nouns with both genders

Two-Gender Nouns in Portuguese (Brazil)

In Portuguese grammar, nouns usually have a fixed masculine or feminine gender. However, many nouns referring to human beings are two-gender nouns (known in Portuguese as comuns de dois gêneros). For these words, the noun itself does not change its spelling to indicate gender. Instead, you change the article (such as o for masculine and a for feminine) to match the biological sex of the person. If the individual's sex is unknown or irrelevant, the masculine form acts as the default.

1. Common Suffixes

Nouns falling into this dual-gender category frequently share specific suffixes:

• -ante / -ente / -inte: o estudante / a estudante (the male student / the female student); o gerente / a gerente (the male manager / the female manager); o ouvinte / a ouvinte (the male listener / the female listener)
• -ense: o canadense / a canadense (the male Canadian / the female Canadian)
• -ista: o dentista / a dentista (the male dentist / the female dentist)
• -ta: o diplomata / a diplomata (the male diplomat / the female diplomat); o idiota / a idiota (the male idiot / the female idiot); o vietnamita / a vietnamita (the male Vietnamese / the female Vietnamese)

2. Specific Nationalities

While most nationalities change endings (like brasileiro/brasileira), some are two-gender nouns:

• o belga / a belga (the male Belgian / the female Belgian)
• o etíope / a etíope (the male Ethiopian / the female Ethiopian)

3. Words Ending in -cida

Words ending in -cida function as two-gender nouns when applied to humans. For example, o suicida / a suicida (the suicidal man / the suicidal woman). However, they remain strictly masculine when referring to chemical products, such as o inseticida (the insecticide).

4. Naturally Two-Gender Nouns

An assortment of other common nouns are naturally two-gender. Examples include:

• o caipira / a caipira (the male hillbilly / the female hillbilly)
• o camarada / a camarada (the male comrade / the female comrade)
• o colega / a colega (the male colleague / the female colleague)
• o fã / a fã (the male fan / the female fan)
• o modelo / a modelo (the male model / the female model)

Other words in this group include: chapa (pal/buddy), comparsa (accomplice), cúmplice (accomplice), herege (heretic), intérprete (interpreter), mártir (martyr), personagem (character), and sósia (lookalike).

5. Transformed Single-Gender Nouns

Finally, this flexibility extends to certain originally single-gender nouns that become two-gender when applied to human beings. For instance:

• o âncora / a âncora (the male news anchor / the female news anchor)
• o mão de vaca / a mão de vaca (the male cheapskate / the female cheapskate) - an informal expression
• o segurança / a segurança (the male security guard / the female security guard)