The basic rule
Words ending in a vowel: just add -s. And remember — in Portuguese the ARTICLE, the NOUN and the ADJECTIVE all go plural together: a casa nova → as casas novas.
| a casa → as casas | the house(s) |
| o carro → os carros | the car(s) |
| o pé → os pés | the foot / feet |
Consonant endings
| ends in | rule | examples |
|---|---|---|
| -r, -z, -s (stressed) | add -es | a cor → as cores · a vez → as vezes · o mês → os meses |
| -m | -m → -ns | o homem → os homens · a viagem → as viagens · bom → bons |
| -l | -l → -is | o papel → os papéis · o animal → os animais · fácil → fáceis |
The -ão words — three possible plurals
This is the one part you must memorize word by word. Three patterns exist:
| -ões (most common — bet on this one) | o coração → os corações · a lição → as lições · o avião → os aviões |
| -ães (a small famous group) | o pão → os pães · o cão → os cães · o alemão → os alemães |
| -ãos (just add -s) | a mão → as mãos · o irmão → os irmãos · o cidadão → os cidadãos |
Watch the accent
Some words LOSE their accent in the plural because the stress rules change: o alemão → os alemães keeps its sound, but bom → bons, and note o papel → os papéis GAINS one. You don't need to master this in writing yet — just copy the forms in the tables.
Practise this chapter
12 pool questions plus generated ones — 20 fresh practice questions, reshuffled every visit, inside the grammar library.
Practise Making plurals — 20 questions →This chapter is taught in Lição 2 of the course — free, no account needed. Rumo is a complete Brazilian Portuguese course, A1 to B2; level A1 is free.