How to Form the Plural in Portuguese

In Portuguese, not only do nouns change spelling depending on number (singular or plural), but so do other word types like adjectives, demonstratives, and possessive pronouns.

That’s why learning basic conversion patterns from singular to plural can go a long way: it helps you understand Portuguese word morphology—more intricate than in English—and apply it confidently.

Take a look at the singular and plural versions of this sentence:
(The words marked in blue change to match the number of the noun; the words marked in red are the nouns themselves.)

Singular
A minha querida prima foi ao café com a minha adorada tia .
My dear cousin went to the coffee house with my adored aunt.

Plural
As minhas queridas primas foram ao café com as minhas adoradas tias.
My dear cousins went to the coffee house with my adored aunts.

As you can see, Portuguese has a more intricate system of agreement than English concerning number. This can be tricky for learners who need to make sure words in a sentence stay number-aligned to sound natural and correct.

Luckily, there are a few common patterns that will make it easier. Read on.

Lesson #63 Forming Plurals - Portuguesepedia

Lesson #55 Gender of nouns - Portuguesepedia

💡Gender and number go hand in hand, so you may also want to check out this guide: Gender of Portuguese Words: A Guide to Masculine-to-Feminine Spelling Patterns.

Nouns – Singular-to-Plural Conversion Patterns

S-plural

In Portuguese, just like in English, the -s plural is the most common. Nouns ending in any vowel (including the nasal vowel -ã) – form their plural by simply adding -s at the end:

SINGULAR	PLURAL
o cabelo (hair)	os cabelos
a perna (leg)	as pernas
a maçã (apple)	as maçãs
o dente (tooth)	os dentes
o rei (king)	os reis
o pau (stick)	os paus
. . .

ES-plural

This is a variation of the s-plural. Nouns ending in -n, -r, -s, or -z form their plural with -es:

SINGULAR	PLURAL
o líquen (lichen)	os líquenes
o cantor (singer)	os cantores
o gás (gas)	os gases
a raíz (root)	as raízes
. . .

The reason for the extra e is that, in Portuguese, words usually don’t end in consonant clusters. There’s one notable exception, which we’ll see next.

Nouns ending in -m

Nouns ending in -m form the plural by replacing -m with -n and adding -s, resulting in -ns:

SINGULAR	PLURAL
a viagem (trip)	as viagens
a ordem (order)	as ordens
o jovem (youth)	os jovens
. . .

💡 Both -m and -ns endings produce nasal sounds. Portuguese is full of nasal sounds. Learn more in this guide: Portuguese Pronunciation: A Comprehensive Guide to Portuguese Basic Sounds and Spelling Patterns.

Nouns ending in -ão

Most nouns ending in -ão form their plural with -ões. However, some take -ães or -ãos instead:

SINGULAR	PLURAL
a divisão (division)	as divisões
a razão (reason)	as razões
o coração (heart)	os corações
o pão (bread)	os pães
a mão (hand)	as mãos
. . .

💡 Nouns ending in -ão often have English cognates. Explore more: English-Portuguese Cognates: Words You Already Know (Without Knowing It).

Nouns ending in -l

Nouns ending in -al, -el, -ol, -ul form their plural by replacing the ending with -ais, -eis, -ois, -uis, respectively:

SINGULAR	PLURAL
o animal (animal)	os animais
o automóvel (car)	os automóveis
o rouxinol (nightingale)	os rouxinóis
o azul (blue)	os azuis
. . .

Nouns ending in -il follow a slightly different pattern. If stressed on the penultimate syllable, the plural is –eis. If the word is stressed on the last syllable, the plural ends in -is:

SINGULAR	PLURAL
o imbecil (fool)	os imbecis
o portátil (laptop)	os portáteis
. . .

💡 Not sure where the stress falls? Here’s a helpful read: Portuguese Word Stress and Accent Marks.

Nouns ending in -s

A small number of nouns ending in -s remain unchanged in the plural:

SINGULAR	PLURAL
o lápis (pencil)	os lápis
o cais (quay)	os cais
. . .

Extending Plural Patterns Beyond Nouns

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