The cedilha (Portuguese cedilha, English "cedilla") is a small hook attached to the bottom of the letter c, producing ç. It looks tiny — easy to miss in handwriting, easy to forget when typing — but it is structural: it changes the sound the letter represents. Without the cedilha, c before a, o, u gives the hard /k/ sound (casa, copo, cuidar). With the cedilha, c before a, o, u gives /s/ (caça, coração, açúcar).
Origin: the cedilha descends from a small Visigothic z written below a c, fused into a single grapheme to represent a sibilant sound that medieval Iberian languages were developing. The name cedilha itself is the Portuguese form of Spanish cedilla, "little zeta." In modern Portuguese the ç counts as a variant of c, not a separate letter; dictionaries list ç under c.
What the cedilha does
The cedilha exists to solve a specific problem in Romance orthography. The letter c has two values that depend on the following vowel:
- Before a, o, u (or any consonant): /k/ — casa, copo, cuidar, claro, cromo.
- Before e, i: /s/ — cedo, cinco, cera, cidade.
This is the pan-Romance "front-vs-back vowel" rule, inherited from Latin. The trouble is that you frequently want /s/ before a, o, u — after all, plenty of words contain that sound in that position. Coração (heart), moço (young man), braço (arm), açúcar (sugar), faço (I do), começou (he began).
To write /s/ before a back vowel, Portuguese (like Catalan and pre-modern Spanish) uses the cedilha. The hook tells the reader: "this c is /s/, not /k/."
O coração é o motor do corpo.
The heart is the motor of the body. (coração — cedilha gives /s/ before *a*)
A criança partiu o braço a brincar.
The child broke their arm while playing. (criança, braço — cedilha-/s/ in both)
O açúcar está em cima da mesa, ao lado do café.
The sugar is on the table, next to the coffee. (açúcar — cedilha-/s/ before *u*)
O moço da pastelaria conhece-me bem.
The young man at the pastry shop knows me well. (moço — cedilha-/s/ before *o*)
Faço sempre o jantar antes das oito.
I always make dinner before eight. (faço — cedilha-/s/ in 1st-person singular present of *fazer*)
Where the cedilha is used (and where it is not)
Three rules cover almost every case.
Rule 1: cedilha is required for /s/ before a, o, u
Whenever a word has /s/ followed by a, o, or u, and you would otherwise write c, you must use ç instead.
caça, paço, açúcar, força, lição, dança, calçada
hunt, palace, sugar, strength, lesson, dance, sidewalk — all with cedilha-/s/
Rule 2: cedilha is NEVER used before e, i
Bare c before e or i already gives /s/, so no cedilha is needed. Writing ç before e or i is never correct in Portuguese.
cedo, cinco, cera, cidade, certo, citação, racional
early, five, wax, city, certain, quotation, rational — all with bare-c /s/
If you are writing a word and find yourself wanting to put ç before e or i, stop and use plain c. Çedo is wrong; cedo is right.
Rule 3: cedilha NEVER appears at the start of a word
In modern Portuguese, no word begins with ç. The cedilha appears only inside or at the end of a syllable. (Some archaic and Old Spanish words began with ç- — çarça "thornbush" — but these have all been respelled with s- in modern Portuguese: sarça.)
If a word begins with the /s/ sound followed by a back vowel, it is spelled with s, never ç. Sapato, sopa, sumir — never çapato, çopa, çumir.
sapato, sol, sopa, sentir, sumir (initial /s/, always with *s*)
shoe, sun, soup, to feel, to disappear — never written with cedilha at the start
The verb-conjugation pattern
The cedilha alternation comes up most frequently in verb conjugations. Verbs whose stem ends in /s/ adjust their spelling between cedilha and bare c depending on the following vowel — the sound stays the same, only the spelling changes.
