Family
Family
Family words are a natural place to see the -o/-a gender pattern in action, since almost every relative's name follows it neatly — plus one very handy trick Portuguese has that English lacks: a single plural word covers "parents", "sons", or "siblings" depending on context.
Grammar Comparison
Grammar Comparison
The masculine plural silently covers mixed groups
os pais (parents, or "the fathers") — os filhos (children, or "the sons") — os irmãos (siblings, or "the brothers")
parents — children — siblings
English needs entirely separate words: "parents" is not "fathers", "children" is not "sons". Portuguese reuses the masculine plural for a mixed-gender group: pai (father) + mãe (mother) → os pais covers both "the fathers" and, far more commonly, "the parents". The same logic makes os filhos mean "children" (sons and daughters together) and os irmãos mean "siblings" (brothers and sisters together) — context almost always makes the intended meaning obvious.
avô vs. avó: one accent mark, opposite meanings
o avô (grandfather) — a avó (grandmother)
grandfather — grandmother
These two words differ by a single accent and vowel sound — avô has a closed "oh" sound, avó has an open "aw" sound — so listen carefully, since mixing them up swaps grandpa for grandma. Written down, the article (o vs. a) also disambiguates them even before you reach the accent.
Vocabulary
Vocabulary
- English
- the family
- English
- the father
- English
- the mother
- English
- the parents
- English
- the brother
- English
- the sister
- English
- the siblings
- English
- the son
- English
- the daughter
- English
- the grandfather
- English
- the grandmother
- English
- the boy / the girl