Coconut or coconut? Which one is right? An accent can make all the difference in a word. These are small Portuguese traps that confuse and lead most people to make spelling mistakes. This is the case of the confusion between "coconut" and "coconut", which always leaves everyone in doubt about the spelling.
Did you know that only one of the two ways is correct when you want to talk about the fruit? Learn to follow the rules about (Coconut or coconut) and don't forget anymore!
If you want to name the coconut fruit, this is the only correct way: without the caret. This masculine noun is usually used as a reference to the fruit or the coconut tree itself, but it also has other uses in the Portuguese language. It can refer to the skull, the “bogeyman”, folkloric in children's stories, or even a dance that is done in a circle, a bowl, or having a lot of money.
Check the examples for each of these hypotheses of the word:
The justification for the noun not having an accent lies in the accentuation rule for paroxytone words. Like the last stressed syllable, “coconut” has no accent, since, according to the rule, paroxytones are not accented.
There are only a few exceptions, as we are talking about the Portuguese language. Only paroxytones ending in the following conditions can admit accents: r, x, n, l, ps, om, ons, um, uns, ã, ã, ão, ás and oral diphthongs. As it ends with the “o” vogue, coco does not enter this exception.
Now you may ask yourself: is “poop” wrong? The word is just wrong to indicate the meanings you saw above, but in general it also exists. Although it is used more in informal language as a synonym for feces or even an adjective for something bad, it also obeys spelling rules. As its last syllable is the stress, it is characterized as an oxytone. Therefore, receive the caret.
Check out the examples:
Know more:
How do you write? É Coconut or coconut? Check out the video below and ask all your questions.
Subscribe to our email list and receive interesting information and updates in your email inbox
Thanks for signing up.