dirão

Dirão is a verb form in Portuguese, the third-person plural of the futuro do indicativo (future indicative) for the verb dizer, meaning to say or to tell. It is used to express that multiple subjects will say something in the future or to report statements that are expected to be made.

Etymology and form: dizer is an irregular verb, and its future stem changes to dire- before the standard future endings. The complete conjugation in the futuro do indicativo includes direi, dirás, dirá, diremos, dirão. Dirão specifically marks “they will say.” The spelling and pronunciation reflect the standard Portuguese regularization of the stem with the plural ending -ão.

Usage notes: dirão is commonly used in narrative and reports to indicate anticipated statements or claims by others. It can introduce content in subordinate clauses or appear in broader statements about what a group will declare. The form remains unchanged across formal and informal registers, though its usage may appear more frequently in formal or written Portuguese when reporting future statements.

Examples:

- Eles dirão a verdade amanhã. They will tell the truth tomorrow.

- O porta-voz dirá se houve mudanças. The spokesperson will say whether there were changes.

- Se eles dirão algo diferente, avisaremos. If they will say something different, we will inform you. (Note: this example uses a future-in-subordinate context and illustrates typical structure, though the clause is hypothetical.)

See also: dizer, conjugation of dizer, futuro do indicativo.