Portuguese profanity
Encyclopedia
Portuguese profanity is an assortment of words and phrases considered vulgar, blasphemous, inflammatory or offensive in the Portuguese language
.
radicals, as well from other Indo-European
sources and are usually cognate with peninsular Spanish profanity
. There are also Portuguese curse words that originated from South American Amerindian or West and Central African
languages; these are found in other Portuguese speaking countries
than Portugal
, like Brazil
, Cape Verde
, Guinea-Bissau
, São Tomé and Príncipe
, Angola
or Mozambique
even though some of these non-Indo-European originated ones made it to enter the peninsular Portuguese
.
In the case of Brazil, several neologistic curse words were borrowed not only from Amerindian or African languages but also from Italian
, German
or French
, due to the Italian and Central-European immigration to Brazil in the late 19th century and due to the fact French used to be a lingua franca
for intellectual Brazilians and Brazilian international diplomacy in the past.
Portuguese profanity, just like in any other Western language, is much marked by its sexist character. Words that refer to male homosexuality and female sexuality in general, and even the ones referred to the female genitalia, are the ones mostly adopted as inflammatory words while the ones that refer to heterosexual male sexuality are used as positive adjectivations. Scatological terms are used either with negative and positive meaning, depending on the context in which they are used.
Profanities in Portuguese are referred as profanidades, chulice, termos chulos, baixo calão, termos de baixo calão, linguagem de baixo calão, obscenidades, vulgaridades. Palavrão is a coarse word, and dizer/falar palavrões is to use obscene language. Xingar/Praguejar is to swear, to curse. Insulto/Xingamento/Impropério coarse or insulting word.
As a curse word, it may have completely different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. A cagada can mean either a very lousily done job (“your artwork is a cagada”) or a big strike of luck (“Man, four aces, what a cagada!”), or the well matching result of a measurement taken by guess or naked eye (“He didn’t do the structural calculation for this column, he did it in the cagada”).
“Embostelhada” is a less offensive term to designate something that went wrong.
Portuguese language
Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095...
.
Overview
The most common words of Portuguese profanity, the ones universally used in the different dialects and variants of Portuguese, originated from LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
radicals, as well from other Indo-European
Indo-European
Indo-European may refer to:* Indo-European languages** Aryan race, a 19th century and early 20th century term for those peoples who are the native speakers of Indo-European languages...
sources and are usually cognate with peninsular Spanish profanity
Spanish profanity
This article is a summary of Spanish profanity, referred to in the Spanish language as lenguaje soez , maldiciones , malas palabras , insultos , vulgaridades , juramentos , palabrotas , tacos , palabras sucias ,...
. There are also Portuguese curse words that originated from South American Amerindian or West and Central African
Niger–Congo languages
The Niger–Congo languages constitute one of the world's major language families, and Africa's largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. They may constitute the world's largest language family in terms of distinct languages, although this question...
languages; these are found in other Portuguese speaking countries
Geographic distribution of Portuguese
Portuguese is the official and first language of Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal and São Tomé and Príncipe. It is also one of the official languages of East Timor , Macau and the Gabonese-Equatoguinean city of Cocobeach .Uruguay gave Portuguese an equal status to...
than Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, like Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Cape Verde
Cape Verde
The Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
, Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
, São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...
, Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
or Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
even though some of these non-Indo-European originated ones made it to enter the peninsular Portuguese
European Portuguese
European Portuguese refers to the variety of Portuguese spoken in continental Portugal, as well as the Azores and Madeira islands...
.
In the case of Brazil, several neologistic curse words were borrowed not only from Amerindian or African languages but also from Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
or French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, due to the Italian and Central-European immigration to Brazil in the late 19th century and due to the fact French used to be a lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
for intellectual Brazilians and Brazilian international diplomacy in the past.
Portuguese profanity, just like in any other Western language, is much marked by its sexist character. Words that refer to male homosexuality and female sexuality in general, and even the ones referred to the female genitalia, are the ones mostly adopted as inflammatory words while the ones that refer to heterosexual male sexuality are used as positive adjectivations. Scatological terms are used either with negative and positive meaning, depending on the context in which they are used.
