Feminine and Masculine Words in Portuguese

Masculine words

Usually nouns ending in “o” are masculine words. But words ending in “ão” can be either masculine or feminine. Masculine words take the masculine articles.

Examples of masculine words:

• o medico – the doctor
• um garfo – a fork
• os pratos – the plates

Examples of masculine words ending in "ão":

• o coração – the heart
• o chão – the floor

Examples of feminine words ending in "ão":

• a mão – the hand
• a lição – the lesson

Feminine words

Usually words ending in “a” are feminine and they take the feminine articles. But there are some exceptions, like for example words ending in “ema” or “grama” that are masculine

Examples of femine words:

• a mesa – the table
• as cadeiras – the chairs
• uma cama – a bed

Examples of masculine words ending in “grama” or “ema”:

• o programa – the program
• o problema – the problem
• o sistema – o sistema
• o poema – o poem

Nouns ending in dade and gem are usually feminine

Examples:

• as cidades – the cities
• a viagem – the trip
• a garagem – the garage

Note:

Nouns ending in “e” can be either feminine or masculine

Examples:

• a mente – the mind
• uma semente – a seed
• os dentes – the teeth
• um presente – a gift

The feminine of the words

• When a noun ends in “o”, you must change the o to an “a” for the feminine version of the word.

  Examples:

  • o amigo => a amiga (Note that the article also changes, since it must agree in gender and number with the noun
  • o engenheiro (male engineer) => a engenheira (female engineer)

• When a noun ends in “r” or “s” >>> You just add “a” Examples:

  • o autor (male writer) = a autora (female writer)
  • o senhor (sir) = a senhora (mrs)
  • o freguês (male client) = a freguesa (female writer)

• When a noun ends in “ão”, you must change ão to “ã” or “oa”

  Examples:

  • O patrão (male boss) = a patroa (female boss)
  • O irmão (brother) = a irmã (sister)

• When a noun ends in “e”, the word remains unchanged (but you can know if it is a feminine or a masculine word through the article used).

  Examples:

  • o cliente (male client) = a cliente (female client)
  • o chefe (male boss)= a chefe (female boss)

• When a noun ends in “ista”, the word also remains unchanged (but you can know if it is a feminine or a masculine word through the article used)

  Examples:

  • o dentista (male denstist) = a dentista (female dentist)
  • o motorista (male driver)= a motorista (female driver)

Masculine and Feminine forms of some professions

Study the chart below the masculine and the feminine forms of some professions

Profession	Masculine	Feminine
the boss	o chefe	a chefe
the physician	o médico	a médica
the client	o cliente	a cliente
the lawyer	o advogado	a advogada
the president	o presidente	a presidente
the engineer	o engenheiro	a engenheira
the secretary	o secretário	a secretária
the architect	o arquiteto	a arquiteta
the professor	o professor	a professora
the director	o diretor	a diretora
the actor	o ator	a atriz
the poet	o poeta	a poetisa
the writer	o escritor	-