cuidam

Cuidam is the third-person plural present indicative form of the Portuguese verb cuidar, meaning to take care of, look after, or be responsible for someone or something. It appears when the subject is “they” or when the sentence uses the polite plural form represented by vocês in many varieties of Portuguese.

As a regular -ar verb, cuidar follows standard conjugation patterns in the present tense. Typical forms include eu cuido, tu cuidas, ele cuida, nós cuidamos, vocês cuidam, eles cuidam. The form cuidam specifically marks the third-person plural and is used with subjects such as eles, elas, or vocês. In common usage, cuidar often appears with de to indicate what is being looked after, for example, cuidam de crianças, cuidam dos idosos, or cuidam de seus bens.

Usage and nuances can vary by region. In Brazilian Portuguese, cuidado with subject-verb agreement is straightforward, and vocês is frequently used as the plural second-person subject, taking cuidam. In European Portuguese, you may encounter the same form in the same grammatical role, while informal speech might favor tu cuidas and você cuida for singular forms.

Cuidam also appears in reflexive or semi-reflexive constructions in which the caring action is directed back toward the subject or a group, such as cuidam de si mesmos (they take care of themselves). The word is common in everyday speech as well as in written Portuguese, including contexts related to family, healthcare, education, and caregiving.