The plural of nouns ending in -ão is the most famous "gotcha" in Portuguese grammar, and there is no point pretending otherwise: there is no reliable rule that tells you which of three patterns a given -ão word will take. The endings are -ões, -ães, and -ãos. The good news — and it's genuinely good news — is that the distribution is wildly lopsided. The vast majority of -ão nouns take -ões, and the words that take -ães or -ãos form two small, memorizable lists. So the practical strategy is: learn the short exception lists, and default everything else to -ões.
Why three patterns exist (a quick history)
These three plurals are the fossilized remains of three different Latin endings that all collapsed into the single Brazilian sound -ão. Words from Latin -onem (like leonem) became leão → leões; words from -anum (like canem/panem lineages) became cão → cães, pão → pães; words from -anum / -anos of another type became mão → mãos, irmão → irmãos. Modern -ão is one spelling hiding three historical origins, and the plural is where the old distinction resurfaces. You don't need the etymology to use the language, but it explains why no synchronic rule exists: the information was lost from the singular centuries ago.
Pattern 1: -ões (the default)
This is the workhorse. If a word ends in -ão and it isn't on one of the two short lists further down, assume -ões.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| coração | corações | heart(s) |
| nação | nações | nation(s) |
| limão | limões | lime(s)/lemon(s) |
| leão | leões | lion(s) |
| questão | questões | question(s)/issue(s) |
| botão | botões | button(s) |
| avião | aviões | airplane(s) |
| opinião | opiniões | opinion(s) |
Os aviões estavam atrasados por causa do temporal no aeroporto.
The planes were delayed because of the storm at the airport.
Não pedi sua opinião, mas obrigado pelas opiniões mesmo assim.
I didn't ask for your opinion, but thanks for the opinions anyway.
Espremi dois limões para fazer a limonada.
I squeezed two limes to make the lemonade.
A helpful sub-pattern: almost every abstract or "big concept" noun ending in -ção or -são (the equivalents of English -tion and -sion) takes -ões. Nação → nações, decisão → decisões, informação → informações, televisão → televisões. Since these are extremely common, this alone accounts for a huge share of -ões plurals.
As informações sobre os voos estão no painel da sala de embarque.
The information about the flights is on the board in the departure lounge.
Pattern 2: -ães (a small set)
This set is mostly short, everyday words plus a cluster of nationality and rank words. It is worth memorizing as a list, because there is no other way to know.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pão | pães | bread(s)/loaf/loaves |
| cão | cães | dog(s) |
| alemão | alemães | German(s) |
| capitão | capitães | captain(s) |
| tabelião | tabeliães | notary public(s) |
| escrivão | escrivães | court clerk(s)/notary clerk(s) |
| sacristão | sacristães | sacristan(s) |
Comprei pães fresquinhos na padaria da esquina hoje de manhã.
I bought fresh bread rolls at the corner bakery this morning.
Os cães do vizinho latem a noite inteira.
The neighbor's dogs bark all night long.
Os capitães das duas equipes apertaram as mãos antes do jogo.
The captains of the two teams shook hands before the match.
A memory hook for the core of this list: think of a German baker walking his dog to meet the captain — alemão, pão, cão, capitão → alemães, pães, cães, capitães. These four are by far the most frequent -ães words; nail them and you've covered most real conversation.
Pattern 3: -ãos (a small set)
These keep the -ão almost intact and simply add -s, exactly like a regular vowel-final noun. Notably, this group is full of high-frequency body and family words.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| mão | mãos | hand(s) |
| irmão | irmãos | brother(s)/sibling(s) |
| cidadão | cidadãos | citizen(s) |
| grão | grãos | grain(s)/bean(s) |
| órfão | órfãos | orphan(s) |
| cristão | cristãos | Christian(s) |
| pagão | pagãos | pagan(s) |
Lava as mãos antes de sentar à mesa.
Wash your hands before sitting down at the table.
Meus dois irmãos moram em São Paulo, mas eu fiquei no Rio.
My two brothers live in São Paulo, but I stayed in Rio.
