Alternative formsEdit


Etymology 1Edit

From Old Portuguese [Term?], from Vulgar Latin *-ōne, from Latin -ōnem(accusative suffix).


-ão m ‎(feminine -ona, plural -ões, feminine plural -onas)

  1. forms the augmentative of nouns
    1. forms nouns, from nouns denoting things, meaning “big thing,” usually but not necessarily with the same gender
      livro(book) + ‎-ão → ‎livrão(big book)
      janela(window) + ‎-ão → ‎janelona(big window)
    2. used to refer to things affectionately
      filho(son) + ‎-ão → ‎filhão(used by a father to address his son, when he is proud of the son)
      amigo(friend) + ‎-ão → ‎amigão(a good friend; a true friend)
    3. forms nouns, from nouns, implying that the suffixed noun is powerful or good
      carro(car) + ‎-ão → ‎carrão(high-performance car)
      calor(heat) + ‎-ão → ‎calorão(intense heat)
      soco(punch) + ‎-ão → ‎socão(powerful punch)
    4. in nouns that are formed from, or homonymous with, an adjective, it augments the quality expressed by the adjective
      cabeludo(long-haired (adjective); long-haired person (noun)) + ‎-ão → ‎cabeludão(person with very long hair)
  2. forms the masculine of animal names (whether the animal refers to females or to males and females)
    abelha(bee (any sex)) + ‎-ão → ‎abelhão(drone)
    cabra(she-goat) + ‎-ão → ‎cabrão(billy goat)
  3. forms nouns, from nouns, denoting an item of the same class as the suffixed noun, or which shares a characteristic with the suffixed noun
    calça(pants) + ‎-ão → ‎calção(shorts)
    agulha(needle) + ‎-ão → ‎agulhão(sharp rock on a riverbed)
    fogo(fire) + ‎-ão → ‎fogão(stove)
  4. (slang) forms nouns, from a numeral X divisible by ten and greater than thirty, meaning “someone in his Xs”
    quarenta(forty) + ‎-ão → ‎quarentão(someone in his forties)
  5. (Brazil, slang) forms nouns, from a numeral X, meaning “X amount of money” or “a bill worth X”
    cinco(five) + ‎-ão → ‎cincão(five bucks)
    mil(thousand) + ‎-ão → ‎milão(a thousand bucks)
  6. (somewhat informal) forms the augmentative of adjectives, roughly equivalent to English quite
    grande(big) + ‎-ão → ‎grandão(quite big)
  7. forms nouns, from a verb X, meaning a strong or violent instance of doing X
    arrastar(to drag) + ‎-ão → ‎arrastão(an instance of violently dragging something)
    puxar(to pull) + ‎-ão → ‎puxão(a strong or violent pull)
    pisar(to step) + ‎-ão → ‎pisão(a strong or violent step)

Etymology 2Edit

From Old Portuguese -ão, from Latin -ānus(-ian). Compare -ano.


-ão m ‎(feminine , plural -ãos, feminine plural -ãs)

  1. (no longer productive) forms adjectives, from nouns and proper nouns referring to a location or type of location, meaning “of or pertaining to that location” and nouns meaning “someone from that location”
    vila(village) + ‎-ão → ‎vilão(villager)
    cidade(city) + ‎-ão → ‎cidadão(citizen)
    Alentejo(a region in Portugal) + ‎-ão → ‎alentejão(relating to Alentejo”, “someone from Alentejo)

Etymology 3Edit

From Old Portuguese -an, from an, from Latin habent, third-person plural present indicative of habeō(I have).



  1. forms the third-person plural future indicative, from the infinitive of verbs
    falar(to speak) + ‎-ão → ‎falarão((they) will speak)
    comer(to eat) + ‎-ão → ‎comerão((they) will eat)
    sorrir(to smile) + ‎-ão → ‎sorrirão((they) will smile)

Etymology 4Edit




  1. Obsolete form of -am.

Usage notesEdit

Some words ending in -ão pluralise as -ães. However, in these cases the -ão is not a suffix and derives from Old Portuguese -an, from Latin -ānem, -anēs.

mão derives from Latin manus and is pluralised with -s:

  • mão(hand)mãos(hands)