The caret (^) is a type of lexical notation used in semi-closed stressed vowels: “a”, “e” and “o”.
In Portuguese, the semivowels “i” and “u” never take this type of accent. In addition to the circumflex, we have the acute accent (´) and the grave accent (`)
Rules and Uses
The caret is generally used in the closed vowels /â/, /ê/ and /ô/ and in the nasal vowels that appear in the digraphs “âm”, “ân”, “êm”, “ên', “ôm” and “ôn ”.
Examples:
- Importance
- Success
- Subway
- Scope
- Discrepancy
- Ephemeral
- Essence
- Nomadic
- Antagonistic
The Circumflex and the New Orthographic Agreement
In the New Orthographic Agreement (2009) some words that received the caret were changed. So, be aware of the new rules so that you don't make mistakes when writing.
In the paroxytone words that have the diphthong "ee" and "oo", the circumflex was abolished:
- read
- give
- believe
- bless
- nausea
- Flight
You must remember that before the agreement, the first equal vowel carried the caret. Therefore, they were written as follows:
- read
- give
- believe
- bless
- seasickness
- Flight
In homographic paroxytone words (same spelling) the caret was kept to differentiate one from the other, for example:
For the
Wait
However, after the agreement these words are spelled as follows:
Fur: can mean “where” or “body coat”.
Example:
Nadia always goes fur same way.
Zulmira has a lot fur On the arm.
Pear: can be the noun fruit or chin hair (beard or beard).
Example:
Yesterday we ate a pear delicious.
I liked the pear on Ishmael's chin.
On the other hand, some circumflex accents were kept:
- Per
- He can
- Has
- Comes
Read too: What are Homophone Words?
Fun Facts: Did you know?
The circumflex accent is used more in Brazilian Portuguese than in Portugal.
Therefore, under the New Orthographic Agreement, some words can be spelled in two ways:
| Brazilian Portuguese | Portuguese from Portugal |
|---|---|
| Drink | Baby |
| Mashed potato | Mashed potato |
| Bonus | Bonus |
| Femur | Femur |
| Patrimony | Patrimony |
| Antonym | Antonym |
| Synonym | Synonym |
| Antonio | Antonio |
| Phenomenon | Phenomenon |
| Gender | Gender |
Words with Circumflex Accent
Check below some examples of oxytone, paroxytone and proparoxytone words that carry a caret:
Oxytone Words
Words ending with the vowel “e”:
- Mashed potato
- Drink
- baby
- karate
Words ending with the vowel “o”:
- Robot
- Grandmother
- put
- Per
Words ending in the nasal diphthong "in":
- come
- Agree
- hold
- retain
Paroxytone Words
Words ending with the consonants “l”, “n”, “r”, “x”:
- Textile
- Plankton
- Cancer
- Phoenix
Words ending in "ao(s)", "ei(s)" or "us":
- Bumblebee
- write
- tone
Proparoxytone Words
Words ending in vowels “a”, “e” and “o”, followed by nasal consonants “m” or “n”:
- Camphor
- Light bulb
- Almond
- Amazon
- Mantua
- tenuous
- Twin
- Genius
- Convenient
- Academic
Curiosity
Some words written with and without a caret are used in different contexts.
Example:
Japan has great influence in the world economy.
The Japan influence many countries in the world.
And the Acute Accent?
O acute accent (´) is used in the open vowels “a”, “e”, “o” and in the semivowels “i” and “u”. In addition, nasal vowels represented by some digraphs (ín, ím, ún, and úm) also carry an acute accent. Check out some examples below:
- Sofa
- Coffee
- Scarlet eggplant
- Idol
- Useful
- Indian
- wicked
- Single
- Humerus
Read too:
- Lexical Notations
- Graphic accentuation
- Graphic Accenting Exercises
- Use of Til