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Study Resource: Definite articles with country names in Brazilian Portuguese

By: Ana Amélia Rodrigues dos Santos

In Brazilian Portuguese, most countries are used with a definite article, o, a meaning the, but a few are not.

Countries that have definite articles

As the lists below show, most of the feminine words end with -a , with some exceptions, and words ending in a consonant, -o or other vowels, including , are masculine.

Masculine Countries
O Afeganistão

Afghanistan

O Irã

Iran

O Brasil

Brazil

O Chile

Chile

O Japão

Japan

O Peru

Peru

Os Estados Unidos

United States

O México

Mexico

O Canadá

Canada

O Panamá

Panama

O Congo

Congo

O Egito

Egypt

O Iraque

Iraq

O Uruguai

Uruguay

O Equador

Ecuador

O Sudão

Sudan

Feminine Countries
A Argentina

Argentina

A Colômbia

Colombia

A Inglaterra

England

A China

China

A França

France

A Itália

Italy

A Alemanha

Germany

A Espanha

Spain

A Rússia

Russia

A Noruega

Norway

A Suécia

Sweden

A Romênia

Romania

A Venezuela

Venezuela

A Polônia

Poland

A Dinamarca

Denmark

A Áustria

Austria

A Guiné-Bissau

Guinea-Bissau

A Suíça

Switzerland

A Hungria

Hungary

As Filipinas

Philippines

A Irlanda

Ireland

Countries that do not have a definite article

PortugueseEnglish
Marrocos

Morocco

Portugal

Portugal

Cuba

Cuba

Angola

Angola

Bahamas

Bahamas

Cingapura

Singapore

Madagascar

Madagascar

Honduras

Honduras

Timor

Timor

Cabo Verde

Cape Verde