De, Da, and Do in Portuguese: A Practical Guide to the Contractions
Remember de, da, and do by checking whether the next noun needs the article a or o in the sentence.
Real Life Portuguese · 6 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
De often expresses “of” or “from,” but the English translation does not determine whether Portuguese uses a contraction. First identify the noun phrase that follows. If it uses the masculine article o, de + o combines as do. If it uses the feminine article a, de + a combines as da.
Start with what de means in the sentence
This means learning the gender of a noun can help you choose the contraction. Save vocabulary with its article—o mercado, a chave—instead of trying to guess from the English word.
a capital do Brasil
the capital of Brazil
a chave da porta
the key to the door
um copo de água
a glass of water
Look for contractions in everyday descriptions
Possession, origin, material, and descriptions all give you opportunities to see this pattern. The noun and its article matter: “o café do Brasil” contracts because Brasil is used here with o, while “a comida da Bahia” contracts with a. Phrases become easier to recognize when you hear them as complete chunks.
Do not contract de automatically before every word. Names, materials, and generic nouns without an article can keep de separate. The choice depends on the structure and the expression, so use examples from real context rather than a rule that says every “of” must become do or da.
Ela é de Recife.
She is from Recife.
O sabor do café é forte.
The coffee’s flavor is strong.
A comida da Bahia é famosa.
Bahian food is famous.
Practice the pattern with a noun you already know
When you learn a noun, make a short phrase with de and check whether the article appears in the meaning you intend. “O mapa da cidade” (the map of the city) uses a because cidade is feminine; “o nome do restaurante” (the restaurant’s name) uses o because restaurante is masculine.
Other Portuguese prepositions also contract with articles, such as em + o = no and em + a = na. Learn those as separate patterns, and avoid extending the de rule to them without checking which preposition you have.
O nome do restaurante está no mapa.
The restaurant’s name is on the map.
A porta da casa está aberta.
The house’s door is open.
Comprei um copo de vidro.
I bought a glass cup.
Put it into practice
Write two short phrases with masculine nouns and two with feminine nouns, then underline the article that controls de. For the related building block, read the Real Life Portuguese beginner guide to gender and articles; the I Speak Portuguese source expands the contraction examples.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “Bahian food is famous”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
This guide is an original Real Life Portuguese adaptation of an earlier article from I Speak Portuguese.
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.