Gendered Nouns
Introduction
Masculine Words
Portuguese, like many romance languages, has masculine and feminine nouns. When studying vocabulary it is important to know if the word is masculine or feminine which is why it is included with each 3-part card.
Words that end in –o are usually masculine words. They take on the masculine article “o”. The article goes in front of the word.
Here are some examples of specific singular masculine words:
Specific Singular masculine nouns
o morango
o menino
o prato
the strawberry
the boy
the plate
Notice the article “o” means “the” (a specific noun).
Now let’s talk about plural masculine nouns. The idea is the same except the specific plural masculine noun uses a os instead of o. You will also need to make the noun plural by adding an “s” at the end. Here are some examples:
Specific Plural masculine nouns
os morangos
os meninos
os pratos
the strawberries
the boys
the plates
Keep in mind, the o/os articles are used for specific items. For example: Can you give me the strawberry? (Você pode me dar o morango?) This is referring to a specific strawberry.
When we want to talk about a nonspecific noun the article becomes um.
Nonspecific Singular Masculine Nouns
um morango
um menino
um prato
a strawberry
a boy
a plate
For nonspecific plural nouns we don’t need to add an article but we need to pluralize the noun by adding a plural ending. For example:
Nonspecific Plural Masculine Nouns
morangos
meninos
pratos
strawberries
boys
plates
Feminine Words
Words that end in –a are usually feminine words. They take on the feminine article “a”. The article goes in front of the word.
Here are some examples of specific singular feminine words:
Specific Singular feminine nouns
a laranja
a cama
a planta
the orange
the bed
the plant
Notice the article “a” means “the”.
Now let’s talk about plural feminine nouns. The idea is the same except the plural specific feminine noun uses “as” instead of “a”. You will also need to make the noun plural by adding an “s” at the end. Here are some examples of specific plural feminine nouns:
Specific Plural feminine nouns
as laranjas
as camas
as plantas
the oranges
the beds
the plants
Keep in mind, the a/as articles are used for specific items. For example: Can you give me the banana? (Você pode me dar a banana?) This is referring to a specific banana.
When we want to talk about a nonspecific feminine noun the article becomes uma.
Nonspecific Singular Feminine Nouns
uma laranja
uma cama
uma planta
an orange
a bed
a plant
For nonspecific plural nouns we don’t need to add an article but we need to pluralize the noun by adding a plural ending. For example:
Nonspecific Singular Feminine Nouns
laranjas
camas
plantas
oranges
beds
plants
Exceptions
End o/a endings are a pretty good indicator if the word is feminine or masculine but, there are many exceptions. For example:
o gorila
o mapa
o dia
the gorilla
the map
the day
Many words don’t end in “o” or “a” so here are the rules for some of those words (but remember there are exceptions for those as well).
Nouns ending in ã
a maçã
a manhã
a irmã
the apple
the morning
the sister
Nouns ending in a consonant
o mar
o caracol
o papel
the sea
the snail
the paper
Nouns ending in i
o abacaxi
o kiwi
the pineapple
the kiwi
There are a lot more rules relating to this but it is only necessary to learn the main ones when you are just starting out in your Portuguese journey. If you want to learn more check out this link. This website is one of my favorite sites for learning Portuguese grammar.
