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Portuguese-English Cognates: Boost Your Portuguese Vocab Overnight
Learning Portuguese might seem daunting, but what if you already know thousands of Portuguese words without even realizing it? Thanks to English-Portuguese cognates, you can boost your Portuguese vocabulary overnight with minimal effort.
Cognates—words that look and mean the same in both languages—are one of the easiest ways to expand your vocabulary quickly.
Instead of just listing examples like banana, rádio, natural, and animal, this article will show you how to identify and convert English words into Portuguese effortlessly. With a few simple spelling and pronunciation tweaks, you’ll unlock a vast amount of vocabulary in no time.
In the following sections, you’ll learn common patterns that make English-Portuguese cognates easy to recognize, along with practical tips on pronunciation and spelling rules.
Let’s dive in!
Spanish speakers! Read an analogous article concerning Portuguese-Spanish cognates: Portuguese-Spanish Cognates and False Friends.
Not all cognates are created equal. While many share the same meaning, some have subtle differences in usage. In some cases, words are closely related but used in slightly different contexts. Others have evolved over time, with their meanings drifting so far apart that they’ve become false cognates, also known as False Friends.
Noun cognates
ion > ão
This is the largest group within the noun category. Due to slight spelling variations, it can be divided into three subgroups.
What they all have in common: Nearly all Portuguese cognates in this group are feminine nouns. Additionally, they are all stressed on the last syllable and feature a nasal diphthong sound, marked by the tilde (~) accent.
Let’s explore each subgroup and its cognates:
tion > ção
This subgroup comprises English nouns ending with –tion and their Portuguese counterparts with -ção. Here are some examples:
…tion | …ção |
station | a estação |
nation | a nação |
animation | a animação |
alteration | a alteração |
education | a educação |
assimilation | a assimilação |
introduction | a introdução |
operation | a operação |
. . . | . . . |
sion > são
The cognates in this subgroup take the endings -sion and -são on the English and Portuguese ends respectively.
Note: The endings -ção (previous subgroup) and -são produce different consonant sounds. Accordingly, -ção has an unvoiced sibilant sound (like the “s” in simple), while -são has a voiced sibilant sound (like the “z” in zebra).
Here are a few examples:
…sion | …são |
division | a divisão |
transfusion | a transfusão |
conclusion | a conclusão |
invasion | a invasão |
aversion | a aversão |
dimension | a dimensão |
precision | a precisão |
confusion | a confusão |
. . . | . . . |
ssion > ssão
This subgroup consists of English nouns ending in -ssion and their Portuguese counterparts ending in -ssão.
Pronunciation note: The double -s in -ssão produces an unvoiced sibilant, similar to the ç in -ção.
Here are a few examples:
…ssion | …ssão |
compression | a compressão |
recession | a recessão |
progression | a progressão |
profession | a profissão |
emission | a emissão |
session | a sessão |
mission | a missão |
digression | a digressão |
… | … |
Tips! Learn more about Portuguese phonology and spelling patterns: Portuguese Pronunciation: A Helpful Guide to Portuguese Basic Sounds and Spelling Patterns.
ism > ismo
This group includes English and Portuguese cognates ending in -ism and -ismo, respectively. All Portuguese words in this category are masculine.
Key pronunciation notes:
- The s in -ismo produces a voiced sound, similar to the “s” in measure.
- The stress falls on the next-to-last syllable.
Here are some examples:
…ism | …ismo |
rationalism | o racionalismo |
regionalism | o regionalismo |
communism | o comunismo |
capitalism | o capitalismo |
organism | o organismo |
pacifism | o pacifismo |
conformism | o conformismo |
racism | o racismo |
. . . | . . . |
gram > grama
This group includes English and Portuguese cognates ending in -gram and -grama, respectively. All Portuguese words in this category are masculine, and the stress falls on the next-to-last syllable.
Here are some examples:
…gram | …grama |
diagram | o diagrama |
program | o programa |
ideogram | o ideograma |
gram | o grama |
kilogram | o quilograma |
telegram | o telegrama |
seismogram | o sismograma |
pictogram | o pictograma |
. . . | . . . |
ity > dade
This group includes English and Portuguese cognates ending in -ity and -dade, respectively. Most Portuguese words in this category are feminine.
Pronunciation note: The vowel e in -dade is barely pronounced, almost as if the word ends with the consonant d. The stress falls on the next-to-last syllable.
Here are some examples:
…ity | …dade |
responsibility | a responsabilidade |
superficiality | a superficialidade |
functionality | a funcionalidade |
flexibility | a flexibilidade |
compatibility | a compatibilidade |
productivity | a produtividade |
spirituality | a espiritualidade |
visibility | a visibilidade |
. . . | . . . |
Adjective cognates
ist > ista
This group consists of English and Portuguese cognates ending in -ist and -ista, respectively. Many of the adjectives in this group are also used as nouns to refer to professions or occupations. Here’s an example:
Adjective:
O António é pianista.
Anthony is a pianist.
Noun:
O pianista toca amanhã.
The pianist is playing tomorrow.
Note: In the masculine form, adjectives ending in -ista remain the same regardless of whether they refer to a masculine or feminine noun.
Pronunciation note: The s in -ista produces an unvoiced fricative sound, similar to the “sh” in sheet. Once again, the stress falls on the next-to-last syllable.
