A1 Nouns & Articles 8 min read Easy

Portuguese Months & Their Gender (Always Masculine!)

All Portuguese months are masculine, so they use masculine articles like o and are never capitalized.
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Grammar Rule in 30 Seconds

In Portuguese, all twelve months are masculine nouns, meaning they always pair with 'o' or 'um'.

  • Always use masculine articles: 'O mês de janeiro' (The month of January).
  • Use masculine adjectives: 'Janeiro é frio' (January is cold).
  • Months are never capitalized in standard Portuguese: 'janeiro', 'fevereiro'.
O + [Month] + [Verb] + [Adjective]

Overview

Ever noticed how Portuguese speakers say no janeiro or em fevereiro and wondered what the deal is with no vs. em? Here's a simple secret: all months in Portuguese are masculine. Every single one. Once you get that, the rest is easy.

This isn't just some random grammar fact. It changes how you talk about everything from your birthday to when the new season of your favorite show drops on Netflix. Getting this right is a huge step toward sounding more natural.

In Portuguese, every month of the year is a masculine noun. This is a super helpful rule because it has zero exceptions. From janeiro to dezembro, they all act like masculine words. Think of them as 'the guys' of the calendar.

Because they're masculine, they use masculine articles: o (the) and um (a/an). And when you use prepositions like em (in), they often combine with the article. This is where we get words like no (which is just em + o).

We'll break that down. The key takeaway is simple: if you're talking about a month, think masculine. This little rule cleans up a lot of confusion right from the start.

You've got this.

How This Grammar Works

So, how does this 'all months are masculine' thing work in a real sentence? It's all about the article. The definite article is o (the), and the indefinite is um (a).
Let's look at the most common preposition you'll use: em (in).
  1. 1General Statements: If you're saying something happens in a month in general, you often just use em.
  • Meu aniversário é em maio. (My birthday is in May.)
  • As aulas começam em setembro. (Classes start in September.)
  1. 1Specific Statements: If you're talking about a specific month, you use the article o. And em + o squishes together to become no.
  • No verão de 2023, viajei para Portugal. (In the summer of 2023, I traveled to Portugal.)
  • A festa vai ser no próximo dezembro. (The party will be in the next December.)
It feels a bit like saying 'in the month of...' in English. You use no when the month is more specific or qualified. If you make the month the subject of the sentence, it also needs its article:
  • O agosto foi muito quente este ano. (August was very hot this year.)
Forgetting the article here is like saying "August was very hot" in English, which is fine, but Portuguese often prefers to include it for clarity. It's a small habit that makes your Portuguese sound much more polished. Just remember: em + o = no.
It's one of those little grammar hacks that, once you see it, you can't unsee it.

Formation Pattern

1
Luckily, there's no complex formation here. You just need to know the names of the months! They are all masculine nouns. The main 'pattern' is remembering to pair them with masculine articles and prepositions.
2
Here are the twelve months. Notice they are not capitalized in Portuguese, unlike in English. Writing Janeiro is a classic rookie mistake!
3
janeiro (January)
4
fevereiro (February)
5
março (March)
6
abril (April)
7
maio (May)
8
junho (June)
9
julho (July)
10
agosto (August)
11
setembro (September)
12
outubro (October)
13
novembro (November)
14
dezembro (December)
15
The key 'formation' is what happens with prepositions:
16
em + o (the month) = no
17
de + o (the month) = do
18
So you might say o calor do agosto (the heat of August) or a festa no janeiro (the party in January). The pattern is just remembering that these masculine words need their masculine buddies (o, um, no, do).

When To Use It

So when does this actually come up? All the time. You'll use it when making plans, talking about your life, or even just posting a TBT on Instagram.
Use em + [month] for general timing:
  • Texting a friend: A gente se vê em julho? (Will we see each other in July?)
  • Planning a project: A data de entrega é em novembro. (The deadline is in November.)
Use no (em + o) when the month is specific or modified:
  • Talking about a past event: No março passado, eu comecei um novo emprego. (Last March, I started a new job.)
  • Referencing a specific year: O filme foi lançado no outubro de 2022. (The movie was released in the October of 2022.)
Use just o when the month is the subject of your sentence:
  • Stating an opinion: Para mim, o setembro é o melhor mês. (For me, September is the best month.)
  • Describing something: O dezembro em Lisboa é mágico. (December in Lisbon is magical.)
And don't forget dates! When you state a specific date, you use the preposition de.
  • Hoje é 15 de janeiro. (Today is January 15th.)
  • Meu voo é no dia 2 de junho. (My flight is on the 2nd of June.)
You'll also notice months are never pluralized. It's always em todos os meses de janeiro, never janeiros. It seems weird, but it keeps things simple!

