What’s up! Tudo bem? In today’s free Portuguese lesson, we are going to talk about the Portuguese plural.
Plural in Portuguese
The Portuguese plural can be a little tricky, but don’t worry because we are here to help you! Studying Portuguese with us will make sure you understand how to speak in the plural form. For different ending words there are different Portuguese plural rules so we will be looking at each one of them. But first, take a look at this table:
| Ending in | Change to | Add |
| vowel | -s | |
| -ão | -ãos -ães -ões | |
| -s | -es | |
| -r -z | -es | |
| -m | -ns | |
| -al -el -ol -ul | -l to -is | |
| -il | -es or -eis |
Plural for words ending with a vowel
Let’s start with plural words ending in a, e, i, o, u. The rule is simple: If the word ends in a vowel and it’s singular, just adding an S at the end of the word makes it plural.
| Casa | Casas | House | Houses |
| Pé | Pés | Foot | Feet |
| Açaí | Açaís | Açaí | Açaís |
| Corpo | Corpos | Body | Bodies |
| Réu | Réus | Defendant | Defendants |

In case you want to practice more and to do some exercises to practice how to get the plural for words that end in a vowel check our dica about this kind of plural.
Plural for words ending in R
If a word ends in R, just add -ES at the end.
| Professor | Professores | Teacher | Teachers |
| Ator | Atores | Actor | Actors |
| Cantor | Cantores | Singer | Singers |
| Sabor | Sabores | Taste / Flavor | Tastes / Flavors |
| Amor | Amores | Love | Love |
Plural for words ending in Z
Similarly to the rules previously mentioned, if a word ends with a -Z, then we must add -ES at the end.
| Gravidez | Gravidezes | Pregnancy | Pregnancies |
| Raiz | Raízes | Root | Roots |
| Matriz | Matrizes | Headquarter | Headquarters |
| Rapaz | Rapazes | Boy | Boys |
| Nariz | Narizes | Nose | Noses |
Portuguese plural for words ending in -M
When a word ends with an -M, to make it plural we must replace -M with -NS.
| Homem | Homens | Man | Men |
| Garçom | Garçons | Waiter | Waiters |
| Trem | Trens | Train | Trains |
| Imagem | Imagens | Image | Images |
| Garagem | Garagens | Garage | Garages |
Portuguese plural for words ending in L
There are two types of plurals for words ending with an L. If the word ends in -al, -el, -il, -ol, -ul, and the tonic syllable is in the end then we switch -L for -is.
| Animal | Animais | Animal | Animals |
| Fiel | Fieis | Loyal | Loyal |
| Barril | Barris | Barrel | Barrels |
| Farol | Faróis | Lighthouse | Lighthouses |
| Azul | Azuis | Blue | Blue |
For words ending in -il that have a previous syllable with an accent mark, then there is a change from -il to -eis.
| Réptil | Répteis | Repitile | Repitiles |
| Fértil | Férteis | Fertile | Fertile |
| Têxtil | Têxteis | Textile | Textiles |
As you can see, plural for words ending in L is one of our most difficult cases, so we prepared a special dica for you to practice with exercises and audio the plural of words ending in L. Be aware that even the singular pronunciation of words ending in L can be tricky!
Plural for words ending in S
We also have two rules for words ending with the letter S. If the word has an accent in the first syllable, nothing happens basically, the word stays the same.
| Ônibus | Ônibus | Bus | Buses |
| Lápis | Lápis | Pencil | Pencils |
| Bônus | Bônus | Bonus | Bonuses |
If the words have an accent in the ending syllable, then we add an -ES. After becoming a plural word, the accent mark is taken away.
| Francês | Franceses | French | French |
| Camponês | Camponeses | Peasant | Peasants |
| Norueguês | Noruegueses | Norwegian | Norwegian |
| Inglês | Ingleses | English | English |
| Freguês | Fregueses | Customer | Customers |
To help you a little more, here’s a tip: if the word ends in -S and is a monosyllable, to make the plural you’ll just add -ES.
| Mês | Meses | Month | Months |
Portuguese plural for words ending in -X
The words ending in -X also don’t vary in the plural form, they stay the same.
| Latex | Latex | Latex | Latex |
| Xérox | Xérox | Xérox | Xérox |
| Pirex | Pirex | Pirex | Pirex |
Portuguese plural for words ending in -ÃO
In the past, we explained to you the plural of words ending in -ão. The words are made plural in various ways, depending on the rules that apply. Check all the rules in our old Dica about this.

| Pão | Pães | Bread | Bread |
| Alemão | Alemães | German | German |
| Capitão | Capitães | Captain | Captains |
| Órgão | Órgãos | Organ | Organs |
| Irmão | Irmãos | Brother | Brothers |
| Cidadão | Cidadãos | Citizen | Citizens |
| Estação | Estações | Station | Stations |
| Limão | Limões | Lemon | Lemons |
| Razão | Razões | Reason | Reasons |

