Portuguese is one of the richest languages on the planet. As such, it should stand to reason that Portuguese slang is similarly diverse. Thanks to the old Portuguese Empire, many of their slang words are found in other languages too!
As of the time of writing, in excess of 252 million people speak Portuguese, as either a first or second language. This fact alone helps to make it one of the most spoken languages on the planet.
15. Buba – Drunk
For as buba is perhaps one of the most common Portuguese slang terms that you’ll ever hear. Depending on the context, it could mean one of many things, all of which are commonly used.
Perhaps the most common use of buba is to mean “Drunk”. Portuguese people will use this in just about any context where you have consumed a lot of alcohol, and are acting rather stupidly, eg. drunkenly!
However, you may also hear many Portuguese parents use it in a completely different context. This is usually used to mean “goodbye” and is used to try to get their baby to start speaking!
Example:
“Olha o João que está tão buba!”
14. Tipo / Tipa – Guy / Gal
Throughout much of the Hispanic and Latino communities, the terms tipo (used to describe a man) and tipa (used to describe a woman) are very common slang phrases. The same is true in Portuguese.
Literally speaking tipo is the Portuguese word meaning “Type” or “Kind”. However, most Portuguese people will use it to describe a guy (tipo) or a girl (tipa), a few also use it to describe their boyfriend / girlfriend too.
A recent phenomenon in Portugal has seen tipo take a new slang meaning as well as meaning “Guy”. Tipo is also used similarly to how “Like” is used by American teenagers, much to the annoyance of the older generations!
Example:
“E aí tipa? eh?!”
13. Bué – A lot
When you were learning Portuguese, you were likely taught that muito and bastante were the only words that could mean “A lot”. And technically, they were right, but technically, they were also incredibly wrong!
A more colloquial phrase for muito or bastante would be bué. In almost every linguistic sense, bué can be used in favor of both muito and bastante, however, you can’t always use in certain situations (such as an office setting etc.)
With that being said, in an informal setting, you’ll hear it a lot, especially at places like supermarkets or on playgrounds. It is used so much that many Portuguese teens don’t realize that it’s a slang term!
Example:
“Quanto sorvete você quer?”
“Bué! Três colheres, por favor!”
12. Iá – Yes
Regardless of where in Portugal you go, be it the north, the south, a tourist area, or a non-tourist area, it is highly likely that you’ll hear iá at least once or twice. Even if you aren’t looking for it!
When you were learning Portuguese, you were probably taught that sim meant “Yes”. And that is true, but many Portuguese people will also iá for the same purposes, more akin to “Yeah” or “Ye” in English.
Depending on where you go in Portugal, it’s likely that you’ll see iá written as ya. This latter spelling is more common in the North, especially so with younger generations, as it’s easier to type.
Example:
“Quer sair comigo?”
“Iá”
11. Népia – Nope
Népia is the complete opposite of the aforementioned iá. Where iá is used as a quick way to say sim, Népia is used as a quick-fire way to say the opposite of sim, não.
Most commonly this is used to reply to questions that require a simple yes or no answer. In case, where the answer is no.
In certain contexts, nepia is also used to mean something like “Nothing” or more colloquially “Zilch” or “Squat”.
Depending on where in Portugal you go, there is a possibility that you’ll see it spelled as nepia, just without the accent on the “e”. This is purely a regional and (partly) generational thing rather than anything else!
Example:
“Quer sair comigo?”
“Népia!”
10. Pá – Uhhh…
Pá is perhaps one of the most diverse Portuguese slang words you could use. Depending on the context it is used in, it could be used in one of many ways! Perhaps the most famous use is similar to how we use “uhhh…” in English.
Literally speaking, pá means “bread”. However, most Portuguese people use it similarly to how we use “uhhh…” to make it sound like we’re thinking. Portuguese teenagers also use it the same way that teenagers use “like” in English.
Pá also has another main use: to mean “dude!” In this context, it is widely used in school playgrounds and in office settings. To most Portuguese people, they don’t even realize it’s a slang term most of the time!
Example:
“Eu estava indo ao … pá … teatro com o Jose”
9. Bora! – Let’s go!
Practically every language has some way of saying “Let’s go!” either in slang or in the standard variant of their language. Portuguese similalry has that, or rather, has two ways of saying that!
