Escorrer vs. drenar vs. esvaziar

Word practice demo

While escorrer, drenar, and esvaziar can all translate to "to drain" in English, they describe different methods and degrees of removing substances. Escorrer focuses on the flow or dripping of liquid, drenar involves systematic extraction, and esvaziar is about the result of becoming empty.

Escorrer

This verb is used when liquid flows, slides, or drips off a solid object or through a filter, usually due to gravity. It is the specific term for straining food or letting water run off wet surfaces.

Você precisa escorrer o macarrão antes de colocar o molho.

(You need to drain the pasta before adding the sauce.)

O suor escorria pelo rosto do atleta.

(Sweat was draining down the athlete's face.)

Deixe a louça lavada escorrer na pia.

(Let the washed dishes drain in the sink.)

A cera da vela escorreu para a toalha de mesa.

(The candle wax dripped onto the tablecloth.)

Drenar

This verb describes drawing off liquid gradually or systematically from an enclosed space, land, or body part. It often implies the use of a mechanism (like a pipe) or a natural absorption process, and is frequently used metaphorically for energy or money.

Eles decidiram drenar o terreno pantanoso para construir uma casa.

(They decided to drain the swampy land to build a house.)

O médico precisou drenar o fluido do cisto.

(The doctor needed to drain the fluid from the cyst.)

Reuniões longas costumam drenar minha energia.

(Long meetings usually drain my energy.)

O sistema de esgoto não conseguiu drenar a água da chuva.

(The sewage system failed to drain the rainwater.)

Esvaziar

This implies emptying something completely until nothing remains inside. While it applies to liquids, it can also refer to removing people from a room or air from a balloon; the focus is on the container becoming void of content.

Vamos esvaziar a piscina para limpá-la.

(We are going to drain the pool to clean it.)

Ele bebeu tudo e esvaziou a garrafa.

(He drank everything and drained the bottle.)

A polícia mandou esvaziar o prédio imediatamente.

(The police ordered to clear the building immediately.)

O pneu se esvaziou depois de passar por um prego.

(The tire deflated after running over a nail.)

Summary

Use escorrer for liquids dripping off surfaces or through a strainer (like pasta). Use drenar for extracting fluids from land, bodies, or systems (often technical or metaphorical). Use esvaziar when the main goal is to make a container or space completely empty.