2.1.1. Tense, mood, aspect, person (for verbs)
2.1.2. Gender and number (nouns and adjectives)
4.1. How to use punctuation marks
4.2. Punctuation in greetings and closings
5.1. Grammatical and Lexical Registers
1. Post-edition at Unbabel
At Unbabel we have a unique approach to translation: each text submitted by a customer is translated by our Machine Translation system, and then corrected by our community of editors in an online platform. By editing the output of the software, the editors ensure the quality of the translations and confirm that the message is accurate (i.e., has the same meaning as the original), fluent (i.e., can be easily understood and sounds natural) and is in line with the style requested by the clients (i.e. respects their register and terminology). In order to help editors do the best job possible, we provide various types of information:
- Customer instructions, which include the identification of the client and his requests to personalize the translation, such as the register that must be used to address the recipient of the message. Following these instructions is vital to deliver translations that match the client’s expectations.
- Glossaries, which correspond to specific vocabulary and expressions used by the client, and that must be respected by the editors.
- Translation Memories, which correspond to stored segments (expressions, sentences or paragraphs) that have previously been translated and accepted for customer usage. They are useful for ensuring consistency across translations.
Finally, in order to deliver the best possible translation, we also provide these guidelines about your language specifications. Please, read them carefully and always follow these instructions in your editions.
2. Grammar
2.1. Agreement
2.1.1. Tense, mood, aspect, person (for verbs)
When translating sentences containing quantificational or partitive expressions (such as a maioria de, metade de, a maior parte de, uma (boa/grande/pequena) parte de, uma série de, um grande/pequeno/certo número de, uma quantidade/porção/dezena/centena de, metade), you should use the singular form of the verb. These follow the same pattern as sentences containing collective nouns such as assembleia, brigada, comissão, comunidade, equipa, turma, bando, batalhão, rebanho, etc.
Example
Source text: Most payments are made by bank transfer.
✘ A maioria dos pagamentos são feitos através de transferência bancária.
✓ A maioria dos pagamentos é feita através de transferência bancária.
When there is a coordinated subject, the agreement between subject and verb is as follows:
- If the coordination includes a first-person pronoun, use the first person plural.
Example
Source text: You and I / He and I will fill the form.
✘ Tu e eu / Ele e eu vão preencher o impresso.
✓ Tu e eu / Ele e eu vamos preencher o impresso.
- If the coordination doesn’t include a first-person pronoun, use the third person.
Example
Source text: You and he will fill the form.
✘ Tu e ele vamos preencher o impresso.
✓ Tu e ele vão preencher o impresso.
- If the action includes only one of the subjects, the verb is singular.
Example: João or António will be promoted.
✓O João ou o António será promovido. [only one of the subjects will be promoted]
- If the action includes both subjects, the verb is plural.
Example: The cold and the wind cause dry skin.
✓O vento e o frio causam pele seca. [both subjects cause dry skin]
When there is a singular subject followed by an interpolated sentence that introduces more subjects, separated by a comma, the verb keeps the singular form.
Example
Source text: Protection of nature, as well as natural biodiversity, is also cited as objectives.
✘A proteção da natureza, bem como a biodiversidade natural, fazem parte dos objetivos citados.
✓A proteção da natureza, bem como a biodiversidade natural, faz parte dos objetivos citados.
In structures with the verbs ser and parecer followed by a predicative subject in the plural, the verb agrees with the predicative.
Examples
Source text: That is part of the job.
✘ Isso é ossos do ofício.
✓Isso são ossos do ofício.
Source text: Everything is life seems to be dreams and hopes.
✘ Tudo na vida parece sonhos e esperanças.
✓Tudo na vida parecem sonhos e esperanças.
The verb haver, when used with the meaning of existir (‘there are, ‘there happen to be’), is never conjugated in the plural form. The same happens with the verbs tratar e começar.
Examples
Source text: There were some problems with the app.
✘ Houveram alguns problemas com a aplicação.
✓ Houve alguns problemas com a aplicação.
Source text: Those are studies carried out by the European Commission.
✘ Tratam-se de estudos levados a cabo pela Comissão Europeia.
✓ Trata-se de estudos levados a cabo pela Comissão Europeia.
Source text: There are already some data on the state of health of immigrant communities.
✘ Começam a haver alguns dados sobre o estado da saúde das comunidades imigrantes.
✓ Começa a haver alguns dados sobre o estado da saúde das comunidades imigrantes.
With expressions such as um dos que, uma das pessoas que, um dos aspetos que, etc. the verb always occur in the plural.
Example
Source text: José Saramago was one of the authors that won the Nobel Prize.
✘ José Saramago foi um dos escritores que ganhou o prémio Nobel.
✓ José Saramago foi um dos escritores que ganharam o prémio Nobel.
When in doubt as to the correct verbal form, check LxConjugator.
2.1.2. Gender and number (nouns and adjectives)
In sentences with more than one noun displaying different grammatical genders, the standard agreement pattern is the masculine form.
Example
Source text: The exam and the appointment are scheduled.
✘ O exame e a consulta estão marcadas.
✓ O exame e a consulta estão marcados.
The feminine form will be used if all the nouns are feminine.
Example
Source text: The analysis and the appointment are scheduled.
✘ As análises e a consulta estão marcados.
✓ As análises e a consulta estão marcadas.
Although most of words ending in -a are feminine, and most of the ones ending in -o are masculine, make sure to note the exceptions to the rule (e.g. o grama, o drama, o profeta, o problema, o telefonema, o tema, a tribo).
