This is the 4515th most frequent Portuguese word.
começamos
"We start" or "We started."
Here, 'começamos' is used as the first person plural (we) in the past perfect tense, indicating an action that has been completed.
Começamos a viagem pelas montanhas ao amanhecer.
We started the journey through the mountains at dawn.
In this sentence, 'começamos' also reflects the first person plural (we) but can imply both an action recently started or one in progress.
Hoje começamos a estudar para o exame da próxima semana.
Today we started studying for next week's exam.
'Começamos' is employed in a conditional clause in the first person plural, suggesting the hypothesized starting of an action.