O mundo é bonito.

The world is beautiful.

Breakdown of O mundo é bonito.

• ser: to be
• bonito: beautiful
• o mundo: the world

Questions & Answers about O mundo é bonito.

Why do we say O mundo and not just Mundo?

In European Portuguese, you almost always need an article (o, a, os, as) before singular countable nouns when you’re making a general statement.

• O mundo é bonito. = The world is beautiful. (general statement)
• Saying just Mundo é bonito. sounds wrong/unnatural in Portuguese.

So o here is the definite article the, and it’s required to make the sentence sound natural: you’re talking about the world in general, not “world” in some abstract title-like way.

Why is the article o and not a? How do I know mundo is masculine?

Every noun in Portuguese has a grammatical gender: masculine or feminine.

• o = the (masculine singular)
• a = the (feminine singular)

Mundo is a masculine noun, so it takes masculine forms:

• o mundo (the world)
• um mundo (a world)
• este mundo (this world)

There isn’t always a logical reason for gender; you simply learn each noun with its article:

• o mundo, o carro, o livro
• a casa, a mesa, a cidade

A practical tip: many nouns ending in -o are masculine (like mundo), and many ending in -a are feminine, though there are exceptions.

What is é, and why is it used here?

É is the 3rd person singular of the verb ser (to be) in the present tense:

• ser (to be) – present:
  • eu sou (I am)
  • tu és (you are – informal singular)
  • ele/ela/você é (he/she/you are)
  • nós somos (we are)
  • vocês são (you are – plural)
  • eles/elas são (they are)

In O mundo é bonito, é matches o mundo (3rd person singular: it is / the world is).

So the structure is:

• O mundo (subject) + é (verb to be) + bonito (adjective).

What’s the difference between é and está? Could I say O mundo está bonito?

Portuguese has two verbs for to be: ser and estar.

• ser (used with é) → more permanent, essential, defining characteristics
• estar (used with está) → more temporary, changeable, circumstantial states

O mundo é bonito.

• Suggests that beauty is a general, inherent quality of the world.

O mundo está bonito hoje.

• Suggests it looks particularly beautiful right now / today (e.g. nice weather, sunset), but this is a temporary state.

Both are correct, but they mean slightly different things.

Why is it bonito and not bonita or bonitos?

Adjectives in Portuguese agree with the gender and number of the noun.

• mundo is masculine singular → bonito must also be masculine singular.

Basic forms of bonito:

• bonito – masculine singular (o mundo bonito, o carro bonito)
• bonita – feminine singular (a casa bonita)
• bonitos – masculine plural (os mundos bonitos, os carros bonitos)
• bonitas – feminine plural (as casas bonitas)

So:

• O mundo é bonito. (masc. sing. + masc. sing.)
• A cidade é bonita. (fem. sing. + fem. sing.)

Can the adjective come before the noun, like o bonito mundo?

Normally in Portuguese, adjectives come after the noun:

• o mundo bonito (the beautiful world)
• um carro vermelho (a red car)

Putting the adjective before the noun (e.g. o bonito mundo) is possible but:

• sounds poetic, literary, or emphatic
• is not the standard neutral word order

In your example sentence with ser:

• O mundo é bonito. is the natural, standard structure.
• O mundo bonito é… would usually be the start of a relative clause or a more complex sentence, not just a simple statement.

Do I need to say Ele (he/it) in front of é? Why not Ele é bonito?

Portuguese is a pro-drop language: subject pronouns (eu, tu, ele, etc.) are often omitted because the verb ending already tells you who the subject is.

In your sentence:

• The subject is clearly O mundo, so you do not add ele.
• O mundo é bonito. = The world is beautiful.

You could say Ele é bonito. but that would usually mean:

• He is handsome (talking about a man), or
• It is beautiful (if context already makes clear what “it” refers to).

You generally don’t repeat the subject with a pronoun right after naming it:

• ✅ O mundo é bonito.
• ❌ O mundo ele é bonito. (unnatural).

How do you pronounce O mundo é bonito in European Portuguese?

In European Portuguese, you’ll hear some vowel reduction and linking:

• O → sounds like a very short, almost neutral “u” sound: [u]
• mundo → MUN-doo
  • mu = like English “moon” but shorter
  • ndo = nasalized “n” + “doo”
• é → open “eh” sound, like English “bet”
• bonito → bo-NEE-tu
  • bo = like “bo” in “bonus” but shorter
  • ni = “nee”
  • to = very reduced, almost like a weak “tu”

Spoken naturally, it flows like:

• [u MUN-du eh bu-NEE-tu]

In European Portuguese, final -o often sounds closer to a very short “u” rather than a full “oh”.

Why is mundo not capitalised? Would Mundo ever be written with a capital M?

In Portuguese, common nouns like mundo are written with lowercase:

• o mundo (the world)

You might see Mundo capitalised in some special contexts:

• in titles, slogans, or names: Jornal de Notícias – Mundo (a section name)
• in some philosophical, religious, or poetic uses, where it’s treated almost like a proper name

But in a normal sentence like O mundo é bonito., mundo is not capitalised.

How would this sentence look in the plural?

To make it plural, you need to change:

• the article o → os
• the noun mundo → mundos
• the verb é → são
• the adjective bonito → bonitos

So:

• O mundo é bonito. → Os mundos são bonitos.
  • os (the – masculine plural)
  • mundos (worlds)
  • são (are – 3rd person plural of ser)
  • bonitos (masculine plural, agreeing with mundos)