Guidance for Portuguese

[PMtranslator]

Last update: January 15, 2026

If you have any comments, suggestions, questions or need for an arbitration, create a topic in the Style Guide section, the Language Lead will get back to you.

Here you will find the guidance for Brazilian Portuguese, but you should also consider the guidance for all languages.

Capitalization

• Capitalize only the first letter of a sentence and the names of people, products or places.
• Always apply your language conventions rather than adhering to the English source.
• When the first letter of a sentence bears an accent, accentuate the capital letter. Example: “À medida que”.
• When the writing of a word is tolerated with and without capitalization, choose its version without capitalization (examples: página web, sítio web).

Capitalize

• Proper names
Proton Mail
Proton VPN
NetShield
• Command/Folder names and keywords (first word only)
Abrir
Fechar
Registar as modificações
• First word of a sentence, title or subtitle
Consulte as informações da sua oferta.

Do not capitalize

• Words like internet and web, except when they are the first word of a sentence
• Words after colon when in the same line
Nota: consulte as instruções
• Nationalities and languages
a nacionalidade portuguesa
escrever em português
• Names of days, months and seasons
domingo
janeiro
inverno

Gender

• We want to be as inclusive as possible, so we try to be neutral, but we use gender-specific nouns and verbs if remaining neutral goes against the writing best practices for a specific language.
• Basic principles:

• When possible, avoid the use of masculine singular form to refer to someone whose gender is unknown.
• Don’t suggest the reader’s gender using a specific grammatical form. If you cannot use forms that are gender-free, rephrase the sentence.

English	We avoid	We prefer
If you’re not satisfied, we’ll refund your payment in full within 30 days.	Se não estiver satisfeito, reembolsaremos o seu pagamento na totalidade no prazo de 30 dias.	Se o serviço não corresponder às suas expectativas, reembolsaremos o seu pagamento na totalidade no prazo de 30 dias.
I am happy to help you.	Estou feliz por o ajudar.	Tenho o prazer de ajudar.
If you are interested in Proton Mail…	Se estiver interessado(a) no Proton Mail…	Se o Proton Mail for do seu interesse…
I am not used to this tool.	Não estou habituado(a) a esta ferramenta.	Não tenho o hábito de utilizar esta ferramenta.

• You can use passive language to avoid gender-specific verbs, but only if it doesn’t hurt readability and/or make the sentence sound unnatural.
• Apply the masculine form when an adjective, verb, or another part of speech refers to multiple nouns with different genders.
• Rephrase when you are unable to find a gender-neutral way.

The gender and number of the acronym are determined by the gender and number of the translation for the governing noun of the extended form. Here is an example: VPN (Virtual Personal Network) is feminine because the translation of “network” (“rede”) is feminine.

Abbreviations

Whenever possible, avoid using abbreviations.

Abbreviate the text only when you lack space (mainly buttons, option names or strings with specific character limitations) or when you need to ease the text readibility. Instead of abbreviating (e.g., 4 or 5 consecutive words), summarize a term or a phrase in 2 or 3 words that can be written in full.

General criteria for shortening words:
• Omit at least two letters
• Truncate a word so that it ends with a consonant and place a period after it
• When a word contains a double consonant, truncate it at the second one and place a period after it

Examples:

• Transcription Transcr.
• Correction Corr.

Days abbreviations (in calendars, agendas, timetables… the names of days are written without a period for visual purposes):

English	Translation	Abbreviation
Monday	segunda-feira	seg.
Tuesday	terça-feira	ter.
Wednesday	quarta-feira	qua.
Thursday	quinta-feira	qui.
Friday	sexta-feira	sex.
Saturday	sábado	sáb.
Sunday	domingo	dom.

Months abbreviations (in calendars, agendas, timetables… the names of months are written without a period for visual purposes):

English	Translation	Abbreviation
January	janeiro	jan.
February	fevereiro	fev.
March	março	mar.
April	abril	abr.
May	maio	maio
June	junho	jun.
July	julho	jul.
August	agosto	ago.
September	setembro	set.
October	outubro	out.
November	novembro	nov.
December	dezembro	dez.