Common Mistakes

Everyone makes these mistakes at first, so don't sweat it. Just knowing what to watch out for gives you a big advantage.
  1. 1Using Feminine Articles: The biggest mistake is treating a month like a feminine word. You might see the feminine day a feira and think months follow suit. They don't.
  • ✗ A festa é na maio.
  • ✓ A festa é em maio. OR A festa é no próximo maio.
  1. 1Capitalizing the Month: Your English muscle memory will scream at you to capitalize maio, junho, abril. Fight the urge! Unless it's the very first word of a sentence, keep it lowercase.
  • ✗ Nos vemos em Setembro.
  • ✓ Nos vemos em setembro.
  1. 1Mixing up em and no: This is tricky. A good rule of thumb: if you could say "in the month of..." in English, no is probably your best bet. If you just mean "in [Month]", em is usually fine.
  • Context: General statement: Eu tiro férias em agosto. (I take vacation in August.)
  • Context: Specific August: No agosto passado, eu fui para o Brasil. (Last August, I went to Brazil.)
  1. 1Confusing junho and julho: They look and sound similar. June (junho) has that nh sound, like the 'ny' in canyon. July (julho) has an lh sound, like the 'lli' in million. It takes practice. Don't worry, even native speakers sometimes have to pause for a second.

Contrast With Similar Patterns

It's helpful to contrast months with other time-related words in Portuguese. This is where the patterns can get a little wild, so seeing them side-by-side helps.
Months vs. Days of the Week:
  • Months: All masculine. Easy. o janeiro, o fevereiro.
  • Days: Mostly feminine! a segunda-feira (Monday), a terça-feira (Tuesday)... but then you hit o sábado (Saturday) and o domingo (Sunday), which are masculine. It's a mixed bag. So while your birthday is no maio, your birthday party might be na sexta-feira. What a headache, right?
Months vs. Seasons of the Year:
  • Months: All masculine. o agosto.
  • Seasons: Mostly feminine! a primavera (spring), a estação (season). But o verão (summer), o outono (autumn), and o inverno (winter) are masculine. So you'd say no verão, which is in junho, julho, and agosto (all o months).
Months vs. The Word 'Year':
  • The Word 'Year' (ano): It's masculine, just like the months. o ano. This makes sense. O ano de 2025, o mês de janeiro. The bigger time blocks (ano, mês) and the specific months (janeiro) are all guys. It's the smaller (semana, feira) or more poetic (primavera) ones that tend to be feminine.
Thinking about it this way can help build a mental map. Months and years are masculine. Days and seasons are a messy mix. So when in doubt with a month, just default to masculine and you'll be right 100% of the time.

Quick FAQ

Q

So, every single month is masculine? No exceptions?

Yep, every single one. From janeiro to dezembro, they are all grammatically masculine. It's one of the few beautifully consistent rules!

Q

What's the difference between em abril and no abril again?

em abril is general ('in April'). no abril is more specific ('in the April'). You'd use no if you're talking about a specific April, like no abril passado (last April).

Q

Do I capitalize months like in English?

Nope! This is a big one. Always write months in lowercase unless they start a sentence. It's setembro, not Setembro.

Q

How do I say 'on January 1st'?

You use em or no dia. Em 1º de janeiro or No dia 1º de janeiro. Note that for the first of the month, you use the ordinal number primeiro (1º).

Q

Is this the same in Brazil and Portugal?

Yes, the gender of months is the same everywhere. There might be tiny differences in preferring em vs. no in some casual contexts, but the fundamental grammar is identical.

