esse
Portuguese, determiner
esse is spelled E-S-S-E (4 letters) and appears 1,047 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 86th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Esse is a Portuguese determiner meaning “that (near you)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With an accent, êsse is a different word: “pre-reform spelling (used until 1971 in Brazil and 1945 in Portugal)…”.
What does esse mean in English?
determiner
- 1
that (near you)
Esse chapéu está limpo?
- 2
Brazilcolloquialthis (near me)
Esse livro é muito bom.
pronoun
- 1
that, that one (near you)
- 2
that (that one); this (this one) (indicates something already mentioned or understood from context)
Esse é o segredo para vencer.
noun
- 1
masculineThe name of the Latin script letter S/s.
- 2
masculinesomething shaped like the letter S
determiner
- 1
pre-reform spelling (used until 1971 in Brazil and 1945 in Portugal) of esse
pronoun
- 1
pre-reform spelling (used until 1971 in Brazil and 1945 in Portugal) of esse
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
pronoun: 1. pronome demonstrativo que designa indivíduo ou objeto afastado de quem fala e próxima da pessoa com quem se fala:
noun: 1. nome da décima nona letra do alfabeto latino, representada pelos símbolos "s", "S"
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 esse
- essa feminine
- esses masculine plural
- essas feminine plural
- êsse alternative
- isso neuter
- êsses masculine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to esse
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is esse in Portuguese?
esse appears 1,047 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).