar a casa de forma autêntica.Martha Berryman, the museum's director, says old photos helped to authentically restore the house.This sentence shows the use of restaurar for restoring a house.Tatoeba #12134835 by Cangarejo, translation #12134834 by Cangarejo
- Vamos restaurar essa pintura antiga.Let's restore this old painting.
- É importante recuperar o patrimônio histórico da região.It is important to restore the historical heritage of the region.
- Vou me dedicar a reabilitar essa área degradada.I will dedicate myself to restoring this degraded area.
- 8 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Camila and Gabriel are talking about a home renovation project.
- CamilaGabriel, você pretende restaurar o jardim?Gabriel, do you intend to restore the garden?
- GabrielSim, Camila, eu quero restaurar as plantas originais.Yes, Camila, I want to restore the original plants.
- CamilaVai dar muito trabalho restaurar tudo isso?Will it be a lot of work to restore all that?
- GabrielSim, mas vale a pena restaurar o espaço.Yes, but it is worth restoring the space.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “restore” translations and entries restaurar, recuperar, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries recuperar, restaurar, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
