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.
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.
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.
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.