a.
The first letter of the Portuguese alphabet, called á and written in the Latin script.
Meaning & usage
The first letter of the Portuguese alphabet, called á and written in the Latin script.
Where this word comes from
Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese a, from Latin a, form of A, from Etruscan 𐌀 (a), from Ancient Greek Α (A, “alpha”), from Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ, “aleph”), from Egyptian 𓃾.
her, it (as a direct object; as an indirect object, see lhe; after prepositions, see ela)
Encontrei-a na rua.
Where this word comes from
From Old Galician-Portuguese á, from Vulgar Latin *la (compare Spanish, Catalan, Italian, and French la), from Late Latin illa(m), feminine singular of ille (“the”, “that”).
to, introduces the indirect object
Dê-o a mim.
Meu coração pertence a você.
to; towards, indicates destination
Vamos a Paris!
away, indicates a physical distance
A vila fica a onze milhas
Comunicação à distância.
with; by means of, using as an instrument or means
Mataram o cão a pauladas.
A cavalo.
with; on, using as a medium or fuel
Quadro pintado a óleo.
Fornalha a carvão.
by, using the specified measurement; in the specified quantity
É mais barato comprar comida ao quilo.
Os fracassos ocorrem às dezenas.
by, indicates a steady progression
Calma lá. Resolva o problema passo a passo.
in the style or manner of; a la
Ele puxou o temperamento ao pai.
Camarão à grega.
at, during the specified period
Dormimos à noite.
O filme começa às duas horas.
at; in, indicates a location or position
Isto fica à frente do altar.
indicates the direct object, mainly to avoid confusion when it, the subject, or both are displaced, or for emphasis
A mim ele não engana.
forms the present participle
Estou a preparar a canja.
to, forms the future participle
Um trabalho a ser feito.
Nada a fazer.
Where this word comes from
From Old Galician-Portuguese a, from Latin ad (“to”) and ab (“from, away, by”).
alternative spelling of á
Where this word comes from
Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese a, from Latin a, form of A, from Etruscan 𐌀 (a), from Ancient Greek Α (A, “alpha”), from Phoenician 𐤀 (ʾ, “aleph”), from Egyptian 𓃾.
feminine singular of o
Where this word comes from
From Old Galician-Portuguese á, from Vulgar Latin *la (compare Spanish, Catalan, Italian, and French la), from Late Latin illa(m), feminine singular of ille (“the”, “that”).
alternative spelling of ah
A, tudo bem então.
misspelling of há
Where this word comes from
From homophone há.
misspelling of à
Where this word comes from
From homophone à.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.