Acronyms

• Common examples are VPN (Virtual Personal Network), DNS (Domain Name Server), HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), etc.
• The most common acronyms and their translations are included in the glossary. Always refer to the glossary when localizing acronyms.
• The gender and number of the acronym are determined by the gender and number of the translation for the main noun of the extended form.
API (Application Programming Interface) is feminine because the translation of “interface” (“interface”) is feminine.
• To choose the appropriate article to use in front of an acronym, consider the gender and the euphonic effect.
The API A API
• Commonly used acronyms do not need explanations (DVD, LED, TV, etc.).
• When an acronym is repeated several times in the same section, include its extended form in parentheses only for its first occurrence.

Pronouns

• English, especially technical English, is more redundant than some other languages.
• When translating, you often need to reduce the redundancy of the source text using pronouns. This may otherwise affect the text readability. However, this must not affect accuracy.
• When translating technical and complex strings, ensure users can associate pronouns to the noun they refer to.
• Avoid the use of possessive pronouns when possible.
• Omit pronoun subjects such as “we” and “you".

English	We avoid	We prefer
Contacts successfully imported. The imported contacts will now appear in your contact list.	Os contactos foram importados com sucesso. Os contactos importados aparecerão agora na sua lista de contactos.	Os contactos foram importados com sucesso. Estes aparecerão agora na sua lista de contactos.
Events successfully imported. The imported events will now appear in your calendar.	Os eventos foram importados com sucesso. Os eventos importados aparecerão agora no seu calendário.	Os eventos foram importados com sucesso. Estes aparecerão agora no seu calendário.

Gerunds (“ing” ending)

• Gerunds are used in English, such as in “Creating a report”.
• In portuguese, they can be translated using the format “A + verb in infinitive”.

English	Context	We avoid	We prefer
Generating keys	Action or title	Gerando chaves	A gerar chaves
Importing	Action or title	Importando	A importar
Importing data from %1s to %2s	Action or title	Importando dados de %1s para %2s.	A importar dados de %1s para %2s

Punctuation

Period

• For the period at the end of a sentence (subject + verb), adapt the source to your language usage: when the English source does not put a period at the end of the sentence (subject + verb), but should in your language, add it in your translation. In this case, make sure that the text you are translating is not a part of a longer sentence (this is usually specified in the context).
• Include a period at the end of each extended sentence in a bullet list if this sentence has a full meaning by itself.
• Unless the item includes more than one sentence, do not place any periods at the end of titles, links, nominative phrases, buttons and checkboxes.

English	We avoid	We prefer
This footer is added after your signature	Este rodapé é adicionado após a sua assinatura	Este rodapé é adicionado após a sua assinatura.
Impossible to load content. Please enable Chrome	Não foi possível carregar o conteúdo. Ative o Chrome	Não foi possível carregar o conteúdo. Ative o Chrome.
This message will expire in %s	Esta mensagem vai expirar em %s	Esta mensagem vai expirar em %s.
Signature verification error.	Erro de verificação da assinatura.	Erro de verificação da assinatura
Unknown error.	Erro desconhecido.	Erro desconhecido

Exclamation mark

• Exclamation marks are used to give emphasis.
• As their use is less common than in English, you should use them sparingly: feel free to change an exclamation mark into a period if it is more natural, but please don’t change a period into an exclamation mark.

English	We avoid	We prefer
The PIN codes must match!	Os códigos PIN devem corresponder!	Os códigos PIN devem corresponder.
Can’t create a SRP verifier!	Não foi possível criar um verificador SRP!	Não foi possível criar um verificador SRP.
You have %d new emails!	Tem %d novos e-mails!	Tem %d novos e-mails.
Theme reset! Redirecting…	Reposição do terma! A redirecionar…	O tema está a ser reposto. A redirecionar…
Importing contacts complete!	Importação dos contactos concluída!	A importação dos contactos foi concluída.

Parentheses

• Parentheses are used to clarify statements or provide additional information.
• Let’s avoid parentheses as much as possible and adapt to the context.

English	We avoid	We prefer
Please choose a display name to finish setting up your account. (Other people will see this.)	Escolha um nome a apresentar para terminar de configurar a sua conta. (Outras pessoas irão vê-lo.)	Escolha um nome a apresentar, que será visto por outras pessoas, para terminar de configurar a sua conta.
We also support importing vCard. (UTF-8 encoding)	Também suportamos a importação de vCard. (codificação UTF-8).	Também suportamos a importação de vCard (codificação UTF-8).

