personagem
Portuguese
Etymology
Borrowed from French personnage.
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /peʁ.soˈna.ʒẽj̃/ [peh.soˈna.ʒẽɪ̯̃]
- (São Paulo) IPA(key): /peɾ.soˈna.ʒẽj̃/ [peɾ.soˈna.ʒẽɪ̯̃]
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /peʁ.soˈna.ʒẽj̃/ [peχ.soˈna.ʒẽɪ̯̃]
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /peɻ.soˈna.ʒẽj̃/ [peɻ.soˈna.ʒẽɪ̯̃]
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /pɨɾ.suˈna.ʒɐ̃j̃/
- Rhymes: (Brazil) -aʒẽj̃, (Portugal) -aʒɐ̃j̃
- Hyphenation: per‧so‧na‧gem
Noun
personagem f or m m or f by sense (plural personagens)
- character (being involved in the action of a story)
Usage notes
The word personagem has three different rules for gender inflection, all correct and widely used:
- Always feminine: a personagem João e a personagem Maria ― the character John and the character Mary
- Always masculine: o personagem João e o personagem Maria ― the character John and the character Mary
- Agreeing with the person: o personagem João e a personagem Maria ― the character John and the character Mary
The choice is up to the speaker or writer. However, it is advised keeping one particular style throughout the text for consistency.