Two big classes of verbs are involved:
Verbs ending in -çar — começar, abraçar, dançar, lançar, alcançar
These verbs have -ç- in the infinitive because the stem ends in /s/ followed by -ar (which begins with a, a back vowel — cedilha needed). When the conjugation puts -c- before e or i, the cedilha drops because bare c before e/i is already /s/.
| Form | começar | abraçar | dançar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | começar | abraçar | dançar |
| 1sg present (eu) | começo | abraço | danço |
| 2sg present (tu) | começas | abraças | danças |
| 3sg present (ele) | começa | abraça | dança |
| 1pl present (nós) | começamos | abraçamos | dançamos |
| 3pl present (eles) | começam | abraçam | dançam |
| 1sg preterite (eu) | comecei | abracei | dancei |
| 1sg pres subj (que eu) | comece | abrace | dance |
| 2sg pres subj (que tu) | comeces | abraces | dances |
| 3sg pres subj (que ele) | comece | abrace | dance |
The pattern: cedilha before a, o, u; bare c before e, i. The pronunciation /s/ never changes — only the spelling adapts to the orthographic rule.
Eu começo o trabalho às nove e ontem comecei mais cedo.
I start work at nine and yesterday I started earlier. (começo with cedilha; comecei without — same sound, different vowel after)
Quero que comeces a estudar mais.
I want you to start studying more. (comeces, present subjunctive — bare c before e)
Abraço-te com muito carinho.
I hug you with great affection. (abraço, 1sg present — cedilha before o)
Quando dancei contigo na festa, fiquei feliz a noite toda.
When I danced with you at the party, I was happy all night. (dancei, 1sg preterite — bare c before e)
Verbs ending in -cer — conhecer, parecer, descer, esquecer, vencer
These verbs have bare c in the infinitive because the stem ends in /s/ followed by -er (which begins with e, a front vowel — bare c gives /s/, no cedilha needed). When the conjugation puts c before a or o (a back vowel), the cedilha appears to keep the /s/ sound.
| Form | conhecer | parecer | descer | esquecer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | conhecer | parecer | descer | esquecer |
| 1sg present (eu) | conheço | pareço | desço | esqueço |
| 2sg present (tu) | conheces | pareces | desces | esqueces |
| 3sg present (ele) | conhece | parece | desce | esquece |
| 1pl present (nós) | conhecemos | parecemos | descemos | esquecemos |
| 3pl present (eles) | conhecem | parecem | descem | esquecem |
| 1sg preterite (eu) | conheci | pareci | desci | esqueci |
| 1sg pres subj (que eu) | conheça | pareça | desça | esqueça |
| 3sg pres subj (que ele) | conheça | pareça | desça | esqueça |
Pattern: cedilha appears in the 1sg present and the present subjunctive, where the conjugation places c before a or o. Elsewhere bare c serves because the following vowel is e or i.
Eu conheço bem o teu pai, mas não o vejo há anos.
I know your father well, but I haven't seen him in years. (conheço — cedilha because c is before o)
Não te esqueças de comprar pão no caminho para casa.
Don't forget to buy bread on the way home. (esqueças = 2sg present subjunctive — bare c before e; cedilha appears in esqueço/esqueça, before o/a)
Espero que ele desça as escadas com cuidado.
I hope he comes down the stairs carefully. (desça — cedilha because c is before a)
Pareço cansado mas estou bem.
I look tired but I'm fine. (pareço — cedilha before o in 1sg present)
The two classes are mirror images of each other. -Çar verbs lose the cedilha when the conjugation puts c before a front vowel; -cer verbs gain the cedilha when the conjugation puts c before a back vowel. In both cases the principle is the same: spell the sound, don't preserve the letter shape.
Pluralisation patterns with the cedilha
Most singular nouns ending in -ção form their plural in -ções. The cedilha is preserved because -ç- is still followed by a back vowel (o in -ões).
| Singular | Plural | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| lição | lições | lesson(s) |
| nação | nações | nation(s) |
| coração | corações | heart(s) |
| opção | opções | option(s) |
| relação | relações | relation(s) |
| direção | direções | direction(s) |
| discussão | discussões | discussion(s) (note: -ssões, not -çsões) |
Note carefully: words like discussão → discussões keep the ss (not çç or çs) because the underlying sibilant in those words is ss, not ç. Compare lição → lições (always cedilha across the alternation) with discussão → discussões (always ss). The choice between ç and ss is fixed for each word and does not change in pluralisation.
