Ways to say it
| Portuguese | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| género | /ˈʒɛ.nɨ.ɾu/ (Portugal) | Portugal, masculine |
| sexo | /ˈsɛk.su/ (Brazil) /ˈsɛk.su/ (Portugal) |
masculine |
Género is the term used when discussing social gender identity or grammatical gender, such as masculine or feminine. Sexo is the standard term used when referring specifically to biological sex, especially in medical or formal contexts.
Which one should you use?
While género can refer to social gender, sexo is the term used to specify biological sex. In formal discussions regarding personal gender identity, the phrase Identidade de Gênero is the appropriate term to use.
Is it said differently in some regions?
género is a form used in Portugal.
How does it change in a sentence?
género is a masculine noun and is therefore used with masculine articles such as o (the) or um (a).
How do you pronounce it?
The word género is pronounced /ˈʒɛ.nɨ.ɾu/. It has three syllables, and the stress is on the 1st of 3 syllables.
Did you know?
- The word sexo shares a common root with the Latin verb 'secare', which means 'to cut', relating to the ancient idea of dividing things into parts.
- In Portuguese, the word género is used not only for identity but also to describe a category of art, such as 'film genre' or 'musical genre'.
- While género is the standard term in Portugal, you will often see it spelled as gênero with a circumflex accent in Brazil.
Examples in context
- Alguns peixes podem mudar de sexo.Some fish are able to change their gender.This sentence is useful for illustrating how to use the word sexo in a biological context.Tatoeba #904035 by alexmarcelo, translation #560498 by darinmex
- Independente do sexo dessa pessoa, ela é feminista.Regardless of that person’s gender, they are a feminist.This sentence shows the use of sexo when discussing a person's identity.Tatoeba #8191260 by josivangoncalves, translation #8190528 by bpeel
- Hipismo é o único evento olímpico que mistura ambos os sexos.Equestrian is the only mixed-gender Olympic event.This sentence demonstrates how sexos (the plural of sexo) is used to describe mixed-gender events.Tatoeba #904031 by alexmarcelo, translation #329064 by fcbond
- O gênero gramatical do substantivo deve concordar com o artigo.The grammatical gender of the noun must agree with the article.
- A identidade de gênero de uma pessoa pode não corresponder ao seu sexo atribuído ao nascer.A person's gender identity may not correspond to their assigned sex at birth.
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Juliana and Rodrigo are filling out a registration form.
- JulianaRodrigo, qual é o teu género?Rodrigo, what is your gender?
- RodrigoSou do género masculino.I am of the masculine gender.
- JulianaEu vou colocar feminino aqui.I will put female here.
- RodrigoEstá correto, Juliana.That is correct, Juliana.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “gender” translations and entries género, sexo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries género, sexo, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
