Plural in Portuguese – The Definitive Guide

In this lesson, we will talk about the plural in Portuguese, how to form them, and some irregular forms. followed by examples.

Plural in Portuguese - The Definitive Guide in brazilian portuguese

First of all, I like to make it clear that forming the plural in Portuguese doesn’t follow a one single rule, that depends on the endings and there are of course some irregulars, in this guide we will talk about the main forms.

Form 1: Words ending with “r” or “es”: add “es” to the end     

Examples:

  • Cruz (cross) – cruzes
  • Mar (sea) – mares

Form 2: Words ending with “al”, “el”, “ol”, “ul”: replace “l” with “is”.    

Examples:

  • Canal (channel) – canais
  • Pastel (pastry) – pastéis

Exception: mal (bad) – males

Form 3: Words ending with “m”: replace “m” with “n” then add “s” to the end.  

Example: Homem (man) – homens

Form 4: Words ending with “ãe” or a vowel: add “s” to the end.            

Examples:

  • Mesa (table) – mesas
  • Mãe (mother) – Mães
  • Linda (beautiful) – lindas

Form 5: Words ending with “s”: add “es” to the end.                  

Examples: País (country) – Países

Some words like “o lápis” (pencil) keep the same form in plural: os lapis

Form 6: Words ending with “ão”: replace “ão” with “ões”.                  

Examples:

  • Coração (heart) – corações
  • Leão (lion) – leões

Some exceptions:

  • Mão (hand) – mãos
  • Cão (dog) – cães

Practice what you’ve just learnt and try to form the plural of some nouns that we’ve seen.

Continue learning Portuguese with us here.

Happy learning!

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