Definite & indefinite articles

What it is

Portuguese has two sets of articles. The definite article (o, a, os, as) means “the”. The indefinite article (um, uma) means “a, an”, and its plural (uns, umas) means “some” or, before a number, “about”.

Every article agrees in gender and number with its noun, so learn each noun with its article: o carro, a casa. The forms are short and unstressed: o sounds like [u] and os like [us].

How to form it

• Most nouns in -o are masculine and most in -a are feminine, but not all: o dia, o mapa, o problema, a mão, a foto.
• Nouns in -agem, -dade and -ção are feminine: a viagem, a cidade, a canção.
• uns / umas + number = about: uns vinte minutos (about twenty minutes).

When to use it

Portuguese uses “the” in places where English doesn’t:

• O Brasil é enorme.Brazil is huge.most countries
• A vida em Florianópolis é tranquila.Life in Florianópolis is calm.abstract nouns
• O café brasileiro é famoso.Brazilian coffee is famous.things in general
• A Ana mora em Curitiba.Ana lives in Curitiba.first names (regional, optional)
• O importante é praticar.The important thing is to practise.o + adjective

Countries. Most take the article: o Brasil, a Argentina, a França, o Japão, os Estados Unidos. A few don’t: Portugal, Angola, Cuba, Israel. Cities usually go without (São Paulo, Salvador, Lisboa), with o Rio as the famous exception.

First names. A Ana, o João is normal in São Paulo, Rio and the South; in much of the Northeast people more often say just Ana. Both are correct, so don’t worry about it.

Possessives. Minha casa and a minha casa both mean “my house”. In speech the article is optional.

Contrasts and traps

• No article with a bare profession or nationality after é: Ela é médica. (not uma médica ✗). Add an adjective and the article comes back: Ela é uma médica excelente.
• No article after falar with a language: Você fala inglês?
• Definite or indefinite? Procuro uma farmácia (any pharmacy) / A farmácia fecha às dez (the one we both know).
• Brasil é grande ✗ → O Brasil é grande. Headlines drop the article (Brasil vence a Argentina), but sentences don’t.
• Brazilians often skip the article when asking about having things in general: Você tem carro? (Do you have a car?)

If you speak Spanish

Spanish speakers get most articles right, but watch four things. Countries take an article in Portuguese even when they don’t in Spanish: o Brasil, a Espanha, o México. There is no lo: lo bueno → o bom. Água is always feminine: a água, never o água (Spanish el agua). And some nouns switch gender: o leite, o sal, o nariz but a viagem, a árvore, a cor. Finally, spell the indefinite with m: um, uma, uns, umas, not un, una, unos.