Portuguese adjectives pluralise by the same rules as nouns. That is convenient: if you already know the noun plurals, you already know most of the adjective plurals. The bad news is that Portuguese has several plural patterns — not just "add -s" — and each pattern changes the written form, sometimes including the accent. An adjective like fácil (easy) becomes fáceis in the plural: the stress stays on the same vowel (á), but the word gains a syllable, and the written form has to be updated accordingly. Missing these accent shifts is one of the most common written errors.
Rule 1: vowel endings (-o, -a, -e) — just add -s
When the adjective ends in an unstressed vowel, the plural is formed by adding -s. No accents change. This covers the bulk of Portuguese adjectives.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bonito / bonita | bonitos / bonitas | pretty |
| alto / alta | altos / altas | tall |
| inteligente | inteligentes | intelligent |
| triste | tristes | sad |
| verde | verdes | green |
| grande | grandes | big, great |
Os meus vizinhos são muito simpáticos e as vizinhas também são simpáticas.
My neighbours (m.) are very friendly and my neighbours (f.) are friendly too.
As aulas de hoje foram interessantes, mas longas.
Today's classes were interesting but long.
Rule 2: stressed -ês — add -es, drop the circumflex
Adjectives ending in a stressed -ês take -es in the plural and lose the circumflex, because the stress is no longer on a final syllable that needs marking. This pattern dominates the nationality adjectives (inglês, francês, japonês, português).
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| português | portugueses | Portuguese |
| inglês | ingleses | English |
| francês | franceses | French |
| japonês | japoneses | Japanese |
| cortês | corteses | courteous |
Os meus amigos portugueses vão visitar-me em Londres.
My Portuguese friends are going to visit me in London.
Os alunos japoneses são sempre muito corteses.
The Japanese students are always very courteous.
Rule 3: -z, -r endings — add -es
Adjectives ending in -z or -r add -es. No accent shifts here, though the stress in speech shifts with the extra syllable.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| feliz | felizes | happy |
| capaz | capazes | capable |
| feroz | ferozes | fierce |
| maior | maiores | bigger |
| melhor | melhores | better |
| pior | piores | worse |
| superior | superiores | superior |
Estes são os melhores pastéis de Belém da cidade.
These are the best pastéis de Belém in the city.
Os cães são mais ferozes quando estão com medo.
Dogs are fiercer when they're afraid.
Rule 4: -l endings — drop the -l, add -is
This is where learners slip. Adjectives ending in -l drop the -l and add -is. For adjectives stressed on the final syllable (azul, fiel, cruel), no accent is needed in the plural. For paroxytones ending in -il or -vel like fácil, útil, and amável — where the stress is already marked with an acute in the singular — the acute stays in the plural on the same vowel, producing fáceis, úteis, amáveis (the plural word then has antepenult stress).
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| azul | azuis | blue |
| fiel | fiéis | faithful |
| cruel | cruéis | cruel |
| geral | gerais | general |
| mensal | mensais | monthly |
| fácil | fáceis | easy |
| útil | úteis | useful |
| ágil | ágeis | agile |
| amável | amáveis | kind |
| incrível | incríveis | incredible |
Os exames desta semana foram fáceis, mas os da próxima vão ser mais difíceis.
This week's exams were easy, but next week's are going to be harder.
A minha filha tem uns olhos azuis lindíssimos, herdados do avô.
My daughter has the most beautiful blue eyes, inherited from her grandfather.
Rule 5: -m endings — change to -ns
Adjectives ending in -m change the final -m to -ns. The nasal quality of the vowel carries through.
| Singular | Plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| bom | bons | good |
| comum | comuns | common |
| jovem | jovens | young |
| ruim | ruins | bad, lousy (Brazilian more than European) |
Estes são vinhos muito bons — provei-os no ano passado.
These are very good wines — I tried them last year.
Os erros mais comuns aparecem sempre no mesmo sítio.
The most common mistakes always show up in the same place.
Rule 6: -ão endings — three patterns
Adjectives ending in -ão follow the same three plural patterns as nouns, and there is no reliable rule for which adjective goes with which pattern — they must be memorised.
Pattern A: -ão → -ões (most common for both nouns and adjectives)
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| brincalhão | brincalhões |
| folgazão | folgazões |
Pattern B: -ão → -ães (a smaller group)
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| alemão | alemães |
| catalão | catalães |
| capitão | capitães (noun, but same pattern) |
Pattern C: -ão → -ãos (the most "regular" in form, just adding -s)
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| são | sãos |
| cristão | cristãos |
| vão | vãos |
Os meus colegas alemães vêm jantar no sábado.
