What Does Sacar Mean in Portuguese? Uses, Slang and Examples

What does sacar in Portuguese mean? Short answer: sacar is a real Portuguese verb, but here in Brazil we only use it in a few specific situations. We use it to withdraw money ("sacar dinheiro"), to serve in volleyball or tennis, to draw a weapon and, in casual speech, to suddenly get something. So when a Brazilian friend says "saquei!", they mean "got it!".

The tricky part is that sacar doesn't cover everything English does with "take". You "take" a photo and "take off" your jacket, but in Portuguese both of those are the verb tirar: "tirar uma foto", "tirar o casaco", "tirar uma dúvida" (to clear up a question). And if you learned some Spanish first, be extra careful, because Spanish uses sacar for all of these. In more formal settings, like at the bank or when picking up a document, you'll also hear "retirar".

In this lesson I'll show you what sacar means in each context, with example sentences for every use, the words from the same family (saque, saquear, ensacar) and a short video. If you want to keep going, check out my guide to the verb tirar in Portuguese and all the money vocabulary in Portuguese.

How to Use "Sacar" in Portuguese by Context

Sacar in Portuguese is used to withdraw money, to serve in volleyball, to draw a weapon and, in casual speech, to understand something ("saquei!"). But to take a photo, clear up a question or get a good grade, in Brazil we use tirar. It's also one of the classic differences between Spanish and Portuguese, and in the video I explain each context.

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Sacar, Tirar or Retirar in Portuguese: Which One to Use

Here's the quick rule: sacar is for money, sports, weapons and understanding something; tirar is for photos, clothes, questions and grades; and retirar is the more formal option, the one you'll see at banks, government offices and on signs. This is how we say it in Brazil:

• Sacar: withdraw cash, serve, draw a weapon or get it. "Vou sacar duzentos reais antes de sair." (I'm going to take out two hundred reais before I leave.)
• Tirar: take a photo, take off clothes, clear up a question or get a grade. "Tirei dez na prova de português!" (I got a 10 on my Portuguese test!)
• Retirar: pick up a document or an order, or withdraw money in a formal context. "Preciso retirar meu passaporte na Polícia Federal." (I need to pick up my passport at the Federal Police.)

If you want to master the other big verb on this list, check out these 15 expressions with the verb tirar in Portuguese, where you'll see phrases like "tirar de letra" and "tirar uma dúvida".

Practice Sentences: The Verb Sacar in Portuguese

These practice sentences show the verb sacar in Portuguese in its most common uses in Brazil: with money, in sports, meaning "to understand" and with weapons or objects. Read them out loud and pay attention to the conjugations, like "saquei", "sacou" and "sacando".

My advice is to avoid translating as much as you can. The best way to learn a Portuguese word is to see it used in lots of different situations.

Sacar dinheiro

Sacar dinheiro is the most common use of sacar in Portuguese, and it's how you say withdraw money or take out cash. The transaction is called a saque and the ATM is the caixa eletrônico, two words you'll need as soon as you land in Brazil.

It means withdrawing money, especially when talking about banks, ATMs or daily withdrawal limits.

• Fui sacar dinheiro no caixa eletrônico mas não pude porque já tava fora de serviço por conta do horário.
• Fiz um saque hoje que atingiu meu limite diário, posso fazer o pagamento pra você amanhã?
• Prefiro não sacar dinheiro no exterior porque o banco cobra uma taxa de saque.

Sacar no vôlei

It means to serve in a sport, mainly in volleyball. It's a technical use that belongs to sports vocabulary.

• Quem saca melhor no seu time de vôlei? (o melhor saque)
• Por que você nunca deixa eu sacar? tem medo de perder o jogo por minha causa?

Official page of the Brazilian national volleyball team.

Sacar (to Understand)

In casual Brazilian Portuguese, sacar also means to understand or to catch on. You'll hear it all the time in short forms: "saquei!" (got it!), "sacou?" (get it?) and "não saquei" (I don't get it). That's the saquei meaning you'll run into in chats and memes, and it's one of the most useful pieces of Brazilian slang for everyday conversation.

It's used informally to say you realized, understood or picked up on an idea, a situation or someone's intention.

• Ainda bem que você sacou na hora que se tratava de um golpe, já soube de pessoas que perderam uma porrada de dinheiro com esses ladrões.
• Se você não sacar a explicação do projeto de primeira (de prima) me avisa que eu te mando um conteúdo adicional.

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Sacar uma arma

It means to pull something out of where it was kept, usually fast. We use it with weapons, documents or anything that was put away, a lot like "to draw" in English.

• O cara ficou tão desconfiado que ia ser roubado que sacou a arma e deu dois tiros pra cima pra espantar os ladrões.
• Durante uma blitz, um policial se deu conta que o motorista tava sacando uma arma do porta luvas do carro, na mesma hora o policial puxou a pistola dele e deu um tiro no cara.
• O franco-atirador viu uma mulher sacando uma bomba que tava escondida na roupa dela.

"Amo os valentes; mas não basta ser espadachim - deve-se saber, também, contra quem sacar a espada!"
- Friedrich Nietzsche

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Bonus Content

A few look-alike words come from the same family as sacar, but they mean something else: saquear means to loot and ensacar means to put something in a bag. And the noun "saco" itself is just a bag or a sack.

The Verb Saquear

It means to loot: a group of people stealing or carrying things off, usually in moments of chaos, after accidents or during mass looting.

• O caminhão capotou na estrada com várias mercadorias caras, não deu nem 5 minutos depois do acidente e já tinha gente saqueando tudo.

The verb capotar (to flip over) can also mean that someone fell asleep instantly because they were so exhausted.

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The Verb Ensacar

It means to put something into a bag or sack. Figuratively, a "camisa ensacada" is a tucked-in shirt, worn inside the pants, which gives a neater, more formal look.

• Lembro que antes você sempre usava roupa ensacada, agora sempre te vejo vestido mais despojado.