Portuguese Articles

In this lesson we'll be talking about Portuguese articles. Not the kind of articles you read in a magazine, but the kind that precede nouns. You might not realize it, but you already probably know a lot about Portuguese articles.

Basically, these are words that indicate what item you're taking about. As in the apple – a maçã – or an apple – uma maçã. See the difference? In the first one you mean a certain apple, but in the second, it could be any old apple.

One thing to note that is different between English and Portuguese is that Portuguese nouns have gender and the article matches that gender. Let's get started!

Resources for further reading:

Pronouncing Portuguese Articles

Let's get started...

Practice Your Pronunciation With Rocket Record

Rocket Record lets you perfect your Portuguese pronunciation. Just listen to the native speaker audio and then use the microphone icon to record yourself. Once you’re done, you’ll get a score out of 100 on your pronunciation and can listen to your own audio playback. (Use a headset mic for best results.) Problems? Click here!

artigo

article

o

the (singular, masculine)

a

the (singular, feminine)

os

the (plural, masculine)

as

the (plural, feminine)

Um

A/an (singular, masculine)

Uma

A/an (singular, feminine)

uns / alguns

a / an (singular, masculine)

umas / algumas

a / an (singular, feminine)

artigo indefinido

indefinite article

artigo definido

definite article

feminino

feminine

masculino

masculine

plural

plural

singular

singular

That wasn't so bad, was it? As you can see, these words are extremely important for everyday speech. For the most part, just match the ending of the word with the article, and you're set! Native speakers will be impressed with your knowledge and ability to use these correctly.

Keep practicing!

Here are a few recommended Portuguese lessons to try next!

Tchau

Tereza Pereira: Rocket Portuguese

Make It Stick With Rocket Reinforcement

Reinforce your learning from this lesson with the Rocket Reinforcement activities!