Comma

Do not place a comma before “e” and “ou” when the conjunction is used to link two related terms.

English	We avoid	We prefer
You can also add, delete, and edit them by clicking…	Também os pode adicionar, eliminar, e editar ao clicar…	Também os pode adicionar, eliminar e editar ao clicar…
Assign permissions to users, or groups	Atribuir permissões a utilizadores, ou grupos	Atribuir permissões a utilizadores ou grupos

Colon and semicolon

• There is no capital letter starting the word that follows the semicolon.

English	We avoid	We prefer
Date: Old to new	Data: Da mais antiga para a mais recente	Data: da mais antiga para a mais recente

Em dash (—), en dash (–), hyphen (-)

• In English, an Em or En dash is used to demarcate an isolated element, to introduce an item that is not essential to the sentence’s meaning, to emphasize a sudden change in thought or to bring focus to a list.
• In portuguese, the em-dash can be used to add additional information to a sentence, as parenthesis and in dialogues. There are always spaces on both sides of the em-dash.
• For data ranges, you should use an en-dash (no spaces before or after the en-dash) or translate with “entre … e”.
• The en-dash is also used for mathematical equations (subtraction). In this case, it has spaces on both sides. Additionally, it is used as minus sign indicating negative numbers. In this case, there is no space between the sign and the number value, Finally, the en-dash is used to connect two equal elements being in logical connection.

English	We avoid	We prefer
In case the default value is unsuitable for a particular network, enter a value within 1280–1500 range.	Se o valor predefinido não for adequado para uma rede específica, introduza um valor entre 1280-1500.	Se o valor predefinido não for adequado para uma rede específica, introduza um valor entre 1280 e 1500.
Secure access to your favorite content from other countries — Now available on Android TV.	Acesso seguro ao seu conteúdo preferido de outros países - Agora disponível na Android TV.	Acesso seguro ao seu conteúdo preferido de outros países — Agora disponível na Android TV.
September 10 - 20	10 - 12 setembro	10–12 setembro

Quotation marks

• Use these specific quotation marks: « example ».
• Place the period outside the closing quotation mark.
• You can use these keyboard shortcuts on Windows:
o Opening quotation mark => hold down the “Alt” key while typing the number “0171”
o Close quotation mark => hold down the “Alt” key while typing the number “0187”
o Unbreakable space => hold down the “Alt” key while typing the number “0160” or “Ctrl + Shift + Space”.

English	We avoid	We prefer
The “From:” address is invalid. Please change it to a valid one	O endereço “De:” é inválido. Introduza um válido.	O endereço «De:» é inválido. Introduza um válido.
Are you sure you want to delete this calendar? “%1$s” will be set as default calendar.	Tem a certeza que pretende eliminar este calendário? “%1$s” será definido como o calendário predefinido.	Tem a certeza que pretende eliminar este calendário? «%1$s» será definido como o calendário predefinido.
File “${ name }” was deleted during download	O ficheiro “$ { name }” foi eliminado durante a transferência	O ficheiro «$ { name }» foi eliminado durante a transferência.

Ampersand (&)

Replace “&” with “e” unless it is part of a company/product name or a registered trademark.

Spacing and non-breaking spaces

• Use non-breaking spaces to prevent improper division of elements such as product names, part numbers, numbers, dates, etc.
• When using currency symbols or units of measurement, include a non-breaking space between number and sign. There should be no space in percentages.
• To insert a non-breaking space using your keyboard:
o On Windows, hold down the “Alt” key while typing the number “0160” or hold the keys “Ctrl + Shift + Space”.
o On Apple, Ctrl + Option⌥ + Space bar.

