Italian · Everyday Verbs

"to carry" in Italian: portare

portare

Say it: por-TAH-rehverb/porˈta.re/

To carry in Italian is portare (por-TAH-reh). Porto la borsa means I carry the bag. Portare also covers bringing someone something.

Leaving home

Porto la borsa e le chiavi.
I'm carrying the bag and the keys.
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How to pronounce portare

Say it

por-TAH-reh

/porˈta.re/

Portare: por-TAH-reh. Stress TAH. Porto is POR-toh—clearly the verb, not la porta.

"to carry" in Italian: quick reference

ItalianEnglish
portareto carry / to bring

Infinitive.

porto / porti / portaI / you / he-she carry

Present singular.

portiamowe carry / let's bring

Plural present.

porta tu le chiaviyou carry the keys

Assigning the load.

How to use portare in real life

  1. 1Leaving home

    Porto la borsa e le chiavi.

    I'm carrying the bag and the keys.

    Porto conjugation.

  2. 2Market help

    Mi porti tu le borse pesanti?

    Will you carry the heavy bags for me?

    Porti.

  3. 3Picnic

    Portiamo l'acqua nel thermos.

    We're carrying the water in the thermos.

    Portiamo.

Mistakes English speakers make with portare

Incorrect: Io portare la valigia.

Correct: Porto la valigia.

Conjugate: porto.

Incorrect: Apro la porta (meaning I carry)

Correct: Porto la borsa.

La porta is the door; use porto for the verb.

Good to know

Portare covers carry and bring: porta il vino means bring the wine. At dinner, guests ask cosa porto? La porta (door) shares spelling with lui porta—porto / porti keep the verb obvious.

Try it in a ChatPal conversation

Sharing grocery bags after shopping

  1. ChatPal

    Porto io la cassa d'acqua.

    I'll carry the case of water.

  2. You

    Ok—io porto il pane e la frutta.

    Ok—I'll carry the bread and fruit.

  3. ChatPal

    Perfetto. Portiamo tutto in due viaggi.

    Perfect. We'll carry everything in two trips.

  4. You

    Andiamo.

    Let's go.

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"to carry" in other languages

FAQ

Common questions about "to carry" in Italian

I carry?

Porto.

Bring the wine?

Porta il vino.

Door confusion?

La porta is the door; conjugate porto / porti.

We carry?

Portiamo.

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