recebi

Recebi is the first-person singular form of the Portuguese verb receber in the pretérito perfeito do indicativo, meaning "I received" or, in some contexts, "I have received." It is used to describe a completed action in the past, such as receiving a letter, a message, or a payment.

The verb receber belongs to the -er verbs and, in the pretérito perfeito, has the form eu recebi for the first person, with other forms like tu recebeste, ele recebeu, nós recebemos, vós recebesteis, eles receberam. In everyday usage, especially in Brazilian Portuguese, the present perfect is often substituted with the simple past in conversational speech (por exemplo, "Eu recebi hoje" rather than "Eu tenho recebido hoje").

Common uses of recebI include reporting events, recounting experiences, or noting outcomes: "Eu recebi a encomenda ontem" (I received the package yesterday) or "Ela disse que já recebeu a notícia" (She said she has already received the news). The form can appear in various registers, from informal speech to formal writing, and its meaning is typically distinguished from ongoing or repeated actions, which would employ forms like "tenho recebido" (I have been receiving / I have received over time) or other tenses.

Etymology traces receIber to Latin recipere, meaning to take back or to receive, with the prefix re- and the root cipere. The word thus reflects a historical sense of taking in or obtaining something.

See also: receber, Portuguese verb conjugation, pretérito perfeito.