
‘Sup people? TranquilΓ£o? To understand better what tranquilΓ£oΒ means, first we need to know a bit about the Portuguese augmentative. So let’s go!
Talking about the Portuguese Augmentative
Sometimes when we want to say that something is very big , for example, we can change the word to emphasize and create the sense of size. For that, we use transform the word into its Portuguese augmentative form.
To do this it is very common to add the augmentative sufixes on words by using the following sufixes:
Main augmentative sufixes in Portuguese
The most used Portuguese augmentative sufixes are -Γ£o for masculine words and -ona for feminine words. The word amigo(a) (friend), for example, turns into amigona or amigΓ£o.Β And the word menino(a) (boy or girl) changes to meninΓ£oΒ orΒ meninona.Β In Portuguese the words are usually feminine or masculine, so to transform to the augmentative you have to know the gender of word. If you want to learn more about gender in Portuguese, click here.
When we use the augmentative, we can mean different things. The augmentative can be used to indicate three things:
Uses ofΒ the Augmentative in Portuguese
We can use the Portuguese augmentative when we want to say that something is big, when we want to talk about something in a loving way or just to give emphasis to some word.
Now that we know all the rules of the Augmentative in Portuguese, let’s see some examples below:
Augmentative for the idea of size
Here we use the augmentative to say that something is big, great.
Ela comprou uma casona.
She bought aΒ huge house.
Vamos fazer um churrascΓ£o no Domingo.
We are having aΒ big barbecueΒ on Sunday.
Diogo come um pratΓ£o no almoΓ§o.
Diogo eats a massive plate for lunch.
NΓ³s usamos uma mesona na reuniΓ£o.
We use a huge table forΒ the meeting.
Nesta sala tem uma TV grandona.
In this living room there’s aΒ massiveΒ TV.
Augmentative with the idea ofΒ affection
The augmentative here brings an idea of affection, that we really care about something or somebody.
E aΓ, meu amigΓ£o! Como vocΓͺ estΓ‘?
So, dear friend! how are you?
Ela Γ© uma amigona minha.
She is a great friendΒ of mine.
Ele Γ© o meu irmΓ£ozΓ£o.
He is my dear brother.
Ela Γ© uma mΓ£ezona. Todos gostam dela.
She is aΒ great mother Everyone likes her.
Augmentative with the idea of emphasis
And here, we use it just to emphasize an important word or idea in the sentence.
Ele assistiu a um filme bonzΓ£o ontem.
She watched anΒ awesome movie yesterday.
Eu fiquei um tempΓ£o esperando pela minha namorada. Ela sempre se atrasa.
I waited for my girlfriend a long time.Β She is always late.
Eu moro lonjΓ£o da Rio & Learn.
I liveΒ very far fromΒ Rio & Learn.
The usage of -zΓ£o or -zona
We use these suffixes in four special cases: words ending in stressed syllables, words ended in two vowels, words ended in nasal sound and words ended in L and R. We use -zΓ£o for masculine words and -zona for feminine words.
Words ending in stressed syllables
When the word ends in a stressed syllable, according to the rule we must use the suffix -zona/-zΓ£o.
Mulher | Mulherzona |
Anel | AnelzΓ£o |
CafΓ© | CafΓ©zΓ£o |
PΓ© | PezΓ£o |
PΓ‘ | Pazona |
Carla Γ© muito alta. Ela Γ© literalmente uma mulherzona!
Carla is very tall. She is literally a big woman!
Ele tem um anelzΓ£o no dedo.
He has a big ring in his finger.
Eu sempre tenho problemas para comprar sapatos por causa do meu pezΓ£o.
I always have problems buying shoes because of my big feet.
Words ending in two vowels
When the word end in a two vowels, we also must use the sufixe -zona/-zΓ£o.
Pai | PaizΓ£o |
CΓ©u | CeuzΓ£o |
MΓ£e | MΓ£ezona |
ChapΓ©u | ChapeuzΓ£o |
TelevisΓ£o | TelevisΓ£ozona |
Ele faz tudo por seus filhos. Ele Γ© um paizΓ£o.
