Portuguese Phrase
Procura um telefone público.
Meaning
A direct request or suggestion meaning ‘Look for a public phone.’ It can be used when you need to make a call but don’t have a personal mobile device nearby.
When to use
Use this phrase when you’re out on the street, in a train station, or any public place and you need to find a pay‑phone. It’s common in informal conversation, especially in Portugal where the informal ‘tu’ form is still widely used.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Procuraumtelefonepúblico
Procura
Verb ‘procurar’ in the 2nd‑person singular present indicative (tu) or informal imperative. It means ‘to look for’ or ‘to try to find’.
um
Indefinite article for masculine singular nouns, equivalent to ‘a’ or ‘an’ in English.
telefone
Masculine noun meaning ‘telephone’; can refer to a landline or a public phone.
público
Adjective placed after the noun in Portuguese, meaning ‘public’. It agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
🗨In Conversation
Preciso ligar para a minha mãe, mas o celular está sem sinal.
I need to call my mom, but my cell phone has no signal.
Procura um telefone público ali na esquina.
Look for a public phone over there on the corner.
✕Common Mistakes
Procura um telefone publico.
Missing accent on the adjective; it must be ‘público’ to match Portuguese orthography.
Busca um telefone público.
‘Busca’ is acceptable but changes the register; it sounds more formal and less colloquial than ‘procura’ in Portugal.
Procure um telefone público.
If you keep the informal ‘tu’ context, using the formal imperative ‘procure’ can sound overly polite; match the verb form to the level of familiarity.
↔Alternatives
Procure um telefone público.
Look for a public phone. (formal imperative)
Encontre um telefone público.
Find a public phone.
Busca um telefone público.
Search for a public phone.
Cultural Tip
Public phones (telefonemas públicos) have become rarer with the rise of smartphones, but you can still find them in banks, train stations, and some shopping malls in Brazil and Portugal. In Portugal, the informal ‘tu’ form – ‘procura’ – is perfectly natural in everyday speech, while in Brazil people often prefer the formal ‘procure’ when speaking to strangers.