When in doubt as to the correct form, check LxInflector.
2.2. Determiners
Determiners always agree with the noun in gender and number. When translating ‘the’ and ‘a / an’, make sure to check the gender of the noun in Portuguese.
Example
Source text: the consort
✘ a cônjuge
✓ o cônjuge
Determiners are used in Portuguese even in the presence of a possessive determiner.
Example
Source text: his friend
✘ seu amigo
✓ o seu amigo
Contrary to English, some proper nouns in Portuguese are preceded by determiner.
Example
Source text: Brazil and China are countries that have good economic relations with Portugal.
✘ Brasil e China são países que têm boas relações económicas com Portugal.
✓ O Brasil e a China são países que têm boas relações económicas com Portugal.
2.3. Prepositions
Some verbs, adjectives and nouns select a specific preposition: confiar em, herdar de, proibir de, sonhar com, viajar em/por, votar a favor de, votar contra, ser fiel a, estar orgulhoso de; ter confiança em, ter empenho em, um livro de/sobre, ter preocupação com/de/em.
Example
Source text: The client may disagree with the proposal.
✘ O cliente pode discordar com a proposta.
✓ O cliente pode discordar da proposta.
Given the wide range of cases, please consult a dictionary of prepositional regency, such as Guia Prático de Verbos com Preposições.
Prepositions should be contracted with determiners (do (de+o); neste (em+este)), except when the determiner is the beginning of an infinitive sentence.
Example
Source text: They considered the hypothesis of organizing the conference in Lisbon.
✘ Foi colocada a hipótese da conferência se realizar em Lisboa.
✓ Foi colocada a hipótese de a conferência se realizar em Lisboa.
Example
Source text: The reservation was canceled because of unredeemed checks.
✘ Foi cancelada a reserva pelos cheques não terem cobertura.
✓ Foi cancelada a reserva por os cheques não terem cobertura.
2.4. Pronouns
Unlike English, in Portuguese the subject is more likely to be omitted in subordinated clauses, but only when it is the same as the subject of the main clause.
Example
Source text: The client said that he will be late.
✓ O cliente disse que chegará atrasado.
Note that the sentence below is also possible, but it is more likely to occur when the pronoun ele doesn’t refer to o cliente, but to someone else.
✓ O cliente disse que ele [another person] chegará atrasado.
Also, even in a main clause, pronominal subjects should be omitted whenever they can be recovered by verbal morphology.
Example
Source text: I saw John at the cinema.
✘ Eu vi o John no cinema.
✓ Vi o John no cinema.
2.5. Verbs
In Portuguese, there are some verbs that display two participial forms, a long one (which ends in –ado), and a short one, as shown below:
- aceitar: aceitado; aceite
- prender: prendido; preso
- matar: matado; morto
- secar: secado; seco
The regular form is the longest one, and is used in compound tenses with the verb ter (e.g. tem aceitado), while the irregular form (the shortest one) is used with the verbs ser and estar (e.g. foi preso; está preso). For a list of these verbs, you can check this page atCiberdúvidas.
Examples
Source text: He had accepted the task.
✘ Ele tinha aceite a tarefa.
✓ Ele tinha aceitado a tarefa.
Source text: The task was immediately accepted.
✘A tarefa foi aceitada imediatamente.
✓A tarefa foi aceite imediatamente.
Another aspect to be considered regards the fact that, while in English the gerundive form is frequently used, European Portuguese uses the infinitive preceded by a preposition.
Example
Source text: I saw him running yesterday night.
✘ Vi-o correndo ontem à noite.
✓Vi-o a correr ontem à noite.
When in doubt as to the correct verbal form, check LxConjugator, where all the forms of a verb can be generated.
3. Orthography
As an important note, please take into account that all translations must follow the rules of the New Orthographic Agreement.
3.1. Abbreviations
The rules regarding European Portuguese abbreviations are listed below.
- Abbreviations are usually written with a dot at the end: etc. (et cetera), Dr. (Doutor), pág. (página).
- If the abbreviation is composed of more than two words, there’s usually a whitespace between them: p. ex. (por exemplo), a. C. (antes de Cristo), i. e. (isto é). However, you can also find the absence of a whitespace between abbreviations, as in i.e. Note that, for example, the Dicionário Houaiss registers these forms without a whitespace, and there’s no need to correct them or mark them as an error.
- In some cases, with the correct text formatting, the last letter of the word is written in superscript after the dot, and without any whitespace: Dr.ª (Doutora), n.º (número), Ex.mo (Excelentíssimo).
- The plural forms are created by adding a -s before the dot: pág./págs., fig./figs.
- If the abbreviation consists of one letter, the plural can be formed by duplicating it: p./pp. (página/páginas).
- When the abbreviation is placed at the end of a sentence that ends in a dot, do not repeat the dot.
Example
Source text: To perform a good translation, we need to know the target language, the culture of the country, etc.
✘ Para fazer uma boa tradução, é preciso conhecer a língua-alvo, a cultura do país, etc..
✓ Para fazer uma boa tradução, é preciso conhecer a língua-alvo, a cultura do país, etc.
When in doubt, check the Initials and Abbreviations Dictionary.
3.2. Apostrophes
In European Portuguese, the apostrophe is used to separate a preposition (e.g. de, em) from an expression referring to a deity, a title of a book or the name of work of art when it starts with a vowel.
Example
Source text: The character Adamastor appears in the Os Lusíadas.
