ele
/ˈe.li/
The Portuguese word for "he" is ele.
ele is the personal pronoun used to refer to a male person as "he".
Meaning: personal pronoun "he" (pron)
Which one should you use?
While ele refers to a single male, its feminine counterpart is ela, which means "she".
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Portugal, the phrase ele próprio may be used to mean "he himself" in specific contexts.
How does it change in a sentence?
To refer to a group, you use the plural forms. For a group of men or a mixed-gender group, use eles (they). For a group consisting only of women, use elas (they).
How do you pronounce it?
The word has 2 syllables, with the stress on the 1st syllable. The IPA is /ˈe.li/.
Did you know?
- The word ele comes from the Latin ille, which originally meant 'that' rather than specifically 'he'.
- In some Brazilian dialects, people use ele in place of the indirect object pronoun lhe to say 'to him' or 'for him'.
- Because Portuguese is a gendered language, even if a group is 99% female, the word for 'they' becomes the masculine eles instead of the feminine elas.
Examples in context
- Ele é o Tom?Is he Tom?This sentence is useful for asking if ele is a specific person.Tatoeba #6774383 by Ricardo14, translation #6196259 by CK
- Ele é o Tim.He is Tim.This sentence is useful for identifying that ele is a specific person.Tatoeba #8200720 by josivangoncalves, translation #8198000 by josivangoncalves
- O que ele vê?What does he see?This sentence is useful for asking about what ele sees.Tatoeba #1180569 by alexmarcelo, translation #1179075 by araneo
- Ele é um médico excelente.He is an excellent doctor.
- O cara é muito engraçado.The guy is really funny.
- 13223 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Rodrigo and Camila are looking at a photo of a man.
- RodrigoEle é o seu irmão?Is he your brother?
- CamilaNão, ele é meu primo.No, he is my cousin.
- RodrigoEle parece muito simpático.He looks very friendly.
- CamilaSim, ele é um ótimo rapaz.Yes, he is a great guy.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “he” translations and entries ele, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ele, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
