nele
Portuguese, contraction
nele is spelled N-E-L-E (4 letters) and appears 62 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 1,567th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Nele is a Portuguese contraction meaning “contraction of em + ele, literally “in/on him”” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With an accent, nêle is a different word: “pre-reform spelling (used until 1971 in Brazil and 1945 in Portugal)…”. The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “contração aforística da preposição em com o pronome pessoal ele”.
What does nele mean in English?
contraction
- 1
contraction of em + ele, literally “in/on him”
noun
- 1
masculineobsoleteAn ancient French coin.
noun
- 1
Indiamasculineobsoletepaddy (unhusked rice)
contraction
- 1
pre-reform spelling (used until 1971 in Brazil and 1945 in Portugal) of nele
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
contraction: 1. contração aforística da preposição em com o pronome pessoal ele
noun: 1. arroz com casca ou em planta 2. antiga moeda francesa (valia quinze dinheiros)
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 nele
- nela feminine
- neles masculine plural
- nelas feminine plural
- nêle alternative
- nelle alternative
- n'elle alternative
- nêles masculine plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How common is nele in Portuguese?
nele appears 62 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).