pouca

Pouca is the feminine singular form of the Portuguese adjective pouco, used to express a small amount, degree, or extent in relation to what is expected. It agrees with feminine singular nouns, while the masculine form is pouco, and the plural forms are poucos (masculine) and poucas (feminine).

Usage and meaning

Pouca is commonly placed before a feminine noun to indicate scarcity or smallness, as in pouca água (little water) or pouca gente (few people). It can describe both concrete quantities and more abstract notions, such as pouco tempo but with feminine agreement as pouca paciência (little patience). In plural contexts, the feminine form becomes poucas (as in poucas oportunidades).

Forms and grammatical notes

The basic paradigm includes pouco (masc. singular), pouca (fem. singular), poucos (masc. plural), and poucas (fem. plural). It is often used as a determiner directly before the noun, and it can also function as a pronoun in certain syntactic constructions, emphasizing scarcity.

Common expressions

Pouca coisa conveys “very little” or “almost nothing,” as in houve pouca coisa para discutir. The phrase de pouca importância or de pouca relevância expresses “of little importance.” In contrast, the antonym is expressed with muita or muito, depending on gender and number.

Etymology

Pouca descends from Latin paucus, sharing roots with the related word pouco in Portuguese, and cognates in other Romance languages.