Todos os cidadãos têm direito a um julgamento justo.
All citizens have the right to a fair trial.
Notice that -ãos words are disproportionately words you use constantly: mão, irmão, cidadão. This is lucky — because they're so frequent, you'll hear the correct plural over and over and internalize it without drilling.
Words with two valid plurals
A handful of -ão nouns accept more than one plural form, both considered correct. Verão (summer) → verões or verãos; ancião (elder) → anciãos, anciães, or even anciões; vilão (villain) → vilões or vilãos; corrimão (handrail) → corrimãos or corrimões. In modern Brazilian usage the -ões form (verões, vilões) is the more common choice for verão and vilão, but you will see the alternatives in writing and dictionaries.
Os últimos verões foram muito mais quentes do que a média.
The last few summers were much hotter than average.
Nos filmes da Disney, os vilões costumam ser os personagens mais carismáticos.
In Disney films, the villains are usually the most charismatic characters.
Comparison with English
English just adds -s (or -es) to everything and calls it a day. The closest English analogy to the -ão situation is its own small pocket of irregular plurals — mouse → mice, goose → geese, child → children — which are likewise leftovers from older grammar that you simply have to memorize one by one. The mental move is the same: most words follow the boring default (-ões / -s), and a short, learnable list of high-frequency words breaks the pattern. The difference is that Portuguese's "irregular" set is larger and the default is -ões rather than -s.
Common Mistakes
❌ Lava as mões antes de comer.
Incorrect — overgeneralized -ões; mão takes -ãos
✅ Lava as mãos antes de comer.
Wash your hands before eating.
❌ Comprei dois pãos na padaria.
Incorrect — pão takes -ães, not -ãos
✅ Comprei dois pães na padaria.
I bought two bread rolls at the bakery.
❌ Tenho dois irmães mais velhos.
Incorrect — irmão takes -ãos, not -ães
✅ Tenho dois irmãos mais velhos.
I have two older brothers.
❌ Os coraçãos batiam acelerados.
Incorrect — coração is a default word; it takes -ões
✅ Os corações batiam acelerados.
The hearts were beating fast.
❌ Os capitãos se cumprimentaram.
Incorrect — capitão takes -ães
✅ Os capitães se cumprimentaram.
The captains greeted each other.
The pattern in these errors is instructive: half are over-applying -ões to words that should be -ãos/-ães (mãos, pães, capitães), and half are reaching for the exotic -ães/-ãos on a word that's actually a plain -ões default (corações). The cure is the same in both directions — learn the two short lists cold, and trust -ões for everything else.
Key Takeaways
- Three plurals, no rule: -ões (default), -ães (small set), -ãos (small set).
- Default to -ões when unsure — it covers the great majority, including all -ção/-são abstract nouns.
- Memorize the -ães core (pães, cães, alemães, capitães) and the -ãos core (mãos, irmãos, cidadãos, grãos).
- A few words allow two forms (verão → verões/verãos), with -ões usually preferred in modern Brazilian use.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Irregular PluralsB1 — The tricky corners of Brazilian pluralization — invariable -s words, the +es consonant plurals, double-pluralizing diminutives, compound nouns, foreign borrowings, and always-plural words like óculos and férias.
- Nasal Diphthongs (ão, õe, ãe)A2 — The nasal glides of Brazilian Portuguese — ão, ãe, õe — and the crucial fact that the verb ending -am sounds identical to ão, unlocking the entire 3rd-person-plural.
- Plural Formation: Regular RulesA1 — The default Brazilian plural — add -s to vowel-ending nouns — and the agreement chain it sets off, forcing every article, possessive, and adjective in the noun phrase to pluralize too.
- Plural of -L Ending WordsA2 — How nouns ending in -l drop the -l and add -is, the accents this creates (papéis, lençóis), and the stress split that decides whether -il becomes -is or -eis.
- Plural of -M Ending WordsA2 — The fully regular -m → -ns plural — homem→homens, jardim→jardins, som→sons, álbum→álbuns — and why the spelling change just reflects the nasal sound staying put.