What does Paroxytone mean

Hi guys! Today we are going to talk abou paraxytone words.
What does Paroxytone mean? Let’s find out!

What does Paroxytone mean

Paroxytone words are the words that the strongest syllable is located before the last one. What is the strongest syllable? The stressed one, the strongest syllable when we speak. They are the biggest group of words in the Portuguese Language. Moisés is going to tell us more about them. Don’t forget to turn the English subtitles on:

Paroxytone words in Portuguese

Let’s see some examples of paraxytone words without diacritics:

[one_half]Ajuda
Multa
Vera
Atitude
Chuva
Alicate
Sistema[/one_half][one_half_last]Help
Ticket
Vera
Attitude
Rain
Pliers
System[/one_half_last]

Some paroxytone words receive diacritics, we just have to pay attention at the end of the word. We put diacritics on paroxytone words ended in the consonants L, N, R and X. Take a look, and don’t forget the subtitles:

Words ending in L

[one_half]Fácil
Difícil
Responsável
Amável
Útil[/one_half][one_half_last]Easy
Hard
Responsible
Lovely
Useful[/one_half_last]

Words ending in N

[one_half]Hífen
Éden
Pólen
Abdômen[/one_half][one_half_last]Hyphen
Eden
Pollen
Abdomen[/one_half_last]

Words ending in R

[one_half]Éter
Repórter
Cadáver
Dólar
Açúcar[/one_half][one_half_last]Ether
Reporter
Corpse
Dollar
Sugar[/one_half_last]

Words ending in X

[one_half]Tórax
Látex
Clímax[/one_half][one_half_last]Chest
Latex
Climax[/one_half_last]

There are also paroxytone words that receive diacritics even though they don’t have the consonats we have just seen in the end. The paroxytone words ending in I, IS, UM and diphthongs such as IA, UA, IE, EA, IO. Let’s listen to them, and also read them in the subtitles:

Words ending in I, IS or UM

[one_half]Júri
Táxi
Lápis
Álbum
Fórum[/one_half][one_half_last]Court
Taxi
Pencil
Album
Forum[/one_half_last]

Words ending in diphthong

[one_half]Polícia
Malícia
Matéria
Água
Língua
Régua
Série
Espécie
Área
Aérea
Áurea
Sócio
Exercício
Fábio[/one_half][one_half_last]Police
Malice
Subject
Water
Tongue
Ruler
Series
Species
Area
Aerial
Golden
Partner
Exercise
Fábio (typical Brazilian name)[/one_half_last]

Ok, guys? These are the rules of the paroxytone words in Portuguese. How about we practice a little?

Now it’s your turn!

Rewrite the words on our list using accent marks when necessary:

[one_half]

• Cadeira
• Abraço
• Obvio
• Amigo
• Cemiterio
• Confiavel
• Paradoxo
• Homem[/one_half]

[one_half_last]

• Impar
• Carater
• Brinquedo
• Reptil
• Tenis
• Menino
• Fossil
• Felicidade[/one_half_last]

That’s all for today, guys! Good luck with the exercise.
If you have doubts about words or anything related to Portuguese don’t hesitate in sending us a tweet.

We meet again on our next Dica of Portuguese for foreigners.
XOXO

        
Click on the links below to see more related Dicas
Portuguese Sentence Structure
Definite Article in Portuguese
Indefinite articles in Portuguese
Nouns in Portuguese
Adjectives in Portuguese
Common Adverbs in Portuguese

Answers

[one_half]

• Cadeira
• Abraço
• Óbvio
• Amigo
• Cemitério
• Confiável
• Paradoxo
• Homem[/one_half]

[one_half_last]

• Ímpar
• Caráter
• Brinquedo
• Réptil
• Tênis
• Menino
• Fóssil
• Felicidade[/one_half_last]