It's confusing to say TO THINK in Portuguese. That's mostly because there are two verbs for it: PENSAR & ACHAR. Let's clear up the confusion with examples.
ACHAR or PENSAR? :: TO THINK in Portuguese
Most books will tell you that it's Ok to use either. That may be grammatically correct, but it does not fly in the real Brazil! You Need to start getting a sense that:
ACHAR: to think, to find
Use ACHAR whenever you want to express an opinion about something, OR to locate (find) something.
Você achou que é um bom filme?
➜ Did you think that it's a good film?
Use ACHAR in sentences like this:
Eu achei muito caro.
Você achou sua chave?
Eu sempre achei ela diferente.
Eu acho que é um bom preço.
Eu acho que ela já sabe.
✻ These would all sound a bit odd said using PENSAR instead of ACHAR.
PENSAR: to think
PENSAR is best used when talking about literally THINKING something.
Ele sempre pensa antes de falar.
➜ She always thinks before speaking.
Use PENSAR in sentences like this:
Eu sempre pensava no lado negativo.
O menino pensa muito bem.
Pense bem!
Pensando melhor, eu prefiro comer pizza.
✻ In all of these it would sound very strange if you were to use ACHAR in place of PENSAR.
ACREDITAR: to think, believe
ACREDITAR is best used when saying that you believe something to be so.
Eu acredito que ela está certa.
➜ I think she is right.
Use ACREDITAR in cases like this:
Nós acreditamos que isso vai funcionar. (to think/believe)
Eu acredito em milagres. (to believe)
Ele acredita em Deus. (to believe)
Eu acreditei que era verdade. (to think/believe)
The bottom line is this: There are many cases where you could use either PENSAR,ACHAR or ACREDITAR. Gradually try to choose the one that fits best. The fastest way to this goal is simply the time you invest in listening to examples, in-context. If you do this I can guarantee that you will begin to use the best verb soonert that you imagined possible. But, you have to dedicate the time.
» From our online Portuguese course.
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