How do I identify the grammatical gender of Portuguese nouns?

 

The general rules to determine the gender of a noun are as follows:

How do I identify the grammatical gender of Portuguese nouns?
male nouns female nouns
determined by sex / gender
💬 e.g.
o homem ‒ the man
o leão ‒ the lion
determined by sex / gender
💬 e.g.
a mulher ‒ the woman
a leoa ‒ the lioness
by belonging to one of these groups:
  • numbers, letters
    um b ‒ a B
    um cinco ‒ a five
  • colours
    o azul ‒ (the) blue
  • waterbodies, mountain ranges, cardinal points
    o canal de Bristol ‒ the Bristol channel
    os Alpes ‒ the Alps
    o sul ‒ the South
  • names of months, seasons
    o agosto ‒ August
    o inverno ‒ winter
  • languages
    o português ‒ Portuguese
  • wine, car brands
    o vinho do Porto ‒ port wine
by belonging to one of these groups:
  • sciences, arts
    a canção ‒ singing
    a física ‒ physics
  • fruits, trees
    a maçã ‒ the apple
    a pêra ‒ the pear
    a cerejeira ‒ the cherry tree
  • week days
    a segunda-feira ‒ Monday
    a terça-feira ‒ Tuesday
    a quarta-feira ‒ Wednesday
Generally masculine nouns end in:
-á
-ama
-az
-ema
-i
-im/-om/-um
-l
-me
-o/-or
-r
-s
-u
-z
Generally feminine nouns end in:
-a
-ĂŁ
-ade -ção -gem -ice
⚠ Please note: there are exceptions!

 

➠ How do I form the plural of Portuguese nouns?


 

 

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