Profanities in Portuguese are referred as profanidades, chulice, termos chulos, baixo calão, termos de baixo calão, linguagem de baixo calão, obscenidades, vulgaridades. Palavrão is a coarse word, and dizer/falar palavrões is to use obscene language. Xingar/Praguejar is to swear, to curse. Insulto/Xingamento/Impropério coarse or insulting word.
Excrement
- Amarelar, arregar: from color yellow, associated with intestinal troubles. Show cowardice, lack of fighting spirit, to quit.
- Cagada: past participle of "cagar" (to shit). From Latin cacare, meaning to the act of evacuate feces, or to the feces themselves quite after being evacuated.
As a curse word, it may have completely different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. A cagada can mean either a very lousily done job (“your artwork is a cagada”) or a big strike of luck (“Man, four aces, what a cagada!”), or the well matching result of a measurement taken by guess or naked eye (“He didn’t do the structural calculation for this column, he did it in the cagada”).
“Embostelhada” is a less offensive term to designate something that went wrong.
- Cagar (also dar um cagão, soltar um barro/barrão/barroso, descarregar a carga{fact} = To take a dump. Fazer cocô/ caca = poop, doo doo; less offensive, even childish. Borrar-se/ borrar as calças/ Cagar nas calças = To shit your pants, being scared.
- Merda: Literally shitShitShit is usually considered vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun it refers to fecal matter and as a verb it means to defecate or defecate in; in the plural it means diarrhea...
, vulgar word for faeces. Lousy job or workpiece; disagreeable situation, confusion, fiasco; stupid or incompetent person. - Titica: bird's feces, used as in ter titica na cabeça to be a shithead.
- Caganita: animal feces.
- Merdinbuca: (archaic) A contraction of the expression “merda em boca” (shit on mouth), it used, during the Middle AgesMiddle AgesThe Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, to be one of the most aggressive profanities in Portugal. - Mijada: past participle of Mijar, to 'pissPissPiss or Pissed may refer to:* Urine, a sterile, liquid by-product of the body that is secreted by the kidneys and excreted through the urethra** Urination, the ejection of urine to the outside of the body....
'. Vulgar terms for urinationUrinationUrination, also known as micturition, voiding, peeing, weeing, pissing, and more rarely, emiction, is the ejection of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. In healthy humans the process of urination is under voluntary control...
and to urine. Severe reprehension. - Mijão: pisser. Said of cowards. Also used to call someone lucky.
- Peidar To fart. From Latin pedere, to break wind. Peido/Pum, the fart. Bufa, a weak fart. Other verbs are soltar pum, punzar, bufar, soltar bufa, dar um gás, soltar um gasinho. Peidorreiro, Flatulento, Gasoso, Gaseiro, Gasoduto, Peidador debaixo da colcha, Peidão noturno, farter, midnight farter.
Mental Capacity
- Estúpido: idiot, stupid.
- Idiota: same as 'Estúpido'.
- Imbecil: imbecile person.
- Cretino: cretin.
- Bobo (in Brazil; diminutive bobinho, aumentative bobão): silly, fool, dummy, simpleton.
- Boboca: same as bobo.
- Bocó: literally puppet. A person without opinion, a fool. Also bocó de mola.
- Boquiaberto: literally "open mouth". Fool.
- Tolo: fool.
- Tonto (diminutive tontinho, aumentative tontarrão): Literally "dizzy". Fool.
- Palhaço, palhação, clóvis, mó comédia, bobo-da-corte, bufão, truão, maninelo, bufon, histrião, mimo – assclown, buffoon.
- Maluco, Estouvado, Leviano, Irresponsável, Cabeça-de-vento, Doidivanas, Detraqué – crazy, irresponsible.
- Doido varrido, Doente-mental, Demente, Aloprado, Abilolado, Amalucado - crazy, mentally ill.
