Nouns & Gender (o / a)
Nouns & Gender (o / a) 🇵🇹
Every Portuguese noun has a grammatical gender — masculine or feminine — which affects the articles, adjectives, and pronouns used with it.
General Rules
| Ending | Usually | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -o | Masculine | o livro (the book) |
| -a | Feminine | a casa (the house) |
| -agem, -dade, -tude | Feminine | a viagem, a cidade, a atitude |
| -ema, -oma | Masculine (Greek origin) | o problema, o idioma |
Common Exceptions
Some words don't follow the typical pattern and must be memorized:
| Word | Gender | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| o dia | masculine | the day |
| a mão | feminine | the hand |
| a foto(grafia) | feminine | the photo |
| o mapa | masculine | the map |
Forming Plurals
- Ends in a vowel → add -s: livro → livros
- Ends in -m → change to -ns: homem → homens
- Ends in -r / -z / -s (stressed) → add -es: mulher → mulheres
- Ends in -l → usually changes to -is: animal → animais
Tip: Always learn a new noun together with its article (o or a) — it's the fastest way to memorize gender correctly.