✘ A personagem do Adamastor aparece nos Os Lusíadas.
✓A personagem do Adamastor aparece n’Os Lusíadas.
The apostrophe is also used to signal the deletion of a vowel: borda-d'água, cobra-d'água, copo-d'água, estrela-d'alva, galinha-d'água, mãe-d'água.
3.3. Capitalization
Capital letters are used when writing:
- Names of people (real or fictional): António, Eça de Queirós, Quixote.
- Names of places and monuments: Lisboa, Portugal, Brasil, Avenida da Liberdade, Praça da Alegria; Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, Torre de Belém, Panteão Nacional.
- Institutions: Autoridade Tributária e Aduaneira, Organização das Nações Unidas, Instituto Nacional de Estatística.
- Events: Segunda Guerra Mundial, Implantação da República, Revolução dos Cravos.
- Holidays and festivities: Carnaval, Natal, Páscoa, Ramadão.
- Cardinal points: Norte, Sul, Este, Oeste, Ocidente, Oriente.
- Periodicals and book titles (except prepositions): Expresso, Diário de Notícias; O Crime do Padre Amaro, Viagens na Minha Terra.
- Disciplines: Linguística, Matemática, Engenharia.
- Stars and others: Sol, Júpiter, Inferno, Paraíso.
- Abbreviations and symbols: UE, AR, ONU, NATO, H2O.
Unlike English, nationality designations, week days and months are written in lower case:
Example
Source text: The Portuguese are granted a visa-free travel to the United Kingdom.
✘Os Portugueses estão isentos de visto para o reino Unido.
✓ Os portugueses estão isentos de visto para o reino Unido.
When in doubt, you can check the Vocabulário Ortográfico do Português.
3.4. Compounds
In European Portuguese, compounds can be written in a single word or separated by a hyphen. According to the Novo Acordo Ortográfico, the hyphen in compounds is used only in the following cases:
- Compounds that are composed by elements of the same syntactic category, as 2 nouns (ano-luz) 2 verbs (chupa-chupa) or 2 adjectives (surdo-mudo).
- Compounds that designate botanic or animal species (couve-flor, erva-doce, cobra-capelo, formiga-branca).
- When the prefix ends in a vowel, and the second element starts with the same vowel (micro-ondas, contra-ataque).
- Toponyms starting with grã- or grão- (Grã-Bretanha, grão-mestre), with a verbal form (quebra-nozes) or with two elements linked by an article (Trás-os-Montes).
- Compounds with the elements além-, aquém-, recém- and sem- (além-mar, aquém-Tejo, recém-nascido, sem-número).
- When the prefixes circum- and pan-, and the following element starts with a vowel, -m, -n or -h (circum-navegação, circum-murado, pan-americano).
- Compounds with the prefixes super-, inter- or hiper-, when the second element starts with -r or -h (hiper-requintado, inter-resistente, super-homem).
- Compounds with the prefixes ex-, vice- (ex-diretor, vice-rei).
- Compounds with the prefixes pós-, pré-, pró-, when the second element is an independent word (pré-história).
- When the second element starts with an h (anti-higiénico, bem-humorado, infra-humano, proto-histórico, super-homem).
The plural of the compounds is formed taking into account either the type of elements that compose the compound and the type of relationship that they have.
- If the elements have a coordination relationship, meaning that their characteristics are simultaneously applied, both elements occur in the plural: surdos-mudos, atores-encenadores, sociais-democratas).
- If the elements have a subordination relationship, meaning that the second element of the compound could also be introduced by the relative que (e.g. máquina de barbear à uma máquina que serve para barbear), only the first element occurs in the plural if the structure is Noun Preposition Noun: máquinas de barbear, caminhos de ferro, conferências de imprensa. On the other hand, if the structure is Verb-Noun, only the second element occurs in the plural: guarda-chuvas, lava-loiças.
- If the second element modifies the first one, both elements occur in plural: escolas primárias, grandes superficies, guerras civis.
Given that there are quite a few exceptions with regard to written form of compounds, when in doubt, always check Portal da Língua Portuguesa, Dicionário Priberam or Vocabulário Ortográfico do Português.
3.5. Diacritics
In European Portuguese, each word has only one stressed syllable, which may or may not be marked with a diacritic. The most used accent to mark stressed vowels is the acute (´), which can be placed over all vowels, but a circumflex accent can also be used when the vowel is closed. The diacritics are used as follows:
- Words stressed in the antepenultimate syllable are always written with a diacritic (lástima, débito, estímulo, vitória, música, mecânico).
- Words stressed in the last syllable are marked with an acute accent when ending in:
- -a, -e, -o (papá, café, avó, avô);
- diphthongs -eu, -ei and -oi (papéis, chapéu, herói).
- Words stressed in the last syllable are NOT marked with an acute when ending in –i, -u and -z (rubi, peru, juiz).
- Words stressed in the penultimate are NOT marked with an acute accent except:
- words ending in -i and -u (táxi, lápis, vírus);
- words ending in -l, -n, -r, -x e -ps (nível, pólen, néctar, tórax, bíceps).
There’s also the grave accent (`), which is used in the contraction of the following elements, and it’s only placed over the vowel a:
- prepositions and articles: à (a + a), às (a + as);
- prepositions and demonstrative pronouns: àquilo (a + aquilo), àquele (a + aquele).
The circumflex accent (^) can be placed over the vowels a, e and o, and is mostly used:
- to change some pronunciations, closing the vowel (tem têm; pôr vs. por);
- to distinguish some homophonous (pêlo pelo).
