Pular vs. saltar
While pular and saltar are synonyms meaning "to jump" or "to leap", the choice depends largely on regional preference. Generally, pular is the standard everyday word in Brazil, while saltar is the standard word in Portugal. However, both have specific nuances regarding formality and context.
Pular
A2In Brazilian Portuguese, pular is the most common way to say "to jump" physically. It is also widely used to mean "to skip" (like skipping classes, pages, or ads). In Portugal, pular is less frequent and often implies small, repeated vertical hops or bouncing.
As crianças adoram pular cama elástica nas festas.
(The kids love to jump on the trampoline at parties.)
Você pode clicar no botão para pular o anúncio.
(You can click the button to skip the ad.)
O coelho pulou a cerca e fugiu para a floresta.
(The rabbit jumped the fence and ran away to the forest.)
Decidi pular o capítulo chato do livro.
(I decided to skip the boring chapter of the book.)
Saltar
A2In European Portuguese, saltar is the standard word for all types of jumping. In Brazil, saltar sounds more formal, technical, or athletic (like high jump), and it is specifically used to mean "to get off" a bus or train.
O gato conseguiu saltar para cima do armário alto.
(The cat managed to jump onto the tall cabinet.)
Nós precisamos saltar do ônibus na próxima parada.
(We need to get off the bus at the next stop.)
A atleta treinou muito para saltar aquela altura.
(The athlete trained hard to jump that height.)
Os paraquedistas vão saltar do avião em breve.
(The parachutists will jump from the plane soon.)
Summary
Use pular as your default word for jumping or skipping things if you are speaking Brazilian Portuguese. Use saltar as your default word for jumping in European Portuguese. Note that in Brazil, saltar is specifically preferred when referring to getting off public transport or performing an athletic leap.