English	Portuguese	[non-breaking space]
30%	30 %	30%
5€	5 €	5[non-breaking space]€
1 GB	1 GB	1[non-breaking space]GB

Numbers

• Replace the period that stands for the decimal point in American English with a comma in your translations.
3.75 3,75
• For numbers smaller than 1, always put a zero before the decimal comma.
.5 0,5
• The period in app/software version numbers remains unchanged.
Proton Mail v.3
• As a thousand separator (only for thousands with 5 or more digits), use a non-breaking space. Never use thousand separators in years.
5,500, 15,000 and year 2015 5500, 15 000 e ano de 2015
• Time and date:
o Hours and minutes are separated by a colon. Use the 24 hour format to specify A.M. and P.M.
at 9:25 P.M às 21:25
o The date format is “dd/mm/yy”.
01-31-22 (mm/dd/yy) 31/01/22

Ordinal numbers

• Ordinal numbers may be written in with numerals and period, followed by º/ª (depending on the gender), where the suffix acts as an ordinal indicator.
• Singular: graphical rendition of the suffix depends on the gender.
• Plural: in case of plural, we prefer to use the complete word.

English	Singular M	Singular F	Plural M	Plural F
1st	1.º	1.ª	primeiros	primeiras
2nd	2.º	2.ª	segundos	segundas
3rd	3.º	3.ª	terceiros	terceiras
4th	4.º	4.ª	quartos	quartas
5th	5.º	5.ª	quintos	quintas
6th	6.º	6.ª	sextos	sextas
7th	7.º	7.ª	sétimos	sétimas
8th	8.º	8.ª	oitavos	oitavas
9th	9.º	9.ª	nonos	nonas
10th	10.º	10.ª	décimos	décimas

Currencies

• Do not convert USD ($) or EUR (€) amounts to any local currency.
• Place the USD or EUR code or the symbol €, $ after the number and separate it with a non-breaking space from the number.
Amount of €30 Montante de 30 € or Montante de 30 EUR

Units of measurement

• Use the metric system.
• Insert a non-breaking space between a number and the relevant unit.
• Convert imperial units into metric units.
6 feet 1,83 m

Category	Measurement unit	Translation	Abbreviation
LINEAR	Kilometer Meter Centimeter Millimeter	Quilômetro Metro Centímetro Milímetro	km m cm mm
MASS	Ton Kilogram Pound	Tonelada Quilograma Libra	t kg lb
IMPERIAL	Inch Feet Mile Gallon	Polegada Pé Milha Galão	pol. ft. mi gal
COMPUTING	Byte (B) Megabyte (MB) Gigabyte (GB) Terabyte (TB)	Byte Megabyte Gigabyte Terabyte	B MB GB TB

Form of address

Use the third-person singular (“você”) form of address (formal). However, do not write “você” (the word). Omit the word, but conjugate the verb in that person.
Open navigation Abra a navegação.
This is for you. Isto é para si.

English/US terms and formulations

Please

Please is often used in English to introduce an instruction.
• Instead of a literal translation, we will not translate it to keep the sentences short and the style lighter.
Please try again later Tente novamente mais tarde

And more

And more (as well as “and much more”) is a very US formulation to end sentences. Instead of a literal translation:
• As part of a list, we replace it by “etc.”.
Access your streaming services, like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and many others, no matter where you are. Aceda a vários serviços de streaming, como Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, etc., em qualquer lugar.
• In other situations, we repeat/specify the subject concerned.
When it comes to securing your business, we’re here to help with our encrypted email, calendar, VPN, and much more. Quando se trata de proteger a sua empresa, estamos aqui para ajudar com os nossos e-mails encriptados, o nosso calendário, a nossa VPN e muitas outras funcionalidades.

Now

Now, as in “buy now” or “download now”, is also a very US formulation. Instead of a literal translation, we will simply not translate it.
Get Proton VPN now Obter Proton VPN

Successfully

Successfully is also a very US formulation. Instead of a literal translation, we don’t translate it at all.
Your Proton account was successfully created. A sua conta Proton foi criada.

Failed

Failed should not be literally translated, as much as possible.
Message decryption failed. Não foi possível desencriptar a mensagem,. (rather than “A desencriptação da mensagem falhou.”)

Formulation: let’s make sentences

Concerning formulation, let’s make sentences (subject + verb) as much as possible, even if it means moving away from the source a bit.
“Participation status updated.” “O estado de participação foi atualizado.” (rather than “Estado de participação atualizado.”)