He does everything for his kids. He is a great father.
Hoje o dia estΓ‘ lindo por causa desse ceuzΓ£o azul!
Today we have a beautiful day because of this big blue sky!
Minha mΓ£ezona sempre estΓ‘ preocupada comigo.
My lovely motherΒ is always worried about me.
Words ending in nasal sound
And when the word ends in a nasal sound, we also have to use use the suffix -zona/-zΓ£o.
Bom | BonzΓ£o |
CaminhΓ£o | CaminhΓ£ozΓ£o |
Homem | HomenzΓ£o |
MaΓ§Γ£ | MaΓ§Γ£zona |
O jogo de futebol ontem foi bonzΓ£o!
The football match yesterday was very good!
Ele comprou um caminhΓ£ozΓ£o para a sua empresa.
He bought a big truck for his company.
Carlos jΓ‘ Γ© um homenzΓ£o e pode resolver seus problemas sozinho.
Carlos is a grown man already and can solve his problems by himself.
Words ending in R and L
We are also going to use the suffix -zona/-zΓ£o when the word ends with a R or a L.
Lugar | LugarzΓ£o |
Sol | SolzΓ£o |
Pastel | PastelzΓ£o |
Amor | AmorzΓ£o |
Aluguei um lugarzΓ£o muito bom para a nossa festa.
I have rented a very nice place for our party.
VocΓͺ acha que amanhΓ£ vai abrir um solzΓ£o?
Do you think that tomorrow will be sunny?
Estou louco para comer um pastelzΓ£o de queijo com caldo de cana!
I can’t wait to have a big pastel with sugar cane juice!
Attention!! There are also the words ending in -Γ£o are not using augmentative in Portuguese, Let’s see some of them!
Words ending in -Γ£o without being augmentative
Ok, you already know that to change a word into the Portuguese augmentative form sometimes we add the suffix -Γ£o. However that doesn’t mean that all the words ending in -Γ£o are in the augmentative form. Take a look at some words that end in -Γ£o in Portuguese that are not in the augmentative form:
A canΓ§Γ£o |
Song |
O coraΓ§Γ£o | Heart |
O cidadΓ£o | Citizen |
O alemΓ£o | German |
A tensΓ£o | Tension |
A pressΓ£o | Pressure |
A mΓ£o | Hand |
A estaΓ§Γ£o | Station |
O irmΓ£o | Brother |
O aviΓ£o | Plane |
These words already have -Γ£o at the end. But if you want to put them in the augmentative form, you can follow the rules you’ve learnt above and transform them. For example: o aviΓ£o – o aviaozΓ£o, a estaΓ§Γ£o – a estaΓ§Γ£ozona…
So? TranquilΓ£o? Now you understand theΒ tranquilΓ£o, right?
Now it’s your turn!
To practice what you’ve just learnt, make sentences with the words below using the augmentative form, of course!
Check some suggestions of answers at the end of this Dica. If you have any doubts or you created sentences you’d like to check, talk to one of our teachers in an online Portuguese class.
We will see you in the next Dica so we can practice more Portuguese. Don’t forget to visit our Instagram to see what’s going on over here.
Later!
BeijΓ£oΒ fromΒ Rio de Janeiro!
Β Β
Click on the links below to see more related Dicas
Formation of Diminutives in Portuguese
Nouns in Portuguese
Exercises of Diminutive In Portuguese
Words ending in tion in Portuguese
Answers
- Ele tem umΒ carrΓ£o.
- Ela mora numa casona.
- Eu demorei muito pra terminar a leitura, era umΒ livrΓ£o.
- EsteΒ professorzΓ£o Γ© demais!
- EsteΒ alunΓ£o Γ© o mΓ‘ximo, ele entende tudo!
- Para chegar atΓ© aqui passamos por umaΒ ruazona.
- Tu viu aqueleΒ motΓ£o fazendo maior barulho?
- Estudei PortuguΓͺs numa escolonaΒ muito boa, Rio & Learn! Que saudades.
- Caramba olha o tamanho desta caneta! Γ umaΒ canetona gigante.