flutuar

Portuguese

Alternative forms

• fluctuar (pre-1990 spelling)

Etymology

Probably a semi-learned borrowing from Latin fluctuāre. Unrelated to English float, despite phonological and semantic similarity.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /flu.tuˈa(ʁ)/ [flu.tʊˈa(h)], (faster pronunciation) /fluˈtwa(ʁ)/ [fluˈtwa(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /flu.tuˈa(ʁ)/ [flu.tʊˈa(h)], (faster pronunciation) /fluˈtwa(ʁ)/ [fluˈtwa(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /flu.tuˈa(ɾ)/ [flu.tʊˈa(ɾ)], (faster pronunciation) /fluˈtwa(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /flu.tuˈa(ʁ)/ [flu.tʊˈa(χ)], (faster pronunciation) /fluˈtwa(ʁ)/ [fluˈtwa(χ)]
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /flu.tuˈa(ɻ)/ [flu.tʊˈa(ɻ)], (faster pronunciation) /fluˈtwa(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /fluˈtwaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /fluˈtwaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /fluˈtwa.ɾi/

• Audio (Brazil (Caipira)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: flu‧tu‧ar

Verb

flutuar (first-person singular present flutuo, first-person singular preterite flutuei, past participle flutuado)

1. to float

   Synonym: boiar

2. to fluctuate

Conjugation

    Conjugation of flutuar (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	flutuar
Personal	flutuar	flutuares	flutuar	flutuarmos	flutuardes	flutuarem
Gerund
	flutuando
Past participle
Masculine	flutuado			flutuados
Feminine	flutuada			flutuadas
Indicative
Present	flutuo	flutuas	flutua	flutuamos	flutuais	flutuam
Imperfect	flutuava	flutuavas	flutuava	flutuávamos	flutuáveis	flutuavam
Preterite	flutuei	flutuaste	flutuou	flutuamos1, flutuámos2	flutuastes	flutuaram
Pluperfect	flutuara	flutuaras	flutuara	flutuáramos	flutuáreis	flutuaram
Future	flutuarei	flutuarás	flutuará	flutuaremos	flutuareis	flutuarão
Conditional	flutuaria	flutuarias	flutuaria	flutuaríamos	flutuaríeis	flutuariam
Subjunctive
Present	flutue	flutues	flutue	flutuemos	flutueis	flutuem
Imperfect	flutuasse	flutuasses	flutuasse	flutuássemos	flutuásseis	flutuassem
Future	flutuar	flutuares	flutuar	flutuarmos	flutuardes	flutuarem
Imperative
Affirmative		flutua	flutue	flutuemos	flutuai	flutuem
Negative (não)		não flutues	não flutue	não flutuemos	não flutueis	não flutuem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Related terms

• flutuação
• flutuante
• flutuador

Further reading

• “flutuar”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “flutuar”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025