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pa

Portuguese, preposition

pa is spelled P-A (2 letters) and appears 15 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 5,286th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Pa is a Portuguese preposition meaning “syncopic form of para” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a feminine singular of po; nonstandard form of pra. With an accent, pá is a different word: “shovel; spade (tool for digging and moving material)”. The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “para, pra”.

What does pa mean in English?

preposition

  1. 1

    colloquialsyncopic form of para

contraction

  1. 1

    colloquialfemininefeminine singular of po; nonstandard form of pra

noun

as pá
  1. 1

    feminineshovel; spade (tool for digging and moving material)

  2. 2

    femininewindmill blade

  3. 3

    femininethe end of a paddle or oar with the blade

  4. 4

    Portugalfeminineshoulder, chuck (cut of meat)

  5. 5

    femininea substantial quantity of things

noun

as pá
  1. 1

    Portugalinformalmasculinedude; mate (term of informal address)

interjection

as pá
  1. 1

    Portugalinformaldude; man

interjection

as pá
  1. 1

    bam, boom

particle

as pá
  1. 1

    BrazilcolloquialinformalIndicates aposiopesis.

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

How Portuguese dictionaries define it

abbreviation: 1. Estado do Pará 2. póstero-anterior

preposition: 1. para, pra

noun: 1. instrumento que consiste de uma lâmina larga ligada a um longo cabo e que é usada para pegar, remover e jogar fora materiais como terra, neve, carvão, etc. 2. instrumento que consiste de uma lâmina larga ligada a um longo cabo num ângulo perpendicularmente ou a um cabo curto e que é usada para pegar, remover e jogar fora materiais considerados lixo 3. quantidade que se pode carregar em uma pá 4. lâmina longa e chata em aparelhos e equipamentos diversos

noun: 1. deus grego que em Roma foi chamado de Lupércio ou Lupercus

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 pa

  • pás plural

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

English words that translate to pa

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

How common is pa in Portuguese?

pa appears 15 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).

What to look up after pa