deficiente
Portuguese, noun/de.fi.siˈẽ.t͡ʃi/
deficiente is spelled D-E-F-I-C-I-E-N-T-E (10 letters) and appears 5.4 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 11,602nd most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Deficiente is a Portuguese feminine noun meaning “disabled or handicapped person” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “pessoa portadora de deficiência”.
What does deficiente mean in English?
adjective
- 1
femininemasculinedisabled (having a disability), handicapped (having a handicap)
Os empregados deficientes exigem vagas de estacionamento.
- 2
femininemasculinedeficient (lacking resources or material)
Este solo é deficiente em zinco.
noun
- 1
femininemasculinedisabled or handicapped person
Os deficientes auditivos estão aprendendo linguagem de sinais.
- 2
derogatoryfemininemasculineretarded, idiot
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. em que há deficiência 2. imperfeito
noun: 1. pessoa portadora de deficiência
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 deficiente
- deficientes plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce deficiente?
- Brazil /de.fi.siˈẽ.t͡ʃi/
- Brazil /de.fiˈsjẽ.t͡ʃi/
- Portugal /dɨ.fiˈsjẽ.tɨ/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to deficiente
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is deficiente in Portuguese?
deficiente appears 5.4 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).