Portuguese plural for words ending in -zinho/a
The words that end in -zinho/a are diminutive forms of some words. To turn them into the plural form you just add -S at the end too. Don’t remember your Portuguese lesson about diminutive? Check out our Dica about this and see that the diminutives don’t express only little things.
| Viagenzinha | Viagenzinhas | Little trip | Little trips |
| Irmãozinho | Irmãozinhos | Little brother | Little brothers |
| Mãezinha | Mãezinhas | Dear mother | Dear mothers |
| Cidadezinha | Cidadezinhas | Little city | Little cities |
Portuguese plural for compound nouns
When we have compound nouns the plural form can vary too. The compound words that don’t have a hyphen follow the same rules as the simple nouns.
| Aguardente | Aguardentes | Spirit | Spirits |
| Aeromoço | Aeromoços | Flight Attendant | Flight Attendants |
| Girassol | Girassóis | Sunflower | Sunflowers |
However, if the compound word has a hyphen, the rules change. If the word is formed by a noun+adjective or noun+number both of them are going into the plural form.
| Quinta-feira | Quintas-feiras | Thursday | Thursdays |
| Gentil-homem | Gentis-homens | Kind man | Kind men |
When both words are nouns, you can choose to put only the first element or both in the plural:
| Palavra-chave | Palavras-chave or Palavras-chaves | Keyword | Keywords |
| Couve-flor | Couves-flor or Couves-flores | Cauliflower | Cauliflowers |
| Bomba-relógio | Bombas-relógio or Bombas-relógios | Time bomb | Time bombs |
If the compound word is formed by a verb+noun, just the noun goes into the plural:
| Guarda-roupa | Guarda-roupas | Wardrobe | Wardrobes |
| Guarda-sol | Guarda-sóis | Parasol | Parasols |
| Guarda-chuva | Guarda-chuvas | Umbrella | Umbrellas |
If the compound word has a preposition within it, to form the plural structure we need to put the first word in the plural only.
| Água-de-colônia | Cologne water |
| Pé-de-moleque | Pés-de-moleque |
| Cavalo-vapor | Horsepower |
Note that horsepower (cavalo-vapor) follows the same rule because it has a hidden preposition. And the word pé-de-moleque doesn’t have a translation because it’s a typical Brazilian sweet.
Portuguese Plural Exercises
Let’s practice some of the different cases with Portuguese Plural exercises!!
Exercise 1: Regular Plurals
Add the plural form of the following Portuguese nouns:
- Livro (book)
- Casa (house)
- Jardim (garden)
- Cachorro (dog)
- Caneta (pen)
Exercise 2: Irregular Plurals
Write the plural form of these irregular nouns:
- Cão (dog)
- Mão (hand)
- Pão (bread)
- Cidadão (citizen)
- Alemão (German)
Exercise 3: Words Ending in -ão
Choose the correct plural form for words ending in -ão:
- Avião (airplane) – A) Aviões B) Aviãos C) Aviãoes
- Coração (heart) – A) Coraçãos B) Corações C) Coraçães
- Irmão (brother) – A) Irmãos B) Irmões C) Irmães
- Balão (balloon) – A) Balãos B) Balões C) Balães
- Mão (hand) – A) Mãos B) Mães C) Mões
Exercise 4: Words with Orthographic Changes
Write the plural forms of the following words that change orthographically:
- Animal (animal)
- Funil (funnel)
- Azul (blue)
- Anel (ring)
- Papel (paper)
Pronto, galera!
We already know about the plural in Portuguese, so now all we have to do is use what we’ve learned. If you have any questions, send us a tweet!
See you next time!
Tchau!
Click on the links below to see more related tips
Plural of words ending in L
Plural of words ending in ÃO
Words ending in Ção in Portuguese
S sound in Portuguese
Answers:
Exercise 1: Regular Plurals Answers
- Livros
- Casas
- Jardins
- Cachorros
- Canetas
Exercise 2: Irregular Plurals Answers
- Cães
- Mãos
- Pães
- Cidadãos
- Alemães
Exercise 3: Words Ending in -ão Answers
- A) Aviões
- B) Corações
- A) Irmãos
- B) Balões
- A) Mãos
Exercise 4: Words with Orthographic Changes Answers
- Animais
- Funis
- Azuis
- Anéis
- Papéis
Online Academic Coordinator at Rio & Learn Portuguese School.
Experienced educational coordinator and teacher since 2007, adept in curriculum development, creating physical and digital educational materials, and leveraging online platforms to enhance learning outcomes
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