-ume
Portuguese, suffix/ˈũ.mi/
-ume is spelled U-M-E (3 letters) and appears about once in every 4 million words in written Portuguese, the 64,064th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). -ume is a Portuguese feminine suffix meaning “used to form nouns, derived from verbs, adjectives or other nouns, usually with a collective and pejorative connotation” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “forma substantivos com a ideia de quantidade, e sobre base verbal dá ideia de efeito”.
What does -ume mean in English?
suffix
- 1
feminineused to form nouns, derived from verbs, adjectives or other nouns, usually with a collective and pejorative connotation
curtir (“to tan”) + -ume → curtume (“tannery”)
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
suffix: 1. forma substantivos com a ideia de quantidade, e sobre base verbal dá ideia de efeito
article: 1. forma sem gênero de um ou uma
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.
How do you pronounce -ume?
- Brazil /ˈũ.mi/
- Portugal /ˈu.mɨ/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
How common is -ume in Portuguese?
-ume appears about once in every 4 million words in written Portuguese.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).