Masculine Agreement for Months

Article Noun (Month) Adjective (Masculine)
O
janeiro
frio
Um
fevereiro
curto
O
março
chuvoso
O
abril
lindo
Um
maio
quente
O
junho
festivo
O
julho
ensolarado
O
agosto
seco
O
setembro
agradável
O
outubro
fresco

Meanings

The rule that all calendar months in Portuguese are grammatically masculine, requiring masculine articles and agreement.

1

Calendar Reference

Identifying a specific month in a sentence.

“Janeiro é o primeiro mês.”

“O meu aniversário é em março.”

Reference Table

Reference table for Portuguese Months & Their Gender (Always Masculine!)
Form Structure Example
Affirmative
O + [Month]
O janeiro é bom.
Negative
O + [Month] + não
O janeiro não é quente.
Question
O + [Month] + é...?
O janeiro é frio?
Prepositional
em + [Month]
Em janeiro faz frio.
Adjectival
O + [Month] + [Adj]
O janeiro é longo.
Plural
Os + [Months]
Os janeiros são frios.

Formality Spectrum

Formal
O mês de janeiro é frio.

O mês de janeiro é frio. (Weather report)

Neutral
O janeiro é frio.

O janeiro é frio. (Weather report)

Informal
Janeiro é frio.

Janeiro é frio. (Weather report)

Slang
Janeiro tá gelado.

Janeiro tá gelado. (Weather report)

The Masculine Month Circle

Mês (Masculine)

Winter

  • janeiro January
  • fevereiro February

Spring

  • março March
  • abril April

Gender Agreement

Masculine (Months)
O janeiro The January
Feminine (General)
A mesa The table

Is it a month?

1

Is it a month?

YES
Use Masculine (O/Um)
NO
Check noun gender

The 12 Months

📅

Months

  • • janeiro
  • • fevereiro
  • • março
  • • abril
  • • maio
  • • junho
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Examples by Level

1

O janeiro é frio.

January is cold.

2

Eu gosto de março.

I like March.

3

O meu mês é julho.

My month is July.

4

Maio é um mês bom.

May is a good month.

1

O agosto passado foi quente.

Last August was hot.

2

O dezembro chega logo.

December arrives soon.

3

Não gosto do janeiro.

I don't like January.

4

O fevereiro é curto.

February is short.

1

O janeiro, sendo o primeiro mês, é muito esperado.

January, being the first month, is highly anticipated.

2

O meu aniversário cai em um outubro chuvoso.

My birthday falls in a rainy October.

3

O novembro é frequentemente associado ao outono.

November is often associated with autumn.

4

O abril é o mês das flores.

April is the month of flowers.

1

O janeiro que passou foi atípico.

The January that passed was atypical.

2

O setembro, embora quente, traz mudanças.

September, although hot, brings changes.

3

O junho é celebrado com festas.

June is celebrated with parties.

4

O outubro é um mês de transição.

October is a month of transition.

1

O janeiro, em sua frieza, convida à reflexão.

January, in its coldness, invites reflection.

2

O dezembro é, sem dúvida, o mês mais festivo.

December is, without a doubt, the most festive month.

3

O março, com suas chuvas, renova a terra.

March, with its rains, renews the earth.

4

O julho, por ser mês de férias, é muito movimentado.

July, being a vacation month, is very busy.

1

O janeiro, na sua crueza, marca o início do ciclo.

January, in its rawness, marks the beginning of the cycle.

2

O agosto, tradicionalmente o mês das férias, esvazia as cidades.

August, traditionally the vacation month, empties the cities.

3

O novembro, melancólico, encerra o ano civil.

November, melancholic, closes the civil year.

4

O fevereiro, apesar de breve, é intenso.

February, despite being brief, is intense.

Easily Confused

Portuguese Months & Their Gender (Always Masculine!) vs Days of the week

Learners think all temporal nouns follow the same gender.

Portuguese Months & Their Gender (Always Masculine!) vs Capitalization

Learners capitalize months because of English.

Portuguese Months & Their Gender (Always Masculine!) vs Preposition usage

Learners use 'em o' instead of 'em'.

