precisa

Precisa is a Portuguese word with two principal uses: a verb form and an adjective. As a verb, precisa is the third-person singular present indicative form of precisar, meaning to need or require (he/she/you need). As an adjective, precisa is the feminine singular form of preciso, meaning precise or necessary, and it describes feminine nouns.

In verb use, preciso constructions typically take de after the verb: precisa de + noun or pronoun. Examples include: Ela precisa de ajuda (She needs help), Você precisa de água (You need water). Negative and interrogative forms are common: Não precisa (You don’t need to), Do que você precisa? or Você precisa de quê? These usages are standard in Brazilian and European Portuguese, with regional variation in phrasing.

As an adjective, precisa modifies a feminine noun and conveys meaning such as precise or necessary. Examples: uma informação precisa (a precise/accurate piece of information), medidas precisas (precise measures). Predicative use is also common: A resposta é precisa (The answer is accurate). The same spelling can signal different grammatical roles depending on context, which is determined by agreement with the noun or by the verb form.

Related terms include precisar’s synonyms, such as necessitar or carecer, and the noun precisão (precision). The word precise in English is often rendered as preciso/precisa in Portuguese, while the adverb precisely is precisamente. Precisa thus functions as a versatile word in everyday Portuguese, linking need, accuracy, and specification.