velho
Portuguese, noun/ˈvɛ.ʎu/
velho is spelled V-E-L-H-O (5 letters) and appears 107 times per million words in written Portuguese, the 911th most frequent Portuguese word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Velho is a Portuguese masculine noun meaning “an old person” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) defines it as “aquele que tem mais idade”.
What does velho mean in English?
adjective
- 1
old; ancient (having existed for a long period of time)
Esta escultura é velha.
- 2
old; aged (having lived for most of the expected years)
Pararei de trabalhar depois de ficar velho.
- 3
old (that has been used for a considerable period of time)
Li um livro tão velho que as páginas ficavam caindo.
- 4
old (obsolete or out-of-date)
Essa teoria já está velha.
noun
- 1
masculineoffensivean old person
- 2
masculineslangfather
- 3
masculinehusband, especially a middle-aged or elderly one
- 4
Brazilmasculineslangan informal form of address for males of any age; bro
interjection
- 1
Brazilman!, dude! (emphatic interjection)
Source: English Wiktionary, Portuguese section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How Portuguese dictionaries define it
adjective: 1. que existe há muito tempo 2. erado, idoso 3. deteriorado, gasto pelo uso 4. antigo, antiquado, desatualizado
noun: 1. aquele que tem mais idade 2. o pai ou o marido 3. usado como interlocutório pessoal 4. lavadeira-de-cabeça-branca (Arundinicola leucocephala)
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 velho
- velha feminine
- velhos masculine plural
- velhas feminine plural
- mais velho comparative
- o mais velho superlative
- velhíssimo superlative
- velhinho diminutive
- velhão augmentative
- véio alternative Brazil pronunciation-spelling
- véi alternative Brazil pronunciation-spelling
- velho! canonical
Source: English Wiktionary and Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce velho?
- Brazil /ˈvɛ.ʎu/
- Portugal /ˈvɛ.ʎu/
- Portugal /ˈbɛ.ʎu/
Sources: English Wiktionary, Portuguese Wiktionary (Wikcionário) (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to velho
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is velho in Portuguese?
velho appears 107 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).