pena
Portuguese, noun/ˈpẽ.nɐ/
pena is spelled P-E-N-A (4 letters) and appears 191 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 489th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Pena is a Portuguese feminine noun meaning “punishment” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a third-person singular present indicative of penar. The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “castigo; punição; sanção”.
What does pena mean in English?
noun
- 1
femininepunishment
- 2
femininepain; sadness
interjection
- 1
pity (what a shame, what a pity)
noun
- 1
femininefeather
- 2
femininequill (pen made from a feather)
- 3
feminineobsoleteobsolete form of penha
verb
- 1
third-person singular present indicative
- 2
second-person singular imperative
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
noun: 1. castigo; punição; sanção 2. desgosto; tristeza; dor; aflição 3. cada um dos órgãos cutâneos que revestem o corpo das aves 4. utensílio munido de bico para escrever
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 pena
- penas plural
- penna alternative
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce pena?
- Brazil /ˈpẽ.nɐ/
- Portugal /ˈpe.nɐ/
- Portugal /ˈpɛ.nɐ/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to pena
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is pena in Portuguese?
pena appears 191 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).