- Otário, Tanso, Beócio, Aparvalhado, Atoleimado, Atolado, Atolambado, Paspalho, Palerma, Pateta, Pasmado, Pacóvio, Patola, Parvo, Palúrdio, Paspalhão, Patego, Pancrácio, Pandorga, Papalvo, Papa-moscas, Pascácio, Patinho, Patola, Patacão, Panaca, Panacão, Basbaque, Babaquara, Songomongo, Tontão, Tongo, Cabaça, Coió, Leseira, Leso, Lesado, Toleirão - fool.
- Ignaro, Ignorante, Burro, Retardado, Jegue, Jumento, Asno, Intelijegue, Intelijumento - stupid or arrogant person.
- Totó, Mongolóide, Debilóide, Débil-mental - Mongoloid, retard.
- Zé-ninguém, João-Ninguém, Zé-mané - Insignificant person, John Doe.
- Estafermo, Belarmino, Beldroegas, Bangalafumenga, Bolônio, Tchalau, Tchalongo, Tchongo, Soronga, Abobalhado, Dãrdi, Estólido, Néscio, Abestado, Bestunto, Espantalho, Catimbau, Sarambé, Calinada, Molenga, Lerdo – ignoramus, moron, dumbass, retard, dunce, stupid, dork, blockhead, jackass, donkey, ass, dope, numskull, twit, dumbbell, dolt, bonehead, dumb, fathead, pinhead.
Sexist and sexual meaning
- Ugly women: Canhão: Literally "cannon". Very ugly women. Other words like tribufu, baranga, mocréia, fubanga, bucho, dragão(dragon), jaburu are also used.
- Homosexual men: Viado, (in the 19th century/beginning of 20th century, medicine called men who had homosexual behavior as ""deviated from normal behavior"", or in português ""desviado do comportamento normal"". With time ""desviado"" was corrupted and turned into ""viado"" and Paneleiro (manufacturer of pans) (in Portugal) are slurs for homosexual, roughly equivalents for US English "fag". The image of a deer is jocosely associated with young gay males. Bicha, literally a critter female, is also extensively used in Brazil. Boiola, used to designate delicate little boys, young boys working in theatrical sketches and musicals in the late 19th and early 20th century. Now in Brazil is equivalent for the English pansy, sissy or fag. Frutinha, fruta, fadinha, derisive terms for effeminate homosexuals. Fresco, afrescalhado,(literally, fresh) men with stereotypical "gay" behaviour, intonation, etc. Queima-rosca, literally "doughnut burner" (because "rosca", doughnut, is a obscene term for "anus", which supposedly "burns" with attrition during penetration): homosexual male bottom. Mariquinha(s), marica(s), pussy, pansy, from Ancient Greek "Marikas", a Eupolis comedy. Maricona, slang used by tranvestites to deride non-effeminate johns. Baitola, fag. Morde-fronha, literally "pillowcase biter", passive homosexual. Boqueteiro, chupeteiro, chupador, xupa-rola, sugador: header, cocksucker.
- Homosexual women: Sapatão, or more rarely sapatona, literally "big shoes" (implying a woman who uses masculine shoes) is the general term, sometimes contrasted with sandalinha, "little sandals", to differentiate butch and feminine lesbians. Other terms are mulher-macho, marimacho, machona, virago, caminhoneira(trucker). Lesbian sexual relations are derisively called briga de aranhas, "spider fight", or velcro.
- Corno: Corno, cornudo, Neto Wee, chifrudo are equivalent to cuckold. Just like other Romance languages, horns (chifres or cornos) are associated with the act of cheating. Expressions like botar chifre em, pôr chifre em, cornear mean to make a cuckold of. Corno manso is the man who accepts his wife's betrayal.
- Galinha/Piranhudo/Mandrião/Marombeiro/Casanova/Dom Juan/Garanhão/Mulherengo/Femeeiro/Bordelheiro a promiscuous male, a player, a womanizer, a rogue Babaca/Mané a douchebag, a loser.
- Broxa a man who doesn't please his woman sexually, an impotent man.