Note that some words are NOT written with a circumflex accent:
- cor, flor, dispor, propor,
- words with double vowels (voo, veem).
The tilde (~) is only placed over the vowels a and o, and is used to mark a nasal sound (manhã, irmão, pães, cãimbra, leões).
The cedilla (ç) is placed under the letter c only before the vowels a, o and u to indicate the pronunciation /s/ (raça, caroço, açúcar). The cedilla is NOT used with the letters e and I (cerco, cinco).
The diaresis (¨) can be use when writing foreign words or a word derived from a foreign name (Müller, mülleriano).
When in doubt, always check Portal da Língua Portuguesa, Dicionário Priberam or Vocabulário Ortográfico do Português.
3.6. Foreign words
There are some foreign words that have equivalents in European Portuguese in order to be closer to the Portuguese writing and pronunciation. In these cases, it is recommended to use the Portuguese word and avoid the foreign word.
Examples
bowling (EN) → bólingue (PT)
crochet (FR) → croché (PT)
édredon (FR) → edredão (PT)
hamburger (EN) → hambúrguer (PT)
poster (EN) → póster (PT)
troika (RU) → troica (PT)
However, there are many foreign words that do not have equivalents in Portuguese. In this case, keep the original word and write it in italics whenever possible: copyright, ex-aequo, smörgåsbord, kamikaze.
When in doubt, check the Dicionário de Estrangeirismos and the Dicionário de formas não adaptadas.
3.7. Language variety
European Portuguese (PT-EU) presents some syntactic and lexical differences concerning Brazilian Portuguese (PT-BR). The most frequent are the following.
- Different use of pronouns
In PT-EU, it is more common to place the oblique pronoun after the verb, preceded by a hyphen (enclisis), while in PT-BR it is preferable to place it before the verb (proclisis).
Example
Source text: They offered me a proposal.
PT-EU: Eles ofereceram-me uma proposta.
PT-BR: Eles me ofereceram uma proposta.
- Different use of verb forms
In PT-EU the infinitive verb preceded by a preposition is preferable to the use of the gerund. Also, some lexical choices of past participle are different.
Example
Source text: Looking forward to hear from you soon.
PT-EU: Ficarei a aguardar notícias suas.
PT-BR: Ficarei aguardando notícias suas.
Source text: The proposal was accepted.
PT-EU: A proposta foi aceite.
PT-BR: A proposta foi aceita.
- Different use of possessive pronouns
Contrary to Brazilian Portuguese, in European Portuguese the possessive pronouns are always preceded by definite articles.
Examples
Source text: Laura Jean Baker was her teacher and her eyes danced as she smiled.
PT-EU: Laura Jean Baker era a sua professora e os seus olhos dançavam enquanto ela sorria.
PT-BR: Laura Jean Baker era sua professora e seus olhos dançavam enquanto ela sorria.
Source text: If the email isn’t in your inbox, be sure to check the spam folder.
PT-EU: Se o mail não estiver na sua caixa de entrada, certifique-se de verificar a pasta de spam.
PT-BR: Se o mail não estiver em sua caixa de entrada, certifique-se de verificar a pasta de spam.
- Different use of persons of speech
In PT-BR, it is much more common to use the third person (você) instead of the second person (tu), and it is not a matter of register (formal or informal). On the other hand, in PT-EU, you should never use the third person (você) in formal register (it should be omitted), and, in informal register, the second person pronouns (tu, te, ti, teu, etc.) are commonly used.
Examples
Source text: I recommend you to send back the product with a flaw.
PT-EU: Recomendo que Ø envies o produto com defeito de volta. [informal]
PT-EU: Recomendo que Ø envie o produto com defeito de volta. [formal]
PT-BR: Recomendo que você envie o produto com defeito de volta.
Source text: You can order your card here.
PT-EU: Ø Podes solicitar o teu cartão aqui. [informal]
PT-EU: Ø Pode solicitar o seu cartão aqui. [formal]
PT-BR: Você pode solicitar o seu cartão aqui.
Source text: A card will be issued for you.
PT-EU: Será emitido um cartão para ti. [informal]
PT-EU: Será emitido um cartão para si. [formal]
PT-BR: Será emitido um cartão para você.
Source text: Our system will automatically call you back.
PT-EU: O nosso sistema irá ligar-te automaticamente. [informal]
PT-EU: O nosso sistema irá ligar-lhe automaticamente. [formal]
PT-BR: O nosso sistema irá ligar para você automaticamente.
Different from PT-EU, in PT-BR the oblique pronoun ‘si’ is used only in some specific cases, like ‘entre si’, ‘por si só’, ‘si mesmo’, but never in contexts like ‘para si’.
- Different use of diacritics
There are some differences between PT-EU and PT-BR regarding the use of diacritics (acute vs circumflex vs none).
PT- EU |
PT-BR |
EN |
verificámos |
verificamos |
verified |
jogámos |
jogamos |
played |
eletrónico |
eletrônico |
electronic |
académico |
acadêmico |
academic |
Examples
Source text: The following electronic devices are suitable for this case.
PT-EU: Os seguintes dispositivos eletrónicos são adequados para este caso.
PT-BR: Os seguintes dispositivos eletrônicos são adequados para este caso.
Source text: Click on this button to access your academic profile.
PT-EU: Clique neste botão para aceder ao seu perfil académico.
PT-BR: Clique neste botão para acessar ao seu perfil acadêmico.
