Study Resource: Feminine of adjectives ending in ‘-ão’

Brazilian Portuguese adjectives that end in -ão have slightly different feminine forms. There are two possible patterns:

• -ão (masculine) → -ã (feminine)

  Masculine -ão	Feminine -ã	English
  cristão	cristã	Christian
  orfão	orfã	orphan
  são	sã	sane
  vão	vã	futile
  alemão	alemã	German

• -ão (masculine) → -ona (feminine)

  Masculine -ão	Feminine -ona	English
  bonachão	bonachona	good-natured
  comilão	comilona	gluttonous
  chorão	chorona	whiny

Check out our post on the forms of adjectives in Brazilian Portuguese to learn more about masculine vs. feminine adjectives!