personagem
Portuguese
Etymology
From French personnage; synchronically, persona (“persona”) + -agem.
Pronunciation
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /pɨɾ.su.ˈna.ʒɐ̃j̃/
- Hyphenation: per‧so‧na‧gem
Noun
personagem m, f (plural personagens)
- a character in a story
Usage notes
The word personagem has three different rules for gender inflection, all correct and widely used:
- Always feminine: a personagem João e a personagem Maria ― the character John and the character Mary
- Always masculine: o personagem João e o personagem Maria ― the character John and the character Mary
- Agreeing with the person: o personagem João e a personagem Maria ― the character John and the character Mary
The choice is up to the speaker or writer. However, it is advised keeping one particular style throughout the text for consistency.