pouco

Pouco is a word in Portuguese that functions as both a determiner and an adverb, indicating small quantity or degree. As a determiner before nouns, it agrees in gender and number: pouco dinheiro, pouca água, poucos amigos, poucas pessoas. When used as an adverb, it modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs: falo pouco, tem pouca paciência, ficou pouco satisfeito. The phrase um pouco is common to mean “a little” or “a bit.”

Etymology and classification: pouco derives from Latin paucus and has cognates in other Iberian languages, such as Spanish poco. In Portuguese, the form changes for gender and number: pouco (masculine singular), pouca (feminine singular), poucos (masculine plural), poucas (feminine plural). As an adverb, it does not have gender, and its placement is flexible, often before the word it modifies or after forms like não tem muito tempo.

Usage and nuance: pouco conveys scarcity or modest degree without implying a strong negation. It contrasts with muito (a lot) or tanto (so much). It can express a favorable modesty in phrases like um pouco de paciência (a bit of patience) or a critical lack in frases como pouco confiável (not very reliable). In negative contexts, pouco can appear with or without negaratives, but muitos falam mais com muito tempo, rather than com pouco tempo, to emphasize the small amount.

Variants and related terms: pouquinho and pouquíssimo serve as diminutive and superlative intensifiers, meaning very little or just a tiny amount. Pouco also appears in fixed expressions such as pouco se sabe (little is known) and pouco provável (unlikely).

Overall, pouco is a versatile term in Portuguese for expressing small quantities, modest degrees, and partial amounts in everyday language.