porque
Portuguese, conjunction
porque is spelled P-O-R-Q-U-E (6 letters) and appears 1,000 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 90th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Porque is a Portuguese conjunction meaning “because (introduces a reason for that described in the previous clause)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With an accent, porquê is a different word: “reason, cause, explanation”. The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “pois, porquanto, que”.
What does porque mean in English?
conjunction
- 1
because (introduces a reason for that described in the previous clause)
Escondi-me porque tive medo.
- 2
because (introduces an explanation to a claim in the previous clause)
Aproveita a vida, porque ela é curta!
adverb
- 1
European Portuguese standard spelling of por que
Porque é que o céu é azul?
- 2
pre-reform spelling (used until 1943) of por que; now a common misspelling
adverb
- 1
why
noun
- 1
masculinereason, cause, explanation
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
adverb: 1. por que razão
pronoun: 1. com que razão
noun: 1. razão, motivo
conjunction: 1. pois, porquanto, que
conjunction: 1. causa, motivo ou razão da ação contida na oração principal; como, visto que, já que
pronoun: 1. introduz orações interrogativas; por que razão, por que motivo
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 porque
- pq alternative Internet
- perque alternative obsolete
- porq̃ alternative abbreviation obsolete
- porquês plural
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to porque
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is porque in Portuguese?
porque appears 1,000 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).