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além

Portuguese, noun

além is a Portuguese masculine noun meaning “the afterlife, the beyond (supposed world or state of existence that is entered after death)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). Without its accent, alem is a different word: “pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal)…”. With an accent, alêm is a different word: “pre-reform spelling (used until 1920) of além”. The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “a outra vida”.

What does além mean in English?

adverb

  1. 1

    there, over there

  2. 2

    beyond (farther along or away)

noun

  1. 1

    masculinethe afterlife, the beyond (supposed world or state of existence that is entered after death)

adverb

as alem
  1. 1

    pre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of além

noun

as alem
  1. 1

    masculinepre-reform spelling (used until 1943 in Brazil and 1911 in Portugal) of além

adverb

as alêm
  1. 1

    pre-reform spelling (used until 1920) of além

noun

as alêm
  1. 1

    masculinepre-reform spelling (used until 1920) of além

verb

as alem
  1. 1

    third-person plural present subjunctive

  2. 2

    third-person plural imperative

Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How Portuguese dictionaries define it

adverb: 1. mais adiante 2. naquele lugar; acolá 3. longe

noun: 1. a outra vida

prefix: 1. posterior a

The definition in the Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), in Portuguese.

Source: Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário), dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.

Forms of além

  • alens plural
  • alêm alternative
  • alem alternative
  • alêns plural
  • a.lém- canonical

Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).

English words that translate to além

Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.

How common is além in Portuguese?

além appears 525 times per million words in written Portuguese.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).