- Different lexicon
When we compare the two varieties of Portuguese, we realize that a series of words used in PT-EU are not the same as those found in PT-BR. You can find some comparison below:
PT-PT |
PT-BR |
EN |
pequeno almoço |
café da manhã |
breakfast |
casa de banho |
banheiro |
bathroom |
telemóvel |
celular |
cell phone |
autocarro |
ônibus |
bus |
sumo |
suco |
juice |
comboio |
trem |
train |
paragem |
ponto de ônibus |
bus stop |
chávena |
xícara |
tea/coffee cup |
utilizador |
usuário |
user |
aplicação |
aplicativo |
app |
frigorífico |
geladeira |
fridge |
eléctrico |
bonde |
tram |
papaia |
mamão |
papaya |
guarda-redes |
goleiro |
Goalkeeper |
carta de condução |
carteira de motorista |
driving license |
boleia |
carona |
ride |
gelado |
sorvete |
Ice-cream |
hospedeira de bordo |
comissária de bordo |
stewardess |
sistema operativo |
sistema operacional |
operating system |
ecrã |
tela |
screen |
comprovativo de morada |
comprovante de endereço |
proof of address |
definições |
configurações |
settings |
chamada |
ligação |
call |
lixívia |
água sanitária |
bleach |
fato |
terno |
suit |
talho |
açougue |
butcher |
biberão |
mamadeira |
feeding bottle |
rebuçado |
bala |
sweet |
banda desenhada |
quadradinhos |
cartoon |
agrafador |
grampeador |
stapler |
confusão |
bagunça |
mess |
equipa |
equipe/time |
team |
t-shirt |
camiseta |
t-shirt |
fato de banho |
maiô |
swimming suit |
sanita |
vaso |
toillet seat |
aceder |
acessar |
to access |
carregar |
apertar |
to press |
Examples
Source text: Your account details are in your App.
PT-EU: Os dados da sua conta estão na sua aplicação.
PT-BR: Os dados da sua conta estão em seu aplicativo.
Source text: If you are a registered user, you will receive a bonus.
PT-EU: Se for um utilizador registado, receberá um bónus.
PT-BR: Se você for um usuário registrado, receberá um bônus.
- Different orthography
There are also some differences regarding orthography that is notable to mention, as you can see below.
PT- EU |
PT-BR |
EN |
contacto |
contato |
contact |
golo |
gol |
goal |
registo |
registro |
register |
registar |
registrar |
to register |
Teerão, Amsterdão, Roterdão |
Irã, Teerã, Amsterdã, Roterdã |
Iran, Tehran, Amsterdam |
Example
Source text: If you are a registered user, you will receive a bonus.
PT-EU: Se for um utilizador registado, receberá um bónus.
PT-BR: Se você for um usuário registrado, receberá um bônus.
3.8. Numerals
Regarding numerals format (written in numbers or words), you must always respect the source text: if they are written as digits in the source text, this should be maintained in the translation; on the other hand, if they are written as words, they should be translated to the target language.
- Use a whitespace to indicate groups of thousands, contrary to English, which uses a comma.
Example
Source text: 50,000
✘ 50,000
✓ 50 000
However, please note that if the number is composed by only 4 digits, there is no whitespace or any other type of punctuation.
Example
Source text: 1,000
✘ 1,000
✘ 1 000
✓ 1000
- Use a comma to indicate the decimal place, contrary to English, which uses a period.
Example
Source text: 89.15%
✘ 89.15%
✓ 89,15%
Also note that some numbers differ in English and in European Portuguese. Portuguese uses the term bilião to refer to a million millions (1 000 000 000 000), while English uses ‘billion’ to refer to a thousand millions (1 000 000 000).
Example
Source text: Planet Earth has more than 7 billion people.
✘ O planeta Terra tem mais de 7 biliões de pessoas.
✓ O planeta Terra tem mais de 7 mil milhões de pessoas.
3.9. Symbols
In Portuguese, symbols are always placed after the number and are separated by a whitespace.
Example
Source text: We support to a maximum amount of €40.
✘ Cobrimos até ao montante máximo de €40.
✘ Cobrimos até ao montante máximo de 40€.
✓ Cobrimos até ao montante máximo de 40 €.
There are however some exceptions to the whitespace rule. Thus, the symbols, %, ºC and ºF are never separated by a whitespace.
Example
Source text: Beverages containing more than 1.2% alcohol by vol. pay more taxes.
✘ As bebidas que contenham mais do que 1,2 % de álcool pagam mais impostos.
✓ As bebidas que contenham mais do que 1,2% de álcool pagam mais impostos.
Measure symbols (cm, km, h, l, etc.) are also separated by a whitespace and NEVER have dots or plural form.
Examples
Source text: 300 km
✘ 300 km.
✘ 300 kms
✓300 km
Source text: I’ll arrive in 2 h, more or less.
✘ Chego daqui a 2 h. aproximadamente.
✘ Chego daqui a 2 hs, aproximadamente.
✓Chego daqui a 2h aproximadamente.
When in doubt, check the Vocabulário Ortográfico do Português.
4. Punctuation
4.1. How to use punctuation marks
- Comma | ,
Please take into account the basic rules for the use of commas.
- To delimit parenthetical clauses or modifiers.
Example
Source text: When John Smith, our manager, gives the approval, we will get in touch with you.
✘ Quando John Smith o nosso gerente der autorização, entraremos em contacto consigo.
✓ Quando John Smith, o nosso gerente, der autorização, entraremos em contacto consigo.
- To enclose vocatives.