Common Mistakes

✗

A janeiro

✓

O janeiro

Months are masculine.
✗

Janeiro

✓

janeiro

Months are not capitalized.
✗

O janeiro é bonita

✓

O janeiro é bonito

Adjective must agree with masculine noun.
✗

Um janeiro fria

✓

Um janeiro frio

Masculine agreement.
✗

A março

✓

O março

Masculine gender.
✗

Em a janeiro

✓

Em janeiro

Preposition 'em' doesn't take article here.
✗

O maio é linda

✓

O maio é lindo

Masculine agreement.
✗

O janeiro, que é fria

✓

O janeiro, que é frio

Relative clause agreement.
✗

Os janeiro

✓

Os janeiros

Plural agreement.
✗

O janeiro, a qual é frio

✓

O janeiro, o qual é frio

Relative pronoun agreement.
✗

O janeiro, a primeira

✓

O janeiro, o primeiro

Ordinal number agreement.
✗

O janeiro, aquela fria

✓

O janeiro, aquele frio

Demonstrative pronoun agreement.
✗

O janeiro, a mesma

✓

O janeiro, o mesmo

Agreement with 'mesmo'.

Sentence Patterns

O ___ é muito ___.

Eu gosto de ___.

O ___ passado foi ___.

O ___ é o meu mês favorito porque ___.

Real World Usage

Texting constant

Vamos viajar em janeiro?

Social Media very common

O janeiro começou bem!

Job Interview common

A vaga abre em outubro.

Travel Booking common

O voo é em maio.

Food Delivery Apps occasional

Promoção de janeiro.

Academic Calendar common

O semestre inicia em fevereiro.

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💡

Lowercase Rule

Always write months in lowercase. It's the biggest sign of a beginner vs. intermediate learner.
⚠️

Don't Guess

Don't guess gender based on the last letter. All months are masculine, even if they end in 'a' (none do, but it's a good rule).
🎯

Use 'O'

When in doubt, use 'o' as the article for months.
💬

Formal vs Informal

In formal writing, use 'o mês de [month]' to sound more professional.

Smart Tips

Always use lowercase for the month.

15 de Janeiro → 15 de janeiro

Ensure the adjective ends in 'o'.

O janeiro é fria. → O janeiro é frio.

Always pair with 'o'.

A janeiro é bom. → O janeiro é bom.

Don't add an article after 'em'.

Em o janeiro. → Em janeiro.

Pronunciation

o-janeiro

Vowel endings

Months ending in 'o' are pronounced with a closed 'o' sound in European Portuguese.

ja-NEI-ro

Stress

The stress usually falls on the penultimate syllable.

Statement

O janeiro é frio. ↘

Falling intonation for facts.

Question

O janeiro é frio? ↗

Rising intonation for questions.

Memorize It

Mnemonic

Think of the months as a group of twelve brothers. They are all 'O' (masculine) and they never wear capital letters because they are humble.

Visual Association

Imagine a calendar where every month is a small, lowercase boy wearing a blue shirt (for masculine).

Rhyme

Months are boys, this is true, always use the letter O.

Story

The twelve brothers (janeiro to dezembro) live in a house. They are all boys, so they only use blue paint. They are very modest, so they never write their names with capital letters.

Word Web

janeirofevereiromarçoabrilmaiojunhojulhoagostosetembrooutubronovembrodezembro

Challenge

Write a sentence about each month of the year using the correct masculine article and a different adjective for each.

Cultural Notes

Months are used in lowercase and are always masculine, even in informal speech.

Similar to Brazil, but formal writing often uses 'o mês de...' for clarity.

Follows standard Portuguese grammar rules for months.

Months in Portuguese come from the Roman calendar, which used masculine nouns for months (mensis).

Conversation Starters

“

Qual é o seu mês favorito?

“

O janeiro é muito frio na sua cidade?

“

Como você descreveria o agosto?

“

O que você acha do março?

Journal Prompts

Escreva sobre o seu mês favorito.
Compare o janeiro com o julho.
Descreva o que você faz em cada mês do ano.
Reflita sobre a importância dos meses na cultura.

Common Mistakes

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

Incorrect

Correct

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Test Yourself

Fill in the blank with the correct article.