As lições da professora foram muito úteis.
The teacher's lessons were very useful. (lições — cedilha preserved in plural)
As nossas opiniões nem sempre coincidem com as opções disponíveis.
Our opinions don't always match the options available. (opiniões with no cedilha — opinião already has no cedilha; opções with cedilha — opção has it)
As discussões na reunião duraram três horas.
The discussions at the meeting lasted three hours. (discussões — *ss*, not cedilha)
Diminutive and derivational alternations
The same /s/-spelling logic applies in derivation. When a word with cedilha takes a suffix beginning with e or i, the cedilha drops:
- peça → pecinha (small piece) — diminutive -inha begins with i, so c not ç.
- taça → tacinha (small cup).
- braço → bracinho (little arm) — the c before i is automatically /s/.
When the suffix begins with a, o, u, the cedilha is needed (or stays):
- braço → braçada (armful) — a after the ç.
- caça → caçador (hunter) — a after the ç.
Pega num bracinho, leva-o ao colo.
Pick him up by the little arm and carry him in your lap. (bracinho — diminutive of braço; cedilha drops before -inho)
Comprei uma tacinha de gelado para a sobremesa.
I bought a little cup of ice cream for dessert. (tacinha — diminutive of taça; cedilha drops before -inha)
A word-level reference table
The cedilha is required in any /s/-before-back-vowel position. Here are common categories where it shows up:
| Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Common nouns in -ço, -ça, -çúcar, -ação | braço, força, açúcar, ação, nação, coração, lição, situação, atenção |
| 1st-person singular present of -cer verbs | conheço, pareço, desço, esqueço, faço, mereço, venço |
| Present subjunctive of -cer verbs (all persons) | conheça, conheças, conheça, conheçamos, conheçam |
| Past tense of -çar verbs (1sg drops cedilha) | comecei, abracei, dancei — but other forms keep ç: começou, abraçaram, dançámos |
| Suffixed forms with back-vowel suffix | cabeça → cabeçada, doce → adoçar, aço → açúcar (independent), preço → apreçar |
| Pluralised -ção nouns | lição → lições, ação → ações, coração → corações |
| The numbers from "fifty" up | cinquenta (no cedilha because no /s/-before-back-vowel pattern), but cinco (no cedilha — bare c before i) |
Comparison with Spanish
If you know Spanish, the cedilha may feel familiar but unused. Spanish abolished the ç in the 18th century, replacing it with z before a, o, u and with c before e, i. Where Portuguese writes coração, Spanish writes corazón. Where Portuguese writes taça, Spanish writes taza. The /s/ sound (in Castilian) or /θ/ sound (in non-yeísta Spanish) is the same — only the letter changed.
| Portuguese (with cedilha) | Spanish (with z) | English |
|---|---|---|
| coração | corazón | heart |
| taça | taza | cup |
| caça | caza | hunt |
| força | fuerza | strength |
| doçura | dulzura | sweetness |
A useful trick for Spanish-speaking learners of Portuguese: most Spanish z before back vowels corresponds to Portuguese ç. Razón → razão (one of the few exceptions — Portuguese uses z not ç here). Lazo → laço. Perezoso → preguiçoso.
A sua força e doçura são raras.
His strength and sweetness are rare. (Spanish: fuerza, dulzura — z; Portuguese: força, doçura — ç)
Comparison with French
French uses the cedilha exactly as Portuguese does, with the same rules: ç for /s/ before a, o, u; c for /s/ before e, i; never word-initial. Garçon, ça, façade, leçon — all the French cedillas would translate directly into Portuguese cedilla rules.
The French *leçon* corresponds exactly to the Portuguese *lição*: both use cedilha for /s/ before *o*.
A direct equivalence between French and Portuguese cedilla usage.
The French *garçon* would, in Portuguese, be *garção* (using -ção for the nasal ending) — but Portuguese normally just says *rapaz* or *moço*.
The cedilha pattern is shared, even where the actual word differs.