Foreign words

• The decision about the use of foreign words (keeping it in English) rather than an equivalent term in your language is based on how widespread the use of the word is. An English term might be recommended when its use has become very common.
• To find out how common a word is, you can use internet search engines. Search for the English word and for the corresponding translation in your language on your preferred search engine. The number of occurrences in each case will be an indication of how popular the use of each word is. If in doubt for an important term, ask Proton Localization team to make an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) check.
• Foreign words might be accompanied by quotation marks or italics when their use is not widely spread. However, English words that are widely accepted for use are kept as they are in the original but do not take the ending “s” in the plural case.
• When foreign words are common and well understood, they can be left in the source language. Where necessary, add an explanation in the target language.
• Avoid using too many anglicisms.

Localizing person names

• Localize fictitious person names used for explanatory purposes, choosing a name that is generic but not stereotypical.
Please enter your display name (e.g. Julia Smith) Introduza o seu nome a apresentar (por exemplo, Maria Rodrigues)
• Do not localize real persons’ names.
Bart Butler is a senior engineer at Proton Mail Bart Butler é um engenheiro superior do Proton Mail

Localizing domains and email addresses

Localize fictitious domain names and e-mail addresses used for explanatory purposes:
• Translate the local-part of an e-mail address
user@ utilizador@
• Translate the domain name
yourdomain.com oseudomínio.pt
• Use your target country code at the end
.com .pt

English	Translation
Proton Mail allows you to keep your business email address (you**@yourcompany.com**).	O Proton Mail permite-lhe manter o seu endereço de e-mail profissional (utilizador**@asuaempresa.pt**).
Receive all email sent to addresses in your domain that do not exist (e.g., “mistake@yourdomain.com”).	Receba todos os e-mails enviados para endereços no seu domínio que não existam (por exemplo, «erro@oseudomínio.pt»).

However, do not localize any real email addresses or domain names.
To reset your mailbox password, please use the web version of Proton Mail at proton.me
Para repor a palavra-passe da sua caixa de correio, utilize a versão web do Proton Mail disponível em proton.me

Error/success/info messages

Structured sentences

As much as possible, translate these messages in structured sentences (subject+verb at least), in the active form and with the appropriate punctuation.

English	We avoid	We prefer
Error updating event	Erro ao atualizar o evento	Ocorreu um erro ao atualizar o evento.
Attaching Photo Failed	A anexação da fotografia falhou	Não foi possível anexar a fotografia.
Failed to determine type of file	Falha ao determinar o tipo de ficheiro	Não foi possível determinar o tipo de ficheiro.
Contact saved	Contacto guardado	O contacto foi guardado.
Address copied to clipboard	Endereço copiado para a área de transferência	O endereço foi copiado para a área de transferência.
Duplicate key updated	Chave duplicada atualizada	A chave duplicada foi atualizada.

Nominal phrases

In the case of nominal phrases, do not use a final period.

English	We avoid	We prefer
Authentication error.	Erro de autenticação.	Erro de autenticação
Unknown error.	Erro desconhecido.	Erro desconhecido
Primary key error.	Erro da chave principal.	Erro da chave principal

Full and clear negation

Use full and clear negation whenever possible as this ensures that there can be no confusion for users, even when reading quickly.

English	We avoid	We prefer
Invalid email address	Endereço de e-mail inválido	O endereço de e-mail não é válido.
No results found	Nenhum resultado encontrado	Não foram encontrados resultados.

Localizing CTA (Call To Action) buttons

Depending on the content (support, landing page…) and on the location of the CTA button, the infinitive or the 3rd person singular can be used. Check and validate with the language lead.
• For neutral instructions or additionnal information, use infinitive:
Copiar a ligação
Transferir
Descobrir todas as funcionalidades
Saber mais
Ver as ofertas de emprego atuais
• For formulations such as “Get Proton XX” or “Create an Account”, use infinitive:
Obter Proton for Business
Obter uma conta gratuita
Escolher uma subscrição paga
Criar uma conta gratuita
Criar uma conta de e-mail gratuita
• For engaging buttons, use 3rd person singular:
Contacte-nos
Partilhe a sua página no LinkedIn
Compre um cartão-presente
Visite a nossa página
Torne-se parceiro