Pais vs. País: Parents or Country in Portuguese?
Pais means ‘parents’; país means ‘country.’ The acute accent marks a separate stressed vowel, and the plural is países.
Real Life Portuguese · 5 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
Pais is the plural of pai (father) and means ‘parents.’ It is written without an accent and pronounced as one syllable in Brazilian Portuguese. Context often makes the meaning clear: falar com os pais usually means speaking with someone’s parents.
Recognize pais as ‘parents’
The word can refer to parents generally or to a particular person’s mother and father. Use meus pais (my parents), seus pais (your parents), or the name of a person to make the relationship clear.
Meus pais moram em Recife.
My parents live in Recife.
Ela vai almoçar com os pais no domingo.
She is having lunch with her parents on Sunday.
Os pais da criança chegaram cedo.
The child’s parents arrived early.
Recognize país as ‘country’
País means ‘country.’ The accent signals that the vowels a and i are pronounced in separate syllables, with stress on í: pa-ís. Its plural is países, with the accent retained: vários países (several countries).
Compare the phrase around the word: visitar um país means visit a country, while visitar os pais means visit one’s parents. The accent is essential in writing even when a reader could infer the meaning from context.
O Brasil é um país muito diverso.
Brazil is a very diverse country.
Ela já visitou três países da América do Sul.
She has already visited three countries in South America.
Qual país você gostaria de conhecer?
Which country would you like to visit?
Put it into practice
Pais without an accent means ‘parents.’ País with an accent means ‘country,’ and países is its plural. Listen for the extra syllable in pa-ís.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “Brazil is a very diverse country”?
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