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Portuguese count nouns for English mass nouns

In English, there is a large group of words known as mass nouns or uncountable nouns. These are concepts like advice, information, and furniture. Because they are treated as an undivided mass, you cannot put a number directly in front of them or make them plural. Instead, you have to add phrases like a piece of advice or an item of furniture.

Portuguese works differently. Many concepts that are strictly uncountable in English are regular countable nouns in Portuguese. You can pluralize them directly without needing any extra words. For example, conselho (advice), informação (information), and móveis (furniture) can simply take a plural s and be counted with numbers.

Word list
dever de casamA1 homework um dever de casa = homework frutafA1 fruit uma fruta = a piece of fruit lição de casafA1 homework uma lição de casa = homework músicafA1 music uma música = a song, a piece of music pãomA1 bread um pão = a bread roll roupafA1 clothes uma roupa = a piece of clothing / an outfit roupasfA1 clothes roupas = clothes trabalhomA1 work um trabalho = work trabalho de casamA1 homework um trabalho de casa = homework conselhomA2 advice um conselho = a piece of advice informaçãofA2 information uma informação = information móveismA2 furniture móveis = furniture móvelmA2 piece of furniture um móvel = a piece of furniture notíciafA2 news uma notícia = news novidadefA2 news uma novidade = news tarefa de casafA2 homework uma tarefa de casa = homework torradafA2 toast uma torrada = a piece of toast viagemfA2 travel uma viagem = travel alojamentomB1 accommodation um alojamento = a place to stay bagagemfB1 luggage uma bagagem = a piece of luggage conhecimentomB1 knowledge conhecimentos = accumulated knowledge investigaçãofB1 research uma investigação = research joiafB1 jewel uma joia = a piece of jewellery pesquisafB1 research uma pesquisa = research progressomB1 progress muitos progressos = a lot of progress raiomB1 lightning um raio = a bolt of lightning relâmpagomB1 lightning um relâmpago = a flash of lightning trovãomB1 thunder um trovão = a clap of thunder bagagem de mãofB2 carry-on uma bagagem de mão = one piece of hand luggage chicletemB2 chewing gum um chiclete = a piece of gum equipamentomB2 equipment um equipamento = equipment evidênciafB2 evidence uma evidência = a piece of evidence fofocafB2 gossip uma fofoca = a piece of gossip gíriafB2 slang uma gíria = a slang word/expression gizmB2 chalk um giz = a piece of chalk joiasfB2 jewellery joias = jewellery mexericomB2 gossip um mexerico = a piece of gossip pastilha elásticafB2 chewing gum uma pastilha elástica = a piece of gum pipocafB2 popcorn pipocas = popcorn provafB2 evidence uma prova = a piece of evidence aplausomC1 applause um aplauso = a round of applause
Communication and thought

When sharing facts or opinions in Portuguese, you can count your words literally. If you have several things to tell a friend, you might share notícia or novidade in the plural. You can also ask for two pieces of advice by asking for dois conselhos, or gather multiple pieces of information by asking for várias informações.

Eu tenho duas notícias para você.
(I have two pieces of news for you.)
Ele me deu bons conselhos.
(He gave me some good advice.)
Precisamos de mais informações sobre o projeto.
(We need more information about the project.)

This also applies to academic and professional contexts. While research and knowledge are mass nouns in English, in Portuguese a specific study is uma pesquisa or uma investigação, and both can be pluralized. Even conhecimento (knowledge) is often used in the plural to refer to specific facts learned.

O professor publicou várias pesquisas.
(The professor published a lot of research.)
Everyday objects, tasks, and food

Physical objects and daily routines often follow this rule too. Instead of saying a piece of furniture, you simply say um móvel. A collection of them is móveis. Similarly, gear or equipment translates to equipamento, which easily becomes plural. The same goes for jewelry, which is often translated as the plural joias.

Compramos três móveis para a sala de estar.
(We bought three pieces of furniture for the living room.)
O laboratório recebeu novos equipamentos.
(The laboratory received new equipment.)

When discussing your daily life, both trabalho (work) and viagem (travel) are entirely countable. Even your school assignments are countable: you can have multiple trabalho de casa tasks.

Tenho muitos trabalhos de casa para amanhã.
(I have a lot of homework for tomorrow.)

Food items that are mass nouns in English can also be counted in Portuguese. You can ask for um pão (a bread roll) or uma torrada (a piece of toast). If you go to the cinema, you might buy a bucket of pipoca, which is frequently used in the plural to mean popcorn.

Eu comi dois pães no café da manhã.
(I ate two pieces of bread for breakfast.)
Weather phenomena

English uses specific phrases to count weather events, such as a bolt of lightning or a clap of thunder. In Portuguese, these are single, countable nouns. A lightning flash is um relâmpago or um raio, and a sound of thunder is um trovão.

Nós vimos um relâmpago no céu.
(We saw a flash of lightning in the sky.)
Os cães têm medo de trovões.
(Dogs are afraid of thunder.)
Summary

As a rule of thumb, if you find yourself needing to say a piece of, a flash of, or an item of before an English word to count it, check its Portuguese translation. More often than not, the Portuguese word is a simple countable noun that you can easily make plural.