A1 (Beginner)Lesson 1: Gender, Number & Articles
Indefinite articles are used when referring to something non-specific and must agree in gender and number with the noun.
Um = a/an (masculine singular): um livro (a book)
Uma = a/an (feminine singular): uma casa (a house)
Uns = some (masculine plural): uns livros (some books)
Umas = some (feminine plural): umas casas (some houses)
Articles must match the noun's gender AND number
Used to introduce non-specific things for the first time
Can also mean "about/approximately" with numbers
article (um/uma/uns/umas) + noun
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Imagine walking into a Brazilian café and wanting to order "a coffee" – you'll need to know whether to say "um café" or "uma café" (spoiler: it's "um"!). Indefinite articles pop up constantly in everyday Portuguese, from casual conversations ("Tem uma coisa que quero te contar" - There's something I want to tell you) to reading news headlines or texting friends. Getting these tiny words right is like having the right key for every door – omitting them when they are needed will make your Portuguese sound off, even if everything else is perfect. Plus, Brazilians use these articles in creative ways that go beyond their basic meaning, making them essential for sounding natural and understanding native speakers.
Think of indefinite articles as the Portuguese way of saying "a/an" or "some." While English uses "a" and "an" in the singular, Portuguese likes to be more specific. Every noun in Portuguese has a gender (masculine or feminine) and can be singular or plural, and the indefinite article must match both characteristics.
Used before masculine nouns when talking about one non-specific item.
um carro (a car)
um problema (a problem)
um homem (a man)
Used before feminine nouns when talking about one non-specific item.
"Tem um cara te esperando lá fora" (There's a guy waiting for you outside)
"Comprei umas coisas no mercado" (I bought some things at the market)
"Uma amiga minha trabalha aí" (A friend of mine works there)
"Vamos tomar uma cerveja?" (Shall we have a beer?)
"Umas quinze pessoas na fila" (About fifteen people in the queue)
"Tô com um probleminha aqui" (I've got a little problem here)
"Achei umas fotos antigas nossas" (I found some old photos of us)
"Tem uma festa hoje à noite, bora?" (There's a party tonight, wanna go?)
Masculine words ending in -a:
um problema (not uma problema)
um sistema (not uma sistema)
um dia (not uma dia)
um mapa (not uma mapa)
um planeta (not uma planeta)
Feminine words ending in -o:
uma foto (short for fotografia)
uma moto (short for motocicleta)
uma libido (yes, it's feminine!)
The Portuguese articles um, uma, uns, umas come from the Latin numeral unus ("one") and its forms. The same Latin family gave Spanish un/una, French un/une and Italian uno/una. English a/an, however, developed from Old English ān, a Germanic form, not from Latin. In um café, um can be an article or the numeral "one," depending on context; the historical link does not mean the article always gives an exact count.
Sources: Ciberdúvidas — article origins, English an.
Portuguese and Spanish distinguish gender in plural indefinite articles: uns amigos vs. umas amigas, like unos amigos vs. unas amigas. French uses des for both genders, while English uses words such as some. To choose uns or umas, use the Portuguese noun's grammatical gender. Amigos is masculine and can include a mixed group; amigas is feminine.
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