sozinha

Sozinha is the feminine singular form of the Portuguese adjective sozinho, meaning alone or by oneself. It describes a feminine noun or subject that is not accompanied by others, or indicates that an action was performed without help. The masculine form is sozinho, and the plural forms are sozinhas (feminine) and sozinhos (masculine).

Etymology and forms: Sozinha derives from só (only, solitary) combined with the diminutive suffix -inho to form sozinho, with feminine agreement yielding sozinha. The word agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies, as in ela ficou sozinha (she stayed alone) or as meninas ficaram sozinhas (the girls stayed alone).

Usage: Sozinha can describe physical absence of others, as in ela está sozinha em casa, or indicate doing something without help, as in ela escreveu o relatório sozinha. It is commonly used in Brazilian and European Portuguese and can express a state of solitude, independence, or lack of companionship. It is used both predicatively (está sozinha) and attributively (uma mulher sozinha). The corresponding masculine form is sozinho, and the plural forms are sozinhas and sozinhos.

Related terms: The noun solitude is expressed by solidão in Portuguese, while sozinho/sozinha emphasizes the state of being alone rather than the experience of loneliness. Variants exist for different genders and numbers to maintain agreement with the noun they describe.

See also: solidão, sozinho, só, independentemente.