Ordinal Numbers in Portuguese

In Brief

Portuguese ordinal numbers show position in a sequence: primeiro “first,” segundo “second,” terceiro “third,” and so on. They behave like adjectives, so their endings agree with the gender and number of the noun: o primeiro dia, a primeira vez, os primeiros dias. In abbreviations, Portuguese marks that ending too: 1.º for masculine and 1.ª for feminine.

Overview

Cardinal numbers tell you how many: um, dois, três (“one, two, three”). Ordinal numbers tell you which position something has: primeiro, segundo, terceiro (“first, second, third”). You need them for floors, chapters, attempts, prizes, stages, school years, rankings, and many other everyday sequences.

This is an A1 topic because the first ten forms are common and the basic rule is simple. Unlike English ordinals, however, Portuguese ordinals agree with the noun they describe. Gender means the noun’s grammatical class, masculine or feminine; number means singular or plural. The ordinal normally changes its ending to match both.

The beginner goal is to recognize and use the forms from first to tenth. Later, you can add larger ordinals and learn where everyday Portuguese prefers a cardinal number instead.

How It Works

The first ten ordinal numbers

The most useful forms are built on the masculine singular form shown in dictionaries. Change final -o to -a for a feminine noun, and add -s for the plural.

Number	Masculine singular	Feminine singular	English
1	primeiro	primeira	first
2	segundo	segunda	second
3	terceiro	terceira	third
4	quarto	quarta	fourth
5	quinto	quinta	fifth
6	sexto	sexta	sixth
7	sétimo	sétima	seventh
8	oitavo	oitava	eighth
9	nono	nona	ninth
10	décimo	décima	tenth

Pay attention to the written accents in sétimo and décimo. The other forms in this list do not have an accent mark.

Agreement with the noun

An ordinal is usually an adjective—a word that describes a noun. It agrees with the noun, not with the person speaking or the person involved.

Noun pattern	Ordinal pattern	Example	Meaning
masculine singular	-o	o primeiro dia	the first day
feminine singular	-a	a primeira vez	the first time
masculine plural	-os	os primeiros dias	the first days
feminine plural	-as	as primeiras semanas	the first weeks

The article often makes the agreement easy to see: o primeiro, a primeira, os primeiros, as primeiras. If the noun is omitted because it is already understood, the ordinal keeps the appropriate form:

• Qual foi a tua primeira tentativa? — A segunda. — “Which was your first attempt? — The second.”
• A primeira tentativa falhou; a segunda resultou. — “The first attempt failed; the second worked.”

In a competition, you will also hear em primeiro lugar, em segundo lugar, and em terceiro lugar. Here the visible noun is masculine lugar, so the masculine form is used regardless of who finishes there: Ela ficou em primeiro lugar.

Position before the noun

In their normal sequencing meaning, ordinals usually come before the noun:

• o terceiro dia — the third day
• a quinta página — the fifth page
• o décimo capítulo — the tenth chapter

This differs from the broad beginner rule that many Portuguese descriptive adjectives follow the noun. An ordinal identifies a place in an ordered series, and placing it before the noun is the usual neutral pattern.

Ordinals can appear after names or titles in formal labels, especially when written as Roman numerals: Pedro II, Capítulo IV, século XXI. These conventions are discussed under Advanced Use.

Written abbreviations

Portuguese abbreviations use a numeral, a full stop, and a raised masculine or feminine ending:

Form	Read as	Typical example
1.º	primeiro	1.º andar
1.ª	primeira	1.ª vez
2.º	segundo	2.º capítulo
2.ª	segunda	2.ª edição
3.os	terceiros	3.os classificados
3.as	terceiras	3.as tentativas

The raised signs º and ª are not the degree symbol. Standard careful writing includes the full stop: 1.º, not 1º. In plain-text situations where superscript characters are inconvenient, formats vary, but use the standard form whenever possible.

Ordinals above ten

You do not need all of these at A1, but the system continues:

Number	Portuguese	English
11	décimo primeiro	eleventh
12	décimo segundo	twelfth
20	vigésimo	twentieth
21	vigésimo primeiro	twenty-first
30	trigésimo	thirtieth
40	quadragésimo	fortieth
50	quinquagésimo	fiftieth
100	centésimo	hundredth

Compound ordinals are written as separate words, normally without e (“and”): vigésimo primeiro, not vigésimo e primeiro. Their parts agree with the noun: a vigésima primeira edição and os vigésimos primeiros candidatos. In real life, large ordinals are much less frequent than the first ten, and speakers often choose a cardinal construction instead.

Examples in Context

Portuguese	English	Note
É a minha primeira vez em Lisboa.	It is my first time in Lisbon.	Feminine singular agrees with vez.
Hoje é o terceiro dia do curso.	Today is the third day of the course.	Masculine singular agrees with dia.
Ela mora no segundo andar.	She lives on the second floor.	A common use in addresses and buildings.
Leiam o quarto capítulo.	Read the fourth chapter.	The ordinal normally precedes the noun.
Esta é a quinta pergunta.	This is the fifth question.	Pergunta is feminine.
Chegámos à sexta etapa do projeto.	We have reached the sixth stage of the project.	Sexta agrees with etapa.
O autocarro para na sétima paragem.	The bus stops at the seventh stop.	Keep the accent in sétima.
Foi a oitava reunião deste mês.	It was the eighth meeting this month.	Feminine singular.
Ele ficou em nono lugar.	He finished in ninth place.	Lugar is masculine.
Celebraram o décimo aniversário da empresa.	They celebrated the company’s tenth anniversary.	Keep the accent in décimo.
Os primeiros dias foram difíceis.	The first days were difficult.	Masculine plural agreement.
As segundas tentativas correram melhor.	The second attempts went better.	Feminine plural agreement.
Consulte a 21.ª página.	See page 21.	Read vigésima primeira página.
A Ana chegou em primeiro lugar.	Ana finished in first place.	Masculine because the phrase contains lugar.