- Filho da Puta: Latin filius, preposition de plus the feminine article a from the form illa and Vulgar Latin putta. The son of a sexually loose woman or prostitute. Similar to the English “son of a bitch”, “whoreson”, Spanish "hijo de puta", Italian "figlio di puttana" and French "fils de putain", "fils de pute". Portuguese also have the version "filho duma égua", “son of a mare”, from Latin equa. "Filho da mãe", “son of the mother”, is a more subtle and less profane expression (used as a euphemism and in most TV dubbings).
- Foder: A verb. It comes from the Latin verb foedere, futuere which means to open holes in the land to seed it. This verb acquired the meaning of “to have sexual intercourse”, being an equivalent for the English “to fuck”. It is also used in the expression “vá-se foder”/”vai-te foder”, which means the same as the English “fuck you” and “go fuck yourself”. The form “foda-se” can be equivalent to “fuck it” or “go fuck yourself” while the expression “(Ah/Oh) Que se foda!” means “fuck it. I don't care”. Due to the use of both the impersonal pronoun "se" and the subjunctive form of the verb, which implies an imperative mood and therefore expresses a wish, the literal meaning of both "foda-se (isto)" and "(quero) que se foda" can therefore be understood as "let it be fucked". It's cognate to the Spanish joder, the Italian fottere and French foutre. In Brazil, this word is sometimes wrongly spelled “fuder” due to its prosody. Foda: the act of fucking, can be a positive or negative adjective. É foda viu?!, that's a wreck! or what the fuck?, now Ele é mó fodão em .../Ele é foda nisso, he's an expert in.../ he's an expert in that, Você é foda! = literally: You are a fuck. Depending on intonation may assume a good or bad connotation like: You are fucking boring, fucking annoying, really obnoxius, you always do everything wrong or You're really great, man, you're awesome dude, you're the best, good as sex. Comer: from Lat. comedere = to eat, used in a sexual connotation; also used in a sexual context are verbs like traçar, enfiar, trepar and meter, all equivalent to “to nail, to screw”, nouns trepada, trepança, metida, metelança, fodelança. Transar – Colloquialism, not exactly vulgar, equivalent for “to get laid”. Transa – noun, hook up, laid. Deitar-se com.... Levar ferro, levar pau, ferrar-se – to be screwed. Ferrar, mandar ferro, meter ferro, lascar brasa, mandar pau, meter o pau, sentar o sarrafo, parafusear, rosquear – to screw. Enrabar (Brazil), encular (Portugal) – fuck up the arse (UK), fuck in the ass (US), Lamber o cu, performar cunete, rimming, cuzete, lambiscudinha, beijo grego – ream (US), to perform anilingus, rimming, butt licking, and eating ass (Anilíngua, anilinctio, anilinctus, anilingus). Enrabar, comer o rabo, comer o cu, meter no cu, – To sodomize. Dar a bundinha, tomar no cu, dar o cu, levar no rabo, levar no cu - to be sodomised. Afogar o ganso, molhar o biscoito, torcer a porca, gratinar a berinjela, descabelar o palhaço, escorregar no quiabo, dar a ré no quibe – Jocose expressions for laying, getting laid or having anal sex.
- Punheta: Male masturbation; hand job. Other verbal expressions equivalent to jerk off and jack off are bater punheta; tocar uma; bater uma. Espancar o macaco; descabelar o palhaço; cinco contra um; bater uma bronha; prestar homenagem; bater um amistoso equivalent to spank the monkey. Punheteiro/Onanista/Batedor/Tocador a wanker. Siririca the term for female masturbation.
- Puta: A slang for prostitute. However, since the curse word puta does not refer only to prostitutes, but to sexually loose women in general (being thus an equivalent to the English word whore), it was argued that this word has a different Latin origin, being actually the past participle of the verb ponere (to put). In such case, the actual meaning for puta should be of someone who was put away, or put aside, certainly in reference to the single young females who were expelled by their parents after losing their virginity. Other words for loose women are biscate, vadia, vagabunda, piranha, gaudéria, pistoleira, lúdica, cadela, cachorra, égua, arrombada, periguete, aventureira, sirigaita. Meretriz, Marafona, Mulher da vida, Mulher de vida fácil, Mulher da rua, Mulher da zona, Mulher pública, Loureira, Rameira, Paloma, Polaca, Quenga, Garota de programa, prostitute.
