What Is the Feminine of Tubarão and the Masculine of Tartaruga?

The question may look straightforward, yet it catches many people out in Portuguese. The feminine form of tubarão is not “tubaroa”, and the masculine form of tartaruga is not “tartarugo”. The correct forms are tubarão-fêmea and tartaruga-macho. This is because these words belong to a particular category of animal nouns known as epicene nouns.

What is the correct feminine form of tubarão?

The correct feminine form of tubarão is tubarão-fêmea. The word tubarão remains grammatically masculine, as that is its fixed grammatical gender. To show the animal’s sex, fêmea is added.

For that reason, it is correct to say “a female shark was seen in the area” or “the aquarium received a female shark”, although the first construction tends to sound more natural to many speakers. The important point is not to create a non-existent form such as “tubaroa”.

What is the correct masculine form of tartaruga?

The correct masculine form of tartaruga is tartaruga-macho. The word tartaruga stays feminine because that is its grammatical gender in Portuguese. The animal’s sex is specified with the word macho.

Therefore, even when the animal is male, the original noun remains unchanged. The correct phrasing is “the male turtle was examined” or “a male turtle lives in that tank”. It may seem unusual at first, but that is how this type of word works.

Why do these words not follow the usual pattern?

In Portuguese, some words have one form for males and another for females, such as gato and gata, cavalo and égua, and leão and leoa. However, this does not apply to every animal. Many species are identified by a single word regardless of sex.

These names are known as epicene nouns. They have a fixed grammatical gender, while still being able to refer to either male or female animals. To make the distinction, macho or fêmea is placed after the animal’s name.

• tubarão macho;
• tubarão-fêmea;
• tartaruga-macho;
• tartaruga fêmea;
• baleia-macho;
• cobra-macho.

What are epicene nouns?

Epicene nouns are animal names with only one grammatical gender, even when they refer to individuals of different sexes. The word may be masculine or feminine, but its form does not change to match the animal’s biological sex.

That is why Portuguese uses o jacaré macho and o jacaré fêmea, always keeping jacaré masculine. Likewise, it uses a cobra macho and a cobra fêmea, always keeping cobra feminine. The noun’s gender does not change; only the information added afterwards does.

Which other marine animals cause this confusion?

In the marine world, several examples can confuse people who expect traditional masculine and feminine forms. Baleia, for instance, is a feminine word but can refer to a male animal. In that case, Portuguese uses baleia-macho. Golfinho is generally masculine, so golfinho-fêmea is used when it is necessary to specify that the animal is female.

The practical rule is straightforward: when an animal’s name has no distinct feminine or masculine form, keep the word unchanged and add macho or fêmea. This allows Portuguese to avoid inventions such as “tubaroa” or “tartarugo” and instead use forms that are correct, clear and grammatically accepted.