___ janeiro é frio.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: O
Months are masculine.
Correct the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Janeiro é frio.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: janeiro é frio.
Months are lowercase.
Select the correct sentence. Multiple Choice

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: O maio é lindo.
Masculine agreement.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

Arrange the words in the correct order:

All words placed

Click words above to build the sentence

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: O janeiro é frio.
Correct word order.
Translate to Portuguese. Translation

The March is rainy.

Answer starts with: O m...

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: O março é chuvoso.
Masculine agreement.
Is this true? True False Rule

All months are masculine.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: True
Yes, all 12 are masculine.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: Qual é o seu mês? B: ___ é o meu.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: O janeiro
Masculine article.
Match the month to its gender. Match Pairs

Match each item on the left with its pair on the right:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Masculine
All months are masculine.

Score: /8

Practice Exercises

8 exercises
Fill in the blank with the correct article.

___ janeiro é frio.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: O
Months are masculine.
Correct the sentence. Error Correction

Find and fix the mistake:

Janeiro é frio.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: janeiro é frio.
Months are lowercase.
Select the correct sentence. Multiple Choice

Which is correct?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: O maio é lindo.
Masculine agreement.
Reorder the words. Sentence Reorder

frio / o / é / janeiro

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: O janeiro é frio.
Correct word order.
Translate to Portuguese. Translation

The March is rainy.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: O março é chuvoso.
Masculine agreement.
Is this true? True False Rule

All months are masculine.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: True
Yes, all 12 are masculine.
Complete the dialogue. Dialogue Completion

A: Qual é o seu mês? B: ___ é o meu.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: O janeiro
Masculine article.
Match the month to its gender. Match Pairs

janeiro

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Masculine
All months are masculine.

Score: /8

Practice Bank

11 exercises
Fill in the blank. Fill in the Blank

Eu vou viajar ___ `dezembro`.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: em
Find and fix the mistake. Error Correction

As flores aparecem na `primavera`, em `Abril`.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: As flores aparecem na `primavera`, em `abril`.
Which sentence is correct? Multiple Choice

Choose the best sentence:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: A formatura será em `junho`.
Put the words in the correct order. Sentence Reorder

frio / `fevereiro` / muito / foi / O / passado

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: O `fevereiro` passado foi muito frio.
Translate the following sentence to Portuguese: Translation

Last July was very sunny.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: O `julho` passado foi muito ensolarado.
Match the month with its season in Brazil (Southern Hemisphere). Match Pairs

Match the month to the season:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer:
Fill in the blank. Fill in the Blank

___ `novembro` de 2022, mudei de casa.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: No
Find and fix the mistake. Error Correction

Ele nasceu em 1 de `Maio`.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Ele nasceu em 1 de `maio`.
Which sentence is correct? Multiple Choice

How do you say 'The party is on the 2nd of February'?

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: A festa é no dia 2 de `fevereiro`.
Translate the following sentence to Portuguese: Translation

September is my favorite month.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: `Setembro` é o meu mês favorito.
Fill in the blank. Fill in the Blank

O Dia das Bruxas é ___ 31 de `outubro`.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: em

Score: /11

FAQ (8)

No, all twelve months are consistently masculine.

It is a standard orthographic rule in Portuguese, unlike in English.

Only if you are referring to a different noun that is feminine, like 'a palavra janeiro' (the word January).

Yes, standard sentence capitalization rules apply.

Yes, the rule is identical in all Portuguese-speaking countries.

Use 'em janeiro'.

Yes, 'os janeiros' (the Januaries).

The adjective must be masculine, e.g., 'o janeiro frio'.

Scaffolded Practice

1

1

2

2

3

3

4

4

Mastery Progress

Needs Practice

Improving

Strong

Mastered

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In Other Languages

Spanish high

enero, febrero...

None, they are identical in gender and capitalization.

French high

janvier, février...

None, they are identical in gender and capitalization.

German partial

Januar, Februar...

German capitalizes all nouns.

Japanese low

ichi-gatsu, ni-gatsu...

Japanese has no gender system for months.

Arabic low

yanayir, fabrayir...

Arabic months are loanwords and gender varies by usage.

Chinese low

yī yuè, èr yuè...

Chinese has no gender or conjugation.

Learning Path

Prerequisites

Previous
Portuguese Days: Why Monday is "She" and Saturday is "He"
Next
Telling Time: Minutes in Portuguese

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