Brazilian Portuguese Grammar

Use of the hyphen

One of the most complicated topics in the language is to know when to use a hyphen to separate compounds. Although the rules aren't arbitrary, they can be quite complicated, so the only way to spell words correctly is to commit these rules to memory or always check words in the dictionary. Don't forget that you aren't dealing with an artificial language: there are exceptions.

Element	Hyphen?	Example	Therefore, without a hyphen...
ab	before r	ab-rogar *to abrogate*	absolvição *absolution*
ad	before r	ad-rogar *to adopt*	advento *advent*
além	always	além-mar *overseas*	Alentejo *Alentejo*
ante	before h, r, s	ante-sala *ante-room*	anteprojeto *anteproject*
anti	before h, r, s	anti-rábica *antirabic*	antibiótico *antibiotic*
auto	before vowels, h, r, s	auto-estrada *highway* auto-retrato *self-portrait*	automóvel *automobile*
contra	before vowels, h, r, s	contra-atacar *to counter-attack*	contrabando *smuggling*
extra	before vowels, h, r, s	extra-oficial *extra-official* exception: extraordinário extraordinary	extrafino *extrafine*
infra	before vowels, h, r, s	infra-estrutura *infrastructure*	infravermelho *infrared*
inter	before h, r	inter-racial *interracial*	interjeição *interjection*
intra	before vowels, h, r,	intra-uterino *intrauterine*	intravenoso *intravenous*
mal	before vowels, h, l	mal-humorado *bad-humored*	maltratar *to maltreat*
mini	before h	mini-horta *mini-market garden*	minidicionário *minidictionary*
neo	before vowel, h, r, s	neo-expressionismo *neo-expressionism*	neozelandês *New Zealander*
ob	before r	ob-rogar *to derogate*	observar *to observe*
pan	before vowels, h	pan-americano *pan-American*	panteísmo *pantheism*
proto	before vowel, h, r, s	proto-história *protohistory*	protótipo *prototype*
pseudo	before vowel, h, r, s	pseudo-esfera *pseudosphere*	pseudônimo *pseudonym*
semi	before vowel, h, r, s	semi-automático *semi-automatic*	semicírculo *semicircle*
sobre	before h, r, s	sobre-humano *superhuman*	sobrenatural *supernatural*
sub	before b, r	sub-reptício *subreptitious*	submarino *submarine*
super	before h, r	super-homem *superman*	superintendente *superintendent*
supra	before vowels, h, r, s	supra-sumo *utmost*	supracitado *above-mentioned*
ultra	before vowels, h, r, s	ultra-som *ultrasound*	ultravioleta *ultraviolet*

Now I'll try to help you learn them...take a look at the chart...did you notice that some of the elements end in a consoant while others in a vowel? First, let's separate those ending in a vowel into two categories:

1. Elements ending in a, o:

auto, contra, extra, infra, intra, neo, proto, pseudo, supra, ultra

2. Elements ending in e, i:

ante, anti, sobre, mini, semi

The elements ending in the vowels a, o take a hyphen before vowels, h, r, s.

The ones ending in the vowels e, i are more complicated:

ante	before h, r, s
anti	before h, r, s
sobre	before h, r, s
mini	before h
semi	before vowel, h, r, s

Now let's go on to the elements that end in a consonant:

ab, ad, ob, sub, inter, super, pan, mal

ab, ad, ob	before r
sub	before b, r
inter, super	before h, r
pan	before vowel, h
mal	before vowel, h, l