Here are some examples:
…ist | …ista |
epidemiologist | epidemiologista |
pianist | pianista |
alpinist | alpinista |
dentist | dentista |
geneticist | geneticista |
sentimentalist | sentimentalista |
altruist | altruista |
existentialist | existencialista |
. . . | . . . |
Tips! Learn more about gender in Portuguese: Disentangling Gender with Portuguese Masculine-to-Feminine Spelling Patterns.
ent > ente
This group consists of English and Portuguese cognates ending in -ent and -ente, respectively. Since the Portuguese adjectives end with the letter e, they are invariable, meaning they do not change for masculine or feminine nouns.
Pronunciation note: The e sound in -ente is nearly silent, and the stress falls on the next-to-last syllable.
Here are some examples:
…ent | …ente |
insufficient | insuficiente |
permanent | permanente |
competent | competente |
correspondent | correspondente |
independent | independente |
intelligent | inteligente |
existent | existente |
consistent | consistente |
. . . | . . . |
ble > vel
This group consists of English and Portuguese cognates ending in -ble and -vel, respectively. Since the Portuguese adjectives end with a consonant, they are invariable, meaning they look the same whether they refer to masculine or feminine nouns.
Pronunciation note: The stress falls on the next-to-last syllable, as indicated by the acute accent.
Here are some examples:
…ble | …vel |
considerable | considerável |
possible | possível |
probable | provável |
incredible | incrível |
visible | visível |
irreversible | irreversível |
intelligible | inteligível |
convertible | convertível |
. . . | . . . |
ar > ar
This group consists of English-Portuguese cognates that end in -ar on both ends. Since the Portuguese adjectives end with a consonant, they are invariable, meaning they remain the same regardless of the gender of the noun they refer to.
Pronunciation note: All Portuguese words ending in -r are stressed on the last syllable.
Here are some examples:
…ar | …ar |
molecular | molecular |
cellular | celular |
curricular | curricular |
rectangular | retangular |
nuclear | nuclear |
popular | popular |
familiar | familiar |
similar | similar |
. . . | . . . |
Tips! Learn more about Portuguese word stress: Portuguese Word Stress and Accent Marks.
ic > ico/a
This group consists of English-Portuguese cognates that end with -ic in English and -ico or -ica in Portuguese, depending on the gender of the noun. Portuguese adjectives take -ico for masculine nouns and -ica for feminine nouns.
Pronunciation note: The stress falls on the third-from-last syllable, and all words have a diacritical accent indicating the stress.
Here are some examples:
…ic | …ico/a |
magnetic | magnético/a |
transatlantic | transatlântico/a |
electric | elétrico/a |
anthropogenic | antropogénico/a |
problematic | problemático/a |
logic | lógico/a |
parametric | paramétrico/a |
paradigmatic | paradigmático/a |
. . . | . . . |
ive > ivo/a
This group consists of English-Portuguese cognates that end with -ive in English and -ivo or -iva in Portuguese, depending on the gender of the noun. Portuguese adjectives take -ivo for masculine nouns and -iva for feminine nouns.
Pronunciation note: The stress falls on the next-to-last syllable.
Here are some examples:
…ive | …ivo/a |
competitive | competitivo/a |
aggressive | agressivo/a |
conservative | conservativo/a |
expressive | expressivo/a |
creative | creativo/a |
respective | respetivo/a |
persuasive | persuasivo/a |
repetitive | repetitivo/a |
. . . | . . . |
ous > oso/a
This group consists of English-Portuguese cognates that end with -ous in English and -oso or -osa in Portuguese, depending on the gender of the noun. Portuguese adjectives take -oso for masculine nouns and -osa for feminine nouns.
Pronunciation note: The stress falls on the next-to-last syllable.
Although this group is not the largest, there are still quite a few words that fit this pattern.
Here are some examples:
…ous | …oso/a |
religious | religioso/a |
contagious | contagioso/a |
prestigious | prestigioso/a |
mysterious | misterioso/a |
glamorous | glamoroso/a |
vigorous | vigoroso/a |
curious | curisoso/a |
sinuous | sinuoso/a |
. . . | . . . |
Adverb/verb cognates
ly > mente
The adverbs in this group end with the suffix -ly in English and -mente in Portuguese. It’s important to note that all adjectives from the previous group (group 10) become adverbs in this group when you add -ly (in English) and -mente (in Portuguese).
Pronunciation note: The e sound at the end of these adverbs is barely noticeable. The stress falls on the next-to-last syllable.
Here are some examples:
…ly | …mente |
regularly | regularmente |
particularly | particularmente |
originally | originalmente |
finally | finalmente |
vulgarly | vulgarmente |
peculiarly | peculiarmente |
spectacularly | espetacularmente |
normally | normalmente |
. . . | . . . |
ate > ar
This group consists of English verbs ending with -ate and their Portuguese counterparts ending with -ar. The stress falls on the last syllable in both languages.
Here are a few examples:
…ate | …ar |
integrate | integrar |
celebrate | celebrar |
regulate | regular |
orientate | orientar |
participate | participar |
proliferate | proliferar |
coordinate | coordinar |
perpetuate | perpetuar |
. . . | . . . |
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