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Study Resource: Plural noun reference sheet

By: Fabiana Dametto Oliveira

Brazilian Portuguese nouns that are always plural

The following nouns in Brazilian Portuguese are always plural.


Brazilian Portuguese	English
os parabéns	the congratulations
as costas*	the back
as férias	the vacation
os óculos	the glasses
as núpcias	the nuptials
os pêsames	the condolences
os arredores	the surroundings
as olheiras	the under eye dark circles
as Olimpíadas	the Olympic games

Nouns that have a singular form in Brazilian Portuguese but not in English

The following nouns can be singular in Brazilian Portuguese, even though they are always plural in English.


Singular	Plural	English
a calça	as calças	the pants
a tesoura	as tesouras	the scissors
a pinça	as pinças	the tongs
o aparelho ortodôntico	os aparelhos ortodônticos	the braces
a cueca	as cuecas	the briefs
a calça jeans	as calças jeans	the jeans
a calcinha	as calcinhas	the knickers
o pijama	os pijamas	the pajamas
o short	os shorts	the shorts
a meia-calça	as meias-calças	the tights
a notícia	as notícias	the news
a bateria	as baterias	the drums
o macacão	os macacões	the dungarees
a escada	as escadas	the stairs
a gengiva	as gengivas	the gums
a louça	as louças	the dishes

Plural form of nouns ending in ‘-x’

The following Brazilian Portuguese nouns, which end in -x, have the same form in the singular vs. plural.


Singular	Plural	English
o botox	os botox	the botox
o ex	os ex	the ex
o tórax	os tórax	the chest
o látex	os látex	the latex
a fênix	as fênix	the phoenix
o dúplex	os dúplex	the duplex
o fax	os fax	the fax
o clímax	os clímax	the climax

Exceptions to the ‘-ão’ → ‘ões’ rule

Most Brazilian Portuguese nouns that end in -ão in the singular end with -ões in the plural, but there are a few exceptions that take -ães or -ãos in the plural instead. These include the following nouns:

-ão → ães


Singular	Plural	English
o pão	os pães	the bread
o alemão	os alemães	the German(s)
o cão	os cães	the dog(s)
o capitão	os capitães	the captain(s)
o catalão	os catalães	the Catalan(s)
o guardião	os guardiães	the guardian(s)

-ão → ãos


Singular	Plural	English
o chão	os chãos	the floor(s)
o cidadão	os cidadãos	the citizen(s)
o cristão	os cristãos	the Christian(s)
o grão	os grãos	the grain(s)
o irmão	os irmãos	the brother(s)
o mão	os mãos	the hand(s)
o órfão	os órfãos	the orphan(s)
o órgão	os órgãos	the organ(s)
o sótão	os sótãos	the attic(s)