- Puteiro/Bordel/Prostíbulo/Zona do baixo meretrício/Zona de Meretrício/Casa da luz vermelha/Casa de tolerância/Alcoice – Cathouse, brothel, bordello, red light district, house of ill repute, sporting house, whorehouse. Lupanar – brothel, Lat. lupānar, from lupa, "she-wolf".
- Messalina - evil, manipulativePsychological manipulationPsychological manipulation is a type of social influence that aims to change the perception or behavior of others through underhanded, deceptive, or even abusive tactics. By advancing the interests of the manipulator, often at the other's expense, such methods could be considered exploitative,...
woman. - avançadinha, vamp, provocadora de homens, provoca-pau, devoradora de homens, vórtice de homens, cocotinha, cocotte
- Megera/Bruxa/Bruaca/Jararaca/Víbora/Surucucu/Mocréia/Cobra/Fubanga/Geba/Medusa/Górgone/Tarasca/Mal-amada/Mal-comida a bitch, a spiteful, mean, or manipulative female.
- Sacanagem/Safadeza/Putaria: Immoral behavior or act, obscene act; dirty trick; Tá de sacanagem, marmelada: in a spirit of mockery, derision or deliberate unfairness. Sacanear: To tease, to vex, to irritate maliciously (Provocar, vexar maliciosamente). Tara: A dirty and hide paraphilia, a kinky obsession, a dirty secret perversion. Pular a cerca, trair, chifrar, cornear: – Literally, to jump the fence; to cheat your love partner. Ciscar, galinhar, sair à caça: – To be a player, go hunting, to prowl.
Moral flaws
- Cafajeste, Canalha, Crápula, Calhorda, Patife, Tratante, Trapaceiro, Embusteiro, Mequetrefe, Sacana, Salafrário, Safardana a scumbag, a scoundrel, a rascal, a rogue, a cheater.
- Cachorro, literally "dog", treacherous man.
- Bundão/Bunda-mole/Bananão/Frouxo a coward, a lame guy.
- Babaca – jerk, fucktard
- Tosco, Boçal, Bronco, Cavalão, Grosso, Grosseirão, Cavalgadura – Coarse, Crass. A jerk, a prick, scumbag. An idiot or stupid male. An insensitive, selfish, ignorant, cocky man who is inconsiderate and does stupid rude things.
- porco chauvinista – male chauvinist pig.
- Valentão, tranca-ruas, pitiboy, traga-mouros, mata-mouros, ferrabrás, bravateador – bully, prick .
- Cuzão, Cara-de-cu, cara-de-bunda - an asshole, fuckface, shithead.
Body parts
- Vagina: Buceta, diminutive bucetinha, augmentative bucetão, actually a misspelling of boceta, which originally meant a small leather purse or box. It is the rough name for the female genitalia in Brazil, while in Portugal the name most commonly used is cona, from Latin cunnus. The similarity with English cunt is most likely coincidental. The word boceta comes from Provençal bosseta and has the same Latin root as the English partially cognates "box" and "bush" and the French "boîte" and "boussole" (box and compass). Buceta is semantically equivalent to cunt; as usually in Portuguese, the diminutive tends to be somewhat euphemistic, and the aumentative to be more offensive. Other terms for vagina can be less offensive: xana, xoxota, xibiu, xota, laurinha, xereca, tcheca, xeca, cobiçada, perseguida, passarinha, pombinha, pencha, xirana, xirinha, paxuxa, caixinha, piriquita, bacurinha, perereca (roughly equivalent to "pussy"), or conversely, more aggressive: paranho, papuda, xavasca, racha, fenda.
- Buttocks: Bunda, one of the few African-originated Portuguese profanity words that made it to enter the slang use in the Peninsula, it refers to the whole gluteal regions, the buttocks. The term cu from Lat. culus used to designate the buttocks and anus in Latin, but now in Portuguese it is used to specify the anus. Retaguarda, traseira/o, derrière are equivalent to behind, hindquarters, posterior, rear end, backside. Bumbum = booty or bum. Bunda, rabo, rabinho = ass, butt, tail end. Pandeiro, assento, bonzó, buzanfa, popô, popozão, popozete = keister, arse, buttocks. Poupança = tooshie, tush, fanny.