Common mistakes
❌ eu faco (no cedilha)
The 1st-person singular present of *fazer* is *faço* — cedilha required because /s/ comes before *o*. Without the cedilha, *faco* would be pronounced /'faku/, which is not a word.
✅ Eu faço o jantar todos os dias.
I make dinner every day.
❌ comecei with cedilha (eu começei)
The 1st-person preterite of *começar* is *comecei* — bare *c* because /s/ comes before *e*. Adding a cedilha here would be doubly wrong: cedilha never appears before *e* or *i*.
✅ Comecei o livro ontem à noite.
I started the book last night.
❌ braco for arm (no cedilha)
The word for arm is *braço*, with cedilha. *Braco* would be pronounced /'bɾaku/, which is not a Portuguese word.
✅ Parti o braço a jogar futebol.
I broke my arm playing football.
❌ açima with cedilha (before *i*)
*Acima* (above) is written with bare *c* — never cedilha before *i*. Cedilha is only used before *a, o, u*.
✅ O quadro está acima da mesa.
The painting is above the table.
❌ çedo for early (cedilha at the start of a word)
*Cedo* is written with bare *c* — cedilha is never used at the start of a word, and bare *c* before *e* already gives /s/.
✅ Acordei cedo para apanhar o comboio.
I woke up early to catch the train.
❌ liçoes (no cedilha in plural)
The plural of *lição* is *lições*, with the cedilha preserved because the *c* still precedes a back vowel (*o* in *-ões*).
✅ As lições de hoje foram muito interessantes.
Today's lessons were very interesting.
❌ esquece (1sg present without cedilha)
The 1sg present of *esquecer* is *esqueço*, with cedilha — the *c* is before *o*, requiring the hook to give /s/.
✅ Esqueço-me sempre do nome dela.
I always forget her name.
❌ açucar without acute on the *u*
The word *açúcar* needs both the cedilha AND the acute on the *u* — the cedilha for the /s/ sound, the acute because the *u* carries the stressed antepenult.
✅ Adicione duas colheres de açúcar.
Add two spoons of sugar.
Key takeaways
- The cedilha (ç) signals /s/ for the letter c before the back vowels a, o, u.
- It is never used before e, i (where bare c already gives /s/) and never at the start of a word.
- The verb-conjugation alternation is fully predictable: -çar verbs drop the cedilha before e/i (começar → comecei, comece); -cer verbs gain the cedilha before a/o (conhecer → conheço, conheça).
- Plural of -ção nouns preserves the cedilha because -ões still has a back vowel after ç: lição → lições, coração → corações.
- The cedilha was adopted from medieval Iberian script (Visigothic z-under-c) and survives in Portuguese, French, and Catalan; Spanish abolished it in the 18th century, using z instead.
- For learners: when you hear /s/ before a, o, u in writing-down, your default should be ç. When you hear /s/ before e, i, your default should be bare c. The two never overlap.
Related Topics
- Portuguese Spelling OverviewA1 — An orienting tour of European Portuguese orthography — alphabet, diacritics, digraphs, nasal spelling, and the Acordo Ortográfico 1990 reforms that still affect every modern PT-PT text.
- The Portuguese AlphabetA1 — The 26 letters of the European Portuguese alphabet — their names, their sounds, and the digraphs that combine them — with the rules every reader needs to pronounce an unfamiliar word at first sight.
- Accent Mark RulesA2 — When and why each Portuguese diacritic — acute, circumflex, tilde, grave, and the cedilha — is written, and the underlying logic that ties stress, vowel quality, and nasalisation into a single bidirectional system.
- SS vs S vs C vs ÇA2 — The four ways to spell the /s/ sound in European Portuguese — with the position rules, etymological patterns, and verb-conjugation alternations that determine which spelling each word takes.
- S and Z SoundsA2 — The four pronunciations of s in European Portuguese — [s], [z], [ʃ], and [ʒ] — plus the spelling patterns of ss, c, ç, and z that make the sibilant system work.
- Common Spelling ErrorsA2 — The Portuguese spelling rules learners get wrong most often — ss vs ç, when to use h, silent letters, and the full system of accents (post-1990 orthography).