This is the 109th most frequent Portuguese word.
havia
The Portuguese word "havia" means "there was" or "there were."
In this sentence, 'havia' is used as the imperfect past tense of 'haver' to indicate the existence of something in the past.
Havia um carro estacionado em frente à minha casa.
There was a car parked in front of my house.
Here, 'havia' is used to express a plural existence of opportunities or probabilities in the past.
Havia muitas chances de sucesso nesse plano.
There were many chances of success in this plan.
In this example, 'havia' conveys a general state or situation that occurred in the past.