- Penis: Caralho: Penis; equivalent to English dick or prick. Greek charax and Latin caraculus. Cognate to the Spanish Carajo. A caralho is originally a nautical term, referring to the crow's nest in the top of the mainmast of a caravelCaravelA caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave her speed and the capacity for sailing to windward...
. Since it was an ingrate job to patrol the horizon from the crow's nest, the expression “vá para o caralho” (“go to the caralho”) began being used by people to rid of an unwanted peer in an impolite, inflammatory way. Also, caralho turned into a slang for penis as well. Pau, pica (Br), piça (Pt), rola, cacete, verga, vergalhão, prick, ripa, piroca, pistola, trolha, estrovenga, peru, trabuco, nabo, mandioca, benga, jeba, sagatiba, bigola, bilau. Caralho and cacete (stick) can be used as expletives just like "shit", "fuck". They are also used in the expressions do caralho or do cacete, which means "spectacularly good": Meu novo carro é do caralho, "my new car is awesome"; pra caralho, "to the prick", meaning "abundantly, excessively" (doeu pra caralho, "it hurt a lot", tinha comida pra caralho, "there was a lot of food"); casa do caralho (the dick's home), meaning "extremely distant" (Pedro mora na casa do caralho, "Peter lives far, far away".); and caralho de asa (dick with wings) or caralho a quatro ("dick by the four"), used to imply that a long, usually incongruent, list is even longer and more diverse (Tinha pedreiro, garçom, trovador, motorista, pintor, pianista, o caralho a quatro, "There were masons, waiters, troubadours, drivers, painters, pianists, etc."). - Anus: Cu: Latin culus, Cognate to similar terms in other Latin languages, like the Italian and Spanish culo and French cul, it literally means anus. It is usually used as in “vá levar no cu” (Portugal) ou “vai tomar no cu” (Brazil), meaning go take up your ass. Other terms include fiofó, rosca, rosquinha, toba. Also used in the expression no seu cu (in your arsehole), to deride a statement, proposal or demand (No seu cu, que eu vou pagar a conta, "I'm going to pay the bill, in your arsehole" – or in your dreams, or, most likely, not at all.) Cu is also a disagreeable, or excessively small, place (A casa de João é um cu, "John's home is an arsehole", or too small, too hot, and/or stinky).
- Pentelho: (Pintelho in Portugal) Cognate to the Spanish Pendejo, it means pubic hair, as in the original Latin word penticulus – scientifically the name for genital follicles, which is the strict meaning of this word in the Iberian PeninsulaIberian PeninsulaThe Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
. In Brazilian Portuguese it's also used to refer to an annoying kid or annoying young person while in Hispanic AmericaHispanic AmericaHispanic America or Spanish America is the region comprising the American countries inhabited by Spanish-speaking populations.These countries have significant commonalities with each other and with Spain, whose colonies they formerly were...
it refers to annoying –and, obnoxious- people of any ages. - Saco: Latin saccus. It literally means sack and relates to the scrotum ("nutsack"). It's majorly used as an expletive for tedious people or tedious jobs or situations, like in "Que saco!" ("What a bore!") or "Fulano é um saco!" ("John Doe bores me to death!"), "Você é um saco!" ("You suck!") In Portugal, the name most commonly used term is Colhões, Latin Cōleōnēs. Escroto (scrotum) may express a "scumbag" or "jerk". Bagos can also be used to designate testicles and it's equivalent to nuts, while the equivalent to balls would be bolas. To note that "saco" is a term used in Brazil and not in Portugal.