Common Mistakes

Copying the English form without agreement

• Wrong: a primeiro vez
• Right: a primeira vez
• Why: English “first” never changes, but Portuguese primeiro agrees with feminine vez.

Forgetting plural agreement

• Wrong: os primeiro dias
• Right: os primeiros dias
• Why: Both the article and ordinal must match plural dias.

Using a cardinal when an ordinary sequence needs an ordinal

• Wrong: o dois capítulo
• Right: o segundo capítulo or o capítulo dois
• Why: Before the noun, use an ordinal for “the second chapter.” A cardinal can label the item after the noun: “chapter two.”

Putting e inside a compound ordinal

• Wrong: a vigésima e primeira página
• Right: a vigésima primeira página
• Why: Unlike cardinal vinte e um, compound ordinal vigésimo primeiro normally has no e.

Using the degree symbol

• Wrong: 1° andar
• Right: 1.º andar
• Why: The standard abbreviation uses a full stop plus the masculine ordinal indicator º. The degree symbol ° belongs to measurements such as temperature and angles.

Matching the person instead of the expressed noun

• Wrong: A Ana ficou em primeira lugar.
• Right: A Ana ficou em primeiro lugar.
• Why: The ordinal agrees with masculine lugar, not with Ana.

Usage Notes

European and Brazilian Portuguese

The core forms and agreement rules are the same in both major varieties. Vocabulary around the ordinal can differ, and floors deserve special care. In Portugal, rés do chão is the ground floor and primeiro andar is normally the level above it. Brazilian usage and individual buildings may label the street-level floor differently, often with térreo. When an address matters, check the building’s numbering rather than relying only on an English translation.

Spelling also varies in surrounding vocabulary: European Portuguese commonly uses projeto under the current spelling agreement as does Brazilian Portuguese, while pronunciation differs; none of this changes the ordinal itself.

Dates usually use cardinal numbers

English uses ordinals when reading dates (“the fifteenth of August”), but Portuguese normally writes and says the day as a cardinal number: 15 de agosto (quinze de agosto). The major exception is the first day of a month, for which primeiro is common: primeiro de maio.

Do not mechanically turn every English date ending in “-th” into a Portuguese ordinal. The third of June is normally três de junho, not terceiro de junho.

Labels can use cardinals

When a number functions as a label rather than a rank, Portuguese often places a cardinal after the noun:

• capítulo dois — chapter two
• página vinte e um — page twenty-one
• linha quatro — line four

The corresponding ordinal emphasizes ordered position: o segundo capítulo, a vigésima primeira página, a quarta linha. Both patterns can point to the same item, but the cardinal label is especially convenient with larger numbers.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

You do not need to master the following conventions at A1, but you will meet them in books, history, formal documents, and names.

Roman numerals

Roman numerals commonly follow nouns and names: século XXI, Capítulo IV, João Paulo II, D. Pedro I. The written numeral does not show gender. Its spoken reading depends on convention and size. Smaller numerals after royal or papal names are commonly read as ordinals—João Paulo II is João Paulo Segundo. Century numbers and larger numerals are often read with cardinals—século XXI is commonly século vinte e um. Usage can vary by context, so learn frequent names and labels as complete expressions.

Ordinals used as nouns or adverbs

An ordinal can stand alone when the noun is understood: Fui o primeiro a chegar (“I was the first to arrive”). The feminine or plural changes with the people referred to: Ela foi a primeira; Nós fomos os primeiros.

Some ordinal forms also work adverbially, meaning the order in which actions happen: Primeiro, lê o texto; segundo, responde às perguntas (“First, read the text; second, answer the questions”). In everyday speech, primeiro is especially common in this role. Because it is functioning as an adverb here rather than describing a noun, it stays in the masculine singular form.

Fractions are related but not identical

Forms such as um décimo (“one tenth”) can name fractional parts, but fractions have their own patterns and vocabulary. Knowing décimo helps, yet do not assume that every large ordinal automatically gives you the everyday name of a fraction.

Practice Tips

1. Build four-form groups. Take one ordinal each day and say all four forms aloud: primeiro, primeira, primeiros, primeiras. Then attach a noun to each form.
2. Label a real sequence. Number ten pages, tasks, stops, or days and describe them: a primeira tarefa, a segunda tarefa, a terceira tarefa. Real sequences make the meaning easier to remember than an isolated list.
3. Contrast ordinals with cardinals. Practice pairs such as dois capítulos / o segundo capítulo and vinte e uma páginas / a vigésima primeira página. This prevents English date and numbering habits from taking over.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Cardinal Numbers — review quantity numbers such as um, dois, três before contrasting them with sequence and rank.
• Related use: Time & Dates — learn when Portuguese dates use cardinal numbers and when primeiro appears.