Example
Source text: Javier, remember to set up the reunion.
✘ Javier lembra-te de marcar a reunião.
✓Javier, lembra-te de marcar a reunião.
- To replace an elided verb.
Example
Source text: Quality is our objective; cooperation, our mean.
✘ A qualidade é o nosso objetivo; a cooperação o nosso meio.
✓ A qualidade é o nosso objetivo; a cooperação, o nosso meio.
- After connectors that are at the beginning of the sentence, such as isto é, a saber, ou seja, em primeiro lugar, por um lado, por outro lado, por último, nesse caso, When they are in the middle of the sentence, include them between commas.
Example
Source text: These words are synonyms, in other words, they mean the same.
✘ Estas palavras são sinónimas isto é têm o mesmo significado.
✓ Estas palavras são sinónimas, isto é, têm o mesmo significado.
- Before adversative conjunctions, such mas, porém, contudo, todavia, no entanto, não obstante, ainda assim, and alike conjunctions introducing consequence or results.
Example
Source text: We compromise to deliver it to you as soon as possible, but we can’t guarantee a precise date.
✘ Comprometemo-nos a entregá-lo assim que possível mas não podemos precisar a data exata.
✓ Comprometemo-nos a entregá-lo assim que possível, mas não podemos precisar a data exata.
- After adverbial complements that are at the beginning of the sentence. When they are in the middle of the sentence, include them between commas.
Examples
Source text: In those first summer days, the coexistence between residents was perfect.
✘ Naqueles primeiros dias de verão a convivência entre os residentes era perfeita.
✓ Naqueles primeiros dias de verão, a convivência entre os residentes era perfeita.
Source text: The coexistence between residents in those first summer days was perfect.
✘ A convivência entre os residentes naqueles primeiros dias de verão era perfeita.
✓ A convivência entre os residentes, naqueles primeiros dias de verão, era perfeita.
- With adverbial expressions that end in –mente (principalmente, nomeadamente, designadamente, etc.).
Example
Source text: Such diseases are mostly caused by stress.
✘ Tais doenças são causadas principalmente pelo stress.
✓ Tais doenças são causadas, principalmente, pelo stress.
- After a subordinate clause that precedes the main clause.
Example
Source text: If you’re going to be late, warn me.
✘ Se chegares tarde avisa-me.
✓ Se chegares tarde, avisa-me.
- Unlike English, Portuguese does not employ the ‘Oxford comma’ rule (i.e. a comma placed before ‘and’ in an enumeration).
Example
Source text: The report includes an introduction, three chapters and a conclusion.
✘ O relatório contém uma introdução, três capítulos, e uma conclusão.
✓ O relatório contém uma introdução, três capítulos e uma conclusão.
- On the other hand, you can put a comma before the conjunction e when the subjects that are being coordinated are different.
Example
Source text: He packed his stuff, and she never spoke to him again.
✘ Ele fez as malas e ela nunca mais falou com ele.
✓ Ele fez as malas, e ela nunca mais falou com ele.
- Note that subject and predicate are NEVER separated by a comma.
Example
Source text: The report written by a certifying company includes several attachments.
✘ O relatório elaborado pela empresa certificada, contém vários anexos.
✓ O relatório elaborado pela empresa certificada contém vários anexos.
- Colon | :
- The colon is used to introduce a list of items. Please bear in mind that the word after the semi-colon should be written in lowercase.
Example
Source text: The report includes three parts: introduction, development and conclusion.
✘ O relatório contém três partes, introdução, desenvolvimento e conclusão.
✓ O relatório contém três partes: introdução, desenvolvimento e conclusão.
- The colon is also used to introduce reported speech.
Example
Source text: The director said, “We are well on track”.
✘ O diretor disse, “Estamos no bom caminho”.
✓ O diretor disse: “Estamos no bom caminho”.
- Semicolon | ;
- It can be used to delimit elements in a list, especially in more complex sentences. Also, the word after the semi-colon should be written in lowercase.
Example
Source text: The report should include three parts: introduction, with a brief presentation of the suppositions; development, with an explanation of the process; and conclusion.
✓ O relatório deverá conter três partes: introdução, com a apresentação breve dos pressupostos; desenvolvimento, com a explicação do processo; e conclusão.
- Period | .
- Periods are used to indicate the end of sentence or to mark abbreviations, as seen above.
- Exclamation mark | !
- The exclamation point is used to mark an exclamation or an imperative sentence.
Examples
Source text: Congratulations!
✘ Parabéns.
✓ Parabéns!
Source text: Please, do not click on the green button!
✘ Por favor, não clique no botão verde.
✓ Por favor, não clique no botão verde!
- Question mark | ?
- The question mark is used to mark an interrogative sentence.
Example
Source text: Did you receive my message?
✘ Recebeste a minha mensagem.
✓ Recebeste a minha mensagem?
- Quotation marks | “ ” « »
- Quotation marks can be used to indicate quotations, and in reported speech.
Example
Source text: The minister said: “There is no compensation”.
✘ O ministro disse: Não haverá lugar a indemnização.
✓ O ministro disse: “Não haverá lugar a indemnização”.
- When using a foreign word (“blitzkrieg”) or when using a word in a special or ironic sense (Os “patrões” do futebol).
- Hyphen | -
- The hyphen can be used to separate the elements in some compounds (saca-rolhas) and to separate personal pronouns form the verb (disse-me).
