Cujo and Cuja in Portuguese: How to Say ‘Whose’
Cujo agrees with the noun that follows it, not the person who owns that thing. Learn the pattern, avoid the common extra article, and see when a simpler phrase is more natural.
Real Life Portuguese · 6 min read · Updated October 15, 2026
The short answer
Cujo, cuja, cujos, and cujas mean whose and link a preceding person or thing to a noun that belongs to, relates to, or is associated with it. The form agrees with the noun after cujo, not with the owner before it.
Use cujo to connect an owner with a thing
In Conheci a escritora cujo livro ganhou um prêmio (I met the writer whose book won an award), livro is masculine singular, so the form is cujo even though escritora is feminine.
Conheci a escritora cujo livro ganhou um prêmio.
I met the writer whose book won an award.
Visitamos o bairro cujas ruas foram reformadas.
We visited the neighborhood whose streets were renovated.
Match the form to the noun that follows
Use cujo with a masculine singular noun, cuja with a feminine singular noun, cujos with masculine plural, and cujas with feminine plural. Look at the possessed noun immediately after the form to choose the ending.
In standard written usage, do not normally add the definite article between cujo and that noun. Write o pesquisador cujo estudo (the researcher whose study), rather than cujo o estudo.
O aluno cuja mãe é professora chegou cedo.
The student whose mother is a teacher arrived early.
A empresa cujos produtos são brasileiros abriu uma loja.
The company whose products are Brazilian opened a store.
Choose a simpler structure in everyday conversation
Cujo is more common in formal writing and carefully structured speech than in casual conversation. In an everyday exchange, you can often repeat the owner or restructure the sentence: o livro da escritora (the writer's book) may be clearer than a relative clause.
Use cujo when it helps you make a concise connection between two ideas. If the sentence feels difficult to follow, split it into two shorter sentences rather than forcing a formal structure into a casual conversation.
Conheci a escritora. O livro dela ganhou um prêmio.
I met the writer. Her book won an award.
Esse é o professor cujo curso eu fiz.
That is the professor whose course I took.
Put it into practice
Choose cujo, cuja, cujos, or cujas according to the noun that follows. In casual speech, a simpler phrase with de or a possessive may sound more natural.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “We visited the neighborhood whose streets were renovated”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
Keep practicing with the Real Life Portuguese app
Build on this guide with everyday expressions and native Brazilian audio. Choose iPhone, Android, or the web app.