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Study Resource: Brazilian Portuguese noun gender reference sheet

By: Fabiana Dametto Oliveira

Associated Articles

These activities are part of our Brazilian Portuguese Grammar series. The skills we are practicing here are covered in our article:

Nouns that end in ‘-e’ and ‘-z’

Nouns that end in -e and -z can be either masculine or feminine. Here are some common nouns in each category.

Masculine Nouns ending in -e and -z
Portuguese	English
o creme	the cream
o dente	the tooth
o leite	the milk
o parque	the park
o poste	the pole
o restaurante	the restaurant
o arroz	the rice
o xadrez	the chess
o cartaz	the poster
o nariz	the nose
o giz	the chalk
o chocolate	the chocolate

Feminine Nouns ending in -e and -z
Portuguese	English
a carne	the meat
a chave	the key
a morte	the death
a noite	the evening, the night
a tarde	the afternoon
a voz	the voice
a paz	the peace
a luz	the light
a raiz	the route
a noz	the walnut

Nouns with slightly different forms in the masculine or feminine

The animate nouns (i.e. nouns for living things) use different stems when they’re used for male or female individuals.

Masculine		Feminine
Portuguese	English	Portuguese	English
o ator	the actor	a atriz	the actress
o avô	the grandfather	a avó	the grandmother
o cavalheiro	the gentleman	a dama	the lady
o garçom	the waiter	a garçonete	the waitress
o genro	the son-in-law	a nora	the daughter-in-law
o herói	the hero	a heroína	the heroine
o homem	the man	a mulher	the woman
o padre	the priest	a freira	the nun
o padrinho	the godfather	a madrinha	the godmother
o poeta	the poet	a poetisa	the poetess
o príncipe	the prince	a princesa	the princess
o rapaz	the boy	a moça	the girl
o rei	the king	a rainha	the queen

Nouns with misleading gender

Though masculine nouns typically end in -o while feminine ones end in -a, some nouns follow the opposite pattern.

Masculine nouns that end in -a:

Masculine
Portuguese	English
o planeta	the planet
o cometa	the comet
o dia	the day
o imã	the magnet
o clima	the weather
o tapa	the slap
o drama	the drama
o mapa	the map
o enigma	the enigma
o alerta	the alert
o samba	the samba
o pijama	the pajamas

Feminine nouns that do not end in -a:
Feminine
Portuguese
English
a mão
the hand
a tribo
the tribe
a lei
the law
a colher
the spoon
a cor
the color
a dor
the pain
a flor
the flower
a foto*
the photo
a moto*
the motorbike

Feminine
a mão	the hand
a tribo	the tribe
a lei	the law
a colher	the spoon
a cor	the color
a dor	the pain
a flor	the flower
a foto*	the photo
a moto*	the motorbike

Nouns that change their meaning depending on their gender

The following nouns can be used either as masculine nouns or feminine nouns, with no change to their form. However, the meaning is different depending on whether the noun is masculine or feminine.

Masculine noun		Feminine noun
Portuguese	English	Portuguese	English
o cabeça	the leader	a cabeça	the head
o cara	the guy	a cara	the face
o capital	the investment	a capital	the capital city
o cura	the priest	a cura	the cure
o caixa	the till	a caixa	the box
o grama	the gram	a grama	the grass
o guarda	the guard	a guarda	the defense
o guia	the guide	a guia	the form
o rádio	the radio	a rádio	the radio station

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