Racist or social class
In Brazil, the majority of Brazilians don't sort themselves by ethnic background as much as would be expected (most people born in Brazil self-identify as "Brazilian"). There is, however, a stronger racial prejudice, and a somewhat lesser but still felt, prejudice among states – especially among the people from rich and well-educated states (mostly the southern and central states) and people from states that are seen as poor and uneducated (mostly north, especially northeast).- Baiano and Paraíba: Literally, there are the toponymical words for people born in the Brazilian states of BahiaBahiaBahia is one of the 26 states of Brazil, and is located in the northeastern part of the country on the Atlantic coast. It is the fourth most populous Brazilian state after São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro, and the fifth-largest in size...
and ParaíbaParaíbaParaíba Paraíba Paraíba (Tupi: pa'ra a'íba: "bad to navigation"; Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: is a state of Brazil. It is located in the Brazilian Northeast, and is bordered by Rio Grande do Norte to the north, Ceará to the west, Pernambuco to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the east...
. People from Bahia are stereotypically known to be incredibly lazy, slow paced and lacking in competence. Also, being Bahia the host region for the Portuguese colonial administration of Brazil, the word Baiano began to be identified to everything which is slow or lazy – or old-fashioned, out-of-season, outdated, out-competed or weird, as well to cultural backwardness and remnants of slavery. Used in an offensive context against people from the Northeastern region of Brazil. The term originated probably between 1960 and 1980, during the massive migration from the underdeveloped Northeast to the rich Southeast, to get better jobs; nowadays, it's used to make fun of people who are, or are perceived to be, of a lower-class background. According to the stereotype, they have poor education, cheap clothing and uncultured upbringing. Baiano is mostly used in Porto AlegrePorto AlegrePorto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
and São PauloSão PauloSão Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, while Paraíba is mainly used in Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. - Branquelo: Untanned White person. Synonyms are "Leite Azedo" (Sour milk, usually someone who is also unpleasant) and Gasparzinho (a reference to the ghost Casper) or Branca de neve (Snow White).
- Bife: meaning steak, is a common slur for British people in Portugal. It comes from the color of the "beef", which is the same as the color of a British person after spending some days in Portugal's beaches. It is not considered an offensive term, more of a designation between friends.
- Carcamano: Slur against white Brazilians of Italian ancestry. This word entered the Brazilian Portuguese from the Spanish language, probably via Spaniard immigration to Brazil, and it was adopted to point out a difference between the cultured, educated Portuguese-descended White Brazilian elite and the Italian immigrants to Brazilian plantations, people considered to be rough, illiterate, uneducated and awkward when compared to the first group.
- Chamuça: Lusitanian slur against people from IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, it actually means SamosaSamosaA samosa is a stuffed, deep fried,snack that is very popular in the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Southwest Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, the Mediterranean, the Horn of Africa, North Africa and South Africa...
. - Chinoca: Lusitanian slur against Chinese peopleChinese peopleThe term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
. In the south, it is an archaic synonym for prostitute (not specifically Chinese or Asian either). - Chucrute: From FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
choucroute meaning Sauerkraut. Mostly used in Brazil to designate late 19th and early 20th century German immigrants. Fritz/Fritzin/Hans/Klaus/Lars (colloquialism): From German masculine proper names. Not especially polite, but not offensive either. In Portugal, the term Boche, a word derived from FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, is popular as a slang term to refer to Germans, nearly always in a derogatory way. - Français/Françiu/Frufru/Fanfreluche/Ronronrom: jocose expressions for Frenchmen. According to Gilberto FreyreGilberto FreyreGilberto de Mello Freyre was a Brazilian sociologist, anthropologist, historian, writer, painter and congressman. His best-known work is a sociological treatise named Casa-Grande & Senzala...
, in the 19th century, the word for FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, francês, was associated with dishonest traders and vendors. Avéc is used in Portugal and can refer to either the French people or, more often, emigrants in France that fit a certain stereotype when returning to Portugal. - Galego: A person from Galicia, which is a region in Northwest SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. Slur used against both Portuguese and Spaniards in most of Brazil. In northeastern Brazil this word is not a slur and is usually used as colloquially referring to blond hairedBlondBlond or blonde or fair-hair is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some sort of yellowish color...
people. It's uncommon to hear this term in Brazil. - Japa: Informal, jocose or a little detrimental form of Japanese (depending on context). It's not uncommon at all to hear this term in Brazil.