My German colleagues are coming for dinner on Saturday.
Os cristãos, os judeus e os muçulmanos partilham raízes comuns.
Christians, Jews, and Muslims share common roots.
See plural words ending in -ão for the noun patterns, which apply identically to adjectives.
Rule 7: invariable adjectives
Some adjectives are fully invariable — same form for singular and plural. The most important are:
| Adjective | Meaning |
|---|---|
| simples | simple |
| grátis | free (of charge) |
| reles | mere, paltry (literary/pejorative) |
| cor-de-rosa | pink |
| laranja | orange (colour) |
| beje | beige |
| creme | cream (colour) |
Estes bilhetes são grátis para quem tem cartão de estudante.
These tickets are free for people with a student card.
Comprei duas camisolas cor-de-rosa e três vestidos laranja.
I bought two pink sweaters and three orange dresses.
See invariable adjectives for a more complete list.
Agreement with multiple adjectives on the same noun
When several adjectives describe the same noun, each one agrees independently — you can think of it as all of them sharing the same agreement target.
Comprei umas calças confortáveis, quentes e impermeáveis.
I bought some comfortable, warm, waterproof trousers.
As decisões tomadas ontem foram rápidas, justas e unânimes.
The decisions taken yesterday were fast, fair, and unanimous.
Agreement with complex subjects
Two singular nouns joined by e (and) take a plural adjective.
O Pedro e o João são altos.
Pedro and João are tall.
A avó e a neta são muito parecidas.
Grandma and granddaughter are very alike.
But with collective nouns — a gente, a equipa, a família — the adjective stays singular, because the noun itself is grammatically singular even though it refers to many people.
A equipa é boa, mas está cansada.
The team is good, but it's tired.
A gente está farta destes preços.
People are fed up with these prices.
Common mistakes
❌ Os meus amigos são português.
Incorrect — nationality adjective must pluralise when the subject is plural.
✅ Os meus amigos são portugueses.
Correct: masculine plural portugueses, with the circumflex lost.
❌ Os livros são fáciles.
Incorrect — -l adjectives drop the -l and add -is, not -les.
✅ Os livros são fáceis.
Correct: fácil → fáceis, with the accent preserved.
❌ Compramos dois chapéus azuls.
Incorrect — -l endings become -is in the plural, not -s.
✅ Comprámos dois chapéus azuis.
Correct: azul → azuis.
❌ Os bebés são bons e jovems.
Incorrect — -m endings become -ns, not -ms.
✅ Os bebés são bons e jovens.
Correct: jovem → jovens.
❌ Os dois alemãos chegaram ontem.
Incorrect — alemão takes the -ães plural pattern.
✅ Os dois alemães chegaram ontem.
Correct.
❌ Os exercícios são simpleses.
Incorrect — simples is invariable.
✅ Os exercícios são simples.
Correct: simples is the same in singular and plural.
Key takeaways
Most adjectives just add -s. Consonant-ending adjectives add -es. -l adjectives drop the -l and add -is, often preserving or shifting an accent. -m becomes -ns. -ão has three unpredictable patterns (-ões, -ães, -ãos). A small group is fully invariable (simples, grátis, and colour-nouns like cor-de-rosa, laranja). When in doubt, check the dictionary — and never transfer English "add -s" thinking to adjectives like fácil or azul.
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Start learning Portuguese→Related Topics
- Adjectives OverviewA1 — How adjectives work in European Portuguese: agreement, placement, types, comparison, and invariable forms.
- Adjective Gender AgreementA1 — How Portuguese adjectives change to agree with masculine and feminine nouns, plus the common irregular patterns.
- Invariable AdjectivesA2 — Adjectives that don't change form — simples, grátis, cor-de-rosa, laranja, and others — and the rules behind them.
- Regular Plural FormationA1 — How to make Portuguese plurals for the common cases — vowel endings take *-s*, consonant endings take *-es*, diphthongs take *-s*, and a few small families follow their own path.
- Irregular PluralsA2 — Portuguese nouns with unexpected plurals — invariable forms, Greek and Latin borrowings, pluralia tantum, and other exceptions to the main rules.
- Plurals of Words Ending in -lA2 — How to form the plural of Portuguese nouns and adjectives ending in -l, including the vowel-stressed subpatterns -al, -el, -ol, -ul, and -il.
- Plurals of Words Ending in -ãoA2 — The three possible plural patterns for Portuguese nouns ending in -ão: -ões, -ães, and -ãos — which words take which, and why.