Portuguese Adjectives
Learning the Portuguese Adjectives is very important because its structure is used in every day conversation. The more you practice the subject, the closer you get to mastering the Portuguese language. But first we need to know what the role of Adjectives is in the structure of the grammar in Portuguese.
Portuguese Adjectives are words that describe or modify another person or thing in the sentence.
Grammar Tips:
While in English an adjective doesn’t change
when the noun changes, in Portuguese an adjective should agree in gender and number with the noun. For
example:
a) Masculine to feminine example:
Este é o meu filho pequeno (this is my little son)
becomes: Esta é a minha filha pequena (this is my little daughter)
As you can see from the example above, the
adjective comes after the noun and also takes the feminine
form,In Portuguese the adjective only cames
before the noun only to renforce the idea:
a)Não tenho um marido rico, mas tenho um
rico marido. (I don’t have a rich husband, but I have nice husband)
b) Singular to plural example:
Este é o meu gato branco (this is my white
cat) becomes: Estes são os meus gatos brancos (these are my white cats).
As you can see from the example above, the
adjective comes after the noun and also takes the
plural form.
Here are some examples:
| English Adjectives | Portuguese Adjectives |
| adjectives | adjetivos |
| a green tree | uma árvore verde |
| a tall building | um edifício alto |
| a very old man | um homem muito idoso |
| the old red house | a velha casa vermelha |
| a very nice friend | um amigo muito legal |
As you can see from the example above, the structure of the Adjectives in Portuguese has a logical pattern. Locate the Adjectives above and see how it works with the rest of the sentence in Portuguese.
List of Adjectives in Portuguese
Below is a list of the Adjectives, Colors, Shapes, Sizes in Portuguese placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Portuguese vocabulary.
| English Adjectives | Portuguese Adjectives |
| colors | cores |
| black | preto |
| blue | azul |
| brown | marrom |
| gray | cinza |
| green | verde |
| orange | laranja |
| purple | roxo |
| red | vermelho |
| white | branco |
| yellow | amarelo |
| |
| sizes | tamanhos |
| big | grande |
| deep | profundo |
| long | longo |
| narrow | estreito |
| short | curto |
| small | pequeno |
| tall | alto |
| thick | grosso |
| thin | fino |
| wide | largo |
| |
| shapes | formas |
| circular | circular |
| straight | reto |
| square | quadrado |
| triangular | triangular |
| |
| tastes | gostos |
| bitter | amargo |
| fresh | fresco |
| salty | salgado |
| sour | azedo |
| spicy | picante |
| sweet | doce |
| |
| qualities | qualidades |
| bad | ruim |
| clean | limpo |
| dark | escuro |
| difficult | difícil |
| dirty | sujo |
| dry | seco |
| easy | fácil |
| empty | vazio |
| expensive | caro |
| fast | rápido |
| foreign | estrangeiro |
| full | completo |
| good | bom |
| hard | rígido |
| heavy | pesado |
| inexpensive | barato |
| light | leve |
| local | local |
| new | novo |
| noisy | barulhento |
| old | velho |
| powerful | poderoso |
| quiet | calmo |
| correct | correto |
| slow | lento |
| soft | macio |
| very | muito |
| weak | fraco |
| wet | molhado |
| wrong | errado |
| young | jovem |
| |
| quantities | quantidades |
| few | poucos |
| little | pouco |
| many | muitos |
| much | muito |
| part | parte |
| some | alguns |
| a few | alguns |
| whole | inteiro |
Adjectives, Colors, Shapes, Sizes have a very important role in Portuguese, therefore they need very special attention. Once you're done with Portuguese Adjectives, you might want to check the rest of our Portuguese lessons here: Learn Portuguese. Don't forget to bookmark this page.