- Dash | –
- Portuguese only has one dash, which can be used to indicate direct or reported speech, as well as to delimit parenthetical clauses or modifiers
Example
Source text: The report – delivered by hand – was ordered to Deloitte.
✓ O relatório – entregue em mão – foi encomendado à Deloitte.
- Round brackets | ( )
- Brackets can be used to indicate parenthetical clauses or modifiers.
Example
Source text: The form (available on our website) must be signed by the party’s representative.
✓ O impresso (disponível no nosso site) deve ser assinado pelo representante da parte.
4.2. Punctuation in greetings and closings
A comma should always be used in greetings and closings.
Examples
Source text: Dear colleague,
✘ Caro colega
✘ Caro colega.
✓ Caro colega,
Source text: Hello,
✘ Olá
✘ Olá.
✓ Olá,
Source text: Best regards,
✘ Com os meus melhores cumprimentos
✘ Com os meus melhores cumprimentos.
✓ Com os meus melhores cumprimentos,
When in the greeting we have the expression is Olá followed by a noun, the noun must appear between commas.
Example
Source text: Hello Pedro,
✘ Olá Pedro,
✓ Olá, Pedro,
5. Register
5.1. Grammatical and Lexical Registers
Register refers to the level of formality used in the text. It shows how our clients address their customers and contributes to the voice of the brand itself. Register may vary depending on the company, the brand, the service they offer, the customers, and the target language.
We make a first main distinction between grammatical and lexical register: the first one regards the the use of pronouns and verb person (for the languages to which this morphological feature is applied), while the latter is related to lexical choices, since some words and expressions also have a degree of formality or colloquialism.
Both these registers are also divided into formal and informal, as shown below.
5.2. Formal Register
Unless there is some degree of familiarity between speakers, the formal register should always be used. Although the form você is considered part of the formal register, you should avoid it, as it might be considered rude by many Portuguese speakers.
Category |
Examples |
Type of Register |
How to address the speaker |
o senhor, a senhora os senhores, as senhoras |
Grammatical |
Verbs (person used to conjugate the verb) |
3rd person (don’t use você) ✓A senhora deseja inscrever-se? ✓As senhoras desejam inscrever-se? |
Grammatical |
Possessive pronouns |
seu / sua seus / suas vosso / vossos vossa / vossas consigo / convosco |
Grammatical |
Greetings |
Olá, (preferred) Olá, [proper name], (preferred) Caro(a) + proper name (preferred) Caro Senhor, Cara Senhora, |
Lexical |
Closings |
Cumprimentos Com os melhores cumprimentos, Com elevada estima, Atenciosamente, Atentamente, Cordialmente, Respeitosamente, |
Lexical |
IMPORTANT: Please note that the table above is primarily applicable to standard email communications. Legal documents, court proceedings, official correspondence or reports that reference high-ranking individuals often employ more formal and respectful forms of address not included in this table. When translating content that mentions or addresses individuals of high rank, always take into account the specific context and the intended audience to ensure appropriate levels of formality and respect.
5.3. Informal Register
If there is some degree of familiarity between speakers, the informal register should always be used.
Category |
Examples |
Type of Register |
Personal pronouns |
tu, vocês |
Grammatical |
Verbs (person used to conjugate the verb) |
2nd person (personal pronouns can be omitted) ✓Queres inscrever-te? ✓ Querem inscrever-se? |
Grammatical |
Possessive pronouns |
teu / tua teus / tuas vosso / vossos vossa / vossas contigo / convosco |
Grammatical |
Greetings |
Olá |
Lexical |
Closings |
Até breve, Até à próxima, Cumprimentos, |
Lexical |
6. Localization challenges
6.1. Proper nouns
Proper nouns refer to unique entities, such as persons, places, organizations, brands, events, etc. As foreign proper nouns are concerned, languages may adopt different rules regarding whether they should be translated or kept in the original language. When editing a text, you should follow your languages rules for all different types of proper nouns listed below. However, please note that if there is a glossary provided by the client that includes these types of units, you should always apply the glossary items.
6.1.1. Persons
Usually, you should not translate people names to Portuguese.
Example
Source text: Hello John,
✘ Olá, João,
✓Olá, John,
Regarding celebrities or fictional characters, if the name is usually translated or adapted to Portuguese, you should use the common form.
Examples
Source text: Queen Elizabeth II
✓ Rainha Isabel II
Source text: Martin Luther
✓ Martinho Lutero
If there is no tradition of translating the name, keep the original form: Martin Luther King, William Shakespeare, Harry Potter.
6.1.2. Places
Some place names have a standard adapted form: Antuérpia, Cantuária, Edimburgo, Estrasburgo, Munique, Muralha de Adriano.
On the other hand, others are kept untranslated: Glasgow, Frankfurt, Liechtenstein, Liverpool, Oxford, Stonehenge, Kuwait.
When in doubt, check the Dictionário de Gentílicos e Topónimos.
6.1.3. Organizaitons
If there is a standard adapted form for foreign organization, you should use it.
Examples
Source text: United Nations
✓ Organização das Nações Unidas
Source text: Cambridge University
✓ Universidade de Cambridge
You should keep the original form if there is no adapted form: London School of Economics, King’s College, The National Gallery.
6.1.4. Brands and products
Brand names and products are usually kept in the original form, unless there is an accepted adaptation: Sony, Apple, Microsoft, American Express.
6.1.5. Other entities
Art works, events and other denominations should be translated when there is accepted adapted form.
Example
Source text: The Tempest and The Merchant of Venice are plays by William Shakespeare.
