How to say "the" in Portuguese 

Singular (the book, the table, the girl, the house etc) 

All nouns (people, places, things ...) in Portuguese are either masculine or feminine. This includes the word for "the".

• masculine: the = "o" (pronounced "oooh")
• feminine: the  = "a" (pronounced "er" as in "mother")

Examples: o livro (the book), o telefone (the telephone), o acidente (the accident), o apartamento (the apartment), o banco, (the bank), o biquíni (the bikini)

NB - The Portuguese always use "the" when talking about a person. They don't say "Mary is tall". They say "The Mary is tall" (A Maria é alta) 

Plural (the books, the tables, the girls, the houses etc)

 Unlike English, the word for "the" also has a plural.

• masculine plural: the = "os" (pronounced "ooosh")
• feminine plural: the  = "as" (pronounced "ersh")

Examples: os livros (the books), os telefones (the telephones), os acidentes (the accidents), os apartamentos (the apartments), os bancos, (the banks), os biquínis (the bikinis)

Return to Grammar page