- Macumbeiro: Adept of Macumba, Afro-Brazilian religion; extensive to practitioners of other Afro-Brazilian religions. Sometime used as a racial slur. It's common to hear this term in Brazil.
- Maloqueiro : Slum dweller (maloca = very poor or improvised habitation), general slur against poor people. Used also against people who dress and act in a very offensive way, usually those who try to emulate American Rappers. Also supporters of Corinthians (São Paulo's soccer team). It's a commonly used term in Brazil.
- Macaco: Literally, monkey. In the southern half of Brazil, it's a slur against Black people; in Northeast Brazil, it refers to anyone whose profession demands the use of a military-like uniform (policemen, soldiers, armed-forces officers), being the term gorila (gorilla, a bigger monkey, or the leading monkey) a slur for Generals. Highlighting this fact, gorilla was the very curse word used against the Military Dictators of Brazil from 1964 to 1985. Macaco (or, “macaco-de-imitação”) has also the meaning of someone who acritically imitates the behaviours of others. Macaco is a somewhat commonly used slur term in Brazil.
- Monhé: slur against Indian peopleIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It is considered quite offensive. It's a rarely (if ever) used slur term in Brazil. - Mouro (MoorMoorsThe description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
): Used in North Portugal as a slur against mostly to the LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
people, Algarvians, Alentejans and AndalusiaAndalusiaAndalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
ns, as well in other Portuguese-speaking countries than Portugal as a slur against Portuguese and Spaniard people as a whole group. It isn't an uncommon slur term in Brazil. - Nego: Corrupted form of Negro, slightly more charged than "black" (if so), yet significantly weaker than "nigger" or "nigga". Often used as a term of endearment. Escurinho has the same semantic load as the term "darky". Tição, Tiziu, brand, dark coal and carvão, charcoal are slurs against Black people. It can also be used in a non-offensive way as a slang for friends, along the lines of buddy; someone you are attached to, meaning sweetie, or a random person, even if they are not actually black or dark skinned. "Nego" is a very common endearment/slur-ish term in Brazil (not as common in the whiter South, but still so). The other terms aren't uncommon also.
- Polaco/a: Pollack. Archaic word for Pole/Polish, now replaced with polonês, still used as a slur against Polish people. Due to the existence of an active traffic of Eastern European women to Brazil to work as prostitutes, the feminine form, polaca is, or was until recently, also used as a synonym for prostitute. In Portugal "Polaco" (or Polaca, in feminine) has absolutelly no slur meaning, it is only used to refer to people from Polonia. The word "Polonês" is not used in Portugal. In Brazil, it can be used as a nickname for any person with a fair complexion ("Alemão" is even more common nickname for blondish, white men). "Polaco" is a somewhat common term in Brazil (especially in the South).
- Rissol: Lusitanian slur against Russian people. It's a rare (if ever used) slur term in Brazil.
- Esfiha, Cara-de-esfiha, Cara-de-quibe, Habib: Slurs against Arabs in general, especially people from Syria and Lebanon. It isn't an uncommon slur term in Brazil. It's easier to be taken as a joke than a serious attack.
- Tupiniquim: An indigenous people of Brazil. Self-ironic or self-deprecating.
- Ucra: Lusitanian slur referring to Ukrainian people. Note that, in Portugal, words like "Ukrainian", "Romanian" and "Russian" are sometimes used in vague and inaccurate reference to people who appear to be immigrants from any country in Eastern Europe. However, "ucra" can carry both pejorative and affectionate connotations.
- Urubu, also abutre: disagreeable, ominous, or just unlucky person. Also supporters of FlamengoFlamengoFlamengo is the name of a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.- History :It is the Portuguese word for Flemish, and it was given to the nearby beach because it was the place where the Dutch sailor Olivier van Noort tried to invade the city in 1599...
(football club from Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
). - Inscrever os neguinhos na natação (to enroll the black kids in the swimming class), libertar o Mandela (to free Mandela): a racially charged way to tell one is going to defecate.
- Fazer negrice (to act like a nigger): to do something wrong.
- Coisa de branco (something proper of a white person): something good, well made.