✓A Tempestade e O Mercador de Veneza são obras de William Shakespeare.
If there isn’t an accepted translation, keep the original name: Titanic, Guernica, Woodstock.
6.2. Acronyms and initials
Acronyms and initials are usually written with capital letters. If there is a translation of an initialism or acronym in Portuguese, use this form.
Examples
EN: ECB (European Central Bank)
PT: BCE (Banco Central Europeu)
EN: EU (European Union)
PT: UE (União Europeia)
EN: WHO (World Health Organization)
PT: OMS (Organização Mundial de Saúde)
EN: VAT (Value Added Tax)
PT: IVA (Imposto sobre o Valor Acrescentado)
In many cases, the original form is standardly used in Portuguese: NASA, FBI, CIA, BBC, EFTA, NAFTA, NATO, UNESCO, UNICEF, FAQ, PIN, CEO, CTO, UEFA, FIFA. Thus, if there is no accepted translation, always keep the original form.
Please note that initials NEVER have plural forms.
Example
✘ DVDs
✓ DVD
Also note that in some cases, the original initialism or acronym has to be translated fully.
Examples
Source text: ATM
✓ multibanco
Source text: MP
✓ deputado
Also note that there are some nouns derived from acronyms that are written with lower case, such as sida and laser.
When in doubt, check the Initials and Abbreviations Dictionary.
6.3. Date format
English differs from other languages by using, in general, the format mm/dd/yy. This means that, when translating into Portuguese, references to date need to be changed to a dd/mm/yy format.
Example
Source text: The form should be delivered until 4/30/2019.
✘ O impresso deverá ser entregue até 4/30/2019.
✓ O impresso deverá ser entregue até 30/04/2019.
6.4. Time format
English differs from other languages by using, in general, a 12-hour format, followed by am/pm. This means that references to time need to be changed to a 24-hour format when translating into Portuguese.
Example
Source text: The train arrives at 4 PM.
✘ O comboio chega às 4 PM.
✓ O comboio chega às 16 h.
✓ O comboio chega às 16h00.
6.5. Measures
Measures should always keep the format of the source text and should never be converted. You should only translate them when they have an equivalent term in your language. This means that, when translating measure terms expressed in Imperial units (e.g. inch, foot, yard, mile, acre, ounce, pound, gallon), you should only translate the term to Portuguese.
Example
Source text: 300 miles
✘ 300 km
✓ 300 milhas
Abbreviations should be kept: 2 ft, 20 cm.
6.6. Currency
Keep the currency values as they appear in source text and translate only the currency.
Example
Source text: 100 pounds
✘ 100 euros
✓ 100 libras.
In Portuguese, the currency symbols (€, $, £, etc.) are placed after the numbers, followed by a whitespace.
Example
✘ € 1000
✘ 1000€
✓ 1000 €
Currency initials are written after the number, followed by a whitespace.
Example
✘ EUR1000
✘ 100EUR
✓ 1000 EUR
7. Most frequent errors
- Lexical Selection
Lexical Selection is one of the most frequent errors in Portuguese translations. As words are polysemous (i.e. may have different meanings), and a word in the source text can be translated to different words in the target text depending on the context, you should pay special attention when editing machine translation texts.
Examples
Source text: You must look out for fraudulent websites.
✘ Tem de olhar para os sites fraudulentos.
✓ Tem de ter cuidado com os sites fraudulentos.
Source text: Your connection is too slow.
✘ A tua conexão está muito lenta.
✓ A tua ligação está muito lenta.
- False Friend
The occurrence of false friends (i.e. words that are graphically similar to the source ones but have a completely different meaning in the target language) is also frequent.
Examples
Source text: The client bought the product eventually.
✘ O cliente, eventualmente, comprou o produto.
✓ O cliente, por fim, comprou o produto.
Source text: You’ll have all our support to solve the problem.
✘ Terá todo o nosso suporte para resolver o problema.
✓ Terá todo o nosso apoio para resolver o problema.
- Register
The way that people are addressed in the customer support messages differ from client to client. Please, pay special attention to the required register in the text. If it’s formal, you should use formal pronouns (always avoiding the word você) and verb forms (third-person singular, as in pode, avise, escolha, diga, etc.). On the other hand, if the required register is informal, you must use informal pronouns (tu) and verb forms (second-person singular, as in podes, avisa, escolhe, diz, etc.).
Examples
Source text: Thanks for reaching out. [informal]
✘ Obrigado por nos contactar.
✓ Obrigado por nos contactares.
Source text: We have attempted to replicate your issue but haven’t been able to. [formal]
✘ Tentámos replicar o teu problema, mas não foi possível.
✓ Tentámos replicar o seu problema, mas não foi possível.
8. Useful online resources
Monolingual European Portuguese dictionaries
Dicionário Aberto de Calão e Expressões Idiomáticas
Monolingual Brazilian Portuguese dictionaries
Official guide to Portuguese Orthography
VOP – Vocabulário Ortográfico do Português
Portuguese verb conjugators
Style guides
Agência Lusa – Livro de Estilo
Código de Redação Interinstitucional da União Europeia
Vade mecums (hardcopy only)
Linguistic troubleshooting
Ciberdúvidas da Língua Portuguesa
Priberam – Dúvidas Linguísticas
Specialized terminology
InterActive Terminology for Europe
Thesaurus de Acervos Científicos em Língua Portuguesa
IATE - European Union Terminology
Bilingual dictionaries
English verb conjugator
English grammar guide
English dictionaries
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online
Thesauruses
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