The first is vamos! taken from Spanish. Generally speaking, this is the official way of saying this, however, in Portuguese slang, they’d use the more common, bora!
Occasionally, you’ll also hear the phrase bora! bora! or perhaps even bora! bora! bora! this means the exact same. However, the repetition of bora! is used to emphasize their excitement.
Example:
“Nós vamos para a Disneylândia!”
“Bora!”
8. Fixe – Cool
Portuguese slang is full of ways to call things “Cool”. Perhaps the best way of saying “cool”, at least, the one that most people are familiar with, is fixe.
Literally speaking, fixe means “fix” or “fixed” depending on the context, but you’ll more commonly hear it in the context of describing something as “Cool”.
For the most part, fixe can only be used to describe people, eg. your best friend, your significant other or your neighbor. If you use it to describe an object, most Portuguese people will understand what you are talking about.
From what I’ve seen, whenever you use it to describe an object, you are heralded, almost as if they like you because you break the grounds of their language! Sadly, this is the only instance I’ve ever seen of this…
Example:
“Você deveria conhecer minha esposa ela é tão fixe!”
7. Imperial – Beer
Portugal has a long history of beer consumption, with Portuguese people consuming 51 liters of it on average, per year. As such, it should stand to reason that at least a few beer-related slang terms have entered everyday use!
One of the most famous uses of this is imperial.
Literally speaking, imperial is the Portuguese word meaning “imperial” in English. However, in certain contexts it can also be used to mean things like “Royal”, “Grand” and “Majestic” among others.
However, most Portuguese people don’t use it in this way. Instead, they more commonly use it to refer to a 20 cl (200 ml / 7 fl oz) bottle of Portuguese-made beer.
Example:
“Por favor, posso ter três imperials?”
6. Fino – Beer
However, if you try to use imperial in the North of Portugal (anything north of the Tagus), you’ll likely be laughed at. This is for many reasons, but it is mostly down to the North-South divide in Portugal.
If you use imperial in Northern Portugal, you just sound rather stupid and uneducated. And even as a foreigner, they’ll likely tell you that. Instead of using imperial, you’ll want to use fino.
In almost every instance, northerners will use fino in the exact same way that southerners would use imperial. After all, both are used to describe a 20 cl (200 ml/ 7 fl oz) bottle of beer.
Example:
“Por favor, posso ter três finos?”
5. Bacano – Awesome
In South America, bacan(o) is a common slang term, even in the Spanish-speaking countries of Peru and Colombia. These slang terms come from the Portuguese slang word bacano.
Both Peru and Colombia have bacan(o), which means “Amazing”, “Cool” and / or “Awesome”. The same is also true in Portuguese slang, with most Portuguese teenagers referring to things as bacano.
Thanks to the rise of things like social media, especially apps like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, #bacano has become quite a trendy (some might say bacano!) hastag to use!
Example:
“Acabei de comprar um novo par de tênis Nike”
“Bacano!”
4. Malta – Friends
To the rest of us, Malta is a country in Southern Europe (or a particular breed of dog!) Whilst this may be the same in Standard Portuguese, it is also used in Portuguese slang to describe a group of friends.
Many Portuguese people will refer to the members of their closest friendship groups as their malta. However, it can only be used to describe a group of friends rtaher than just one or two friends.
In many Portuguese state-funded schools, you’ll also hear malta used in a slightly different way. Here, it is used more like “crew” or “gang” however, these aren’t crime-related but are just a group of people who are a but mischievous.
Example:
“Vou encontrar minha Malta no fim de semana”
3. Canja – Piece of Cake
Sometimes, things are incredibly easy. No matter what, you find them so simple. In English, we’d probably use the phrase “Piece of cake” to describe it, many British children would probably also use the phrase “easy peasy”.
However, the Portuguese would probably describe it as canja. Regardless of where in Portugal they’re from, and what it is they are describing, it’s canja.
However, when you look at canja’s literal meaning, it is food – related, albeit not cake. Instead, canja is the Portuguese word for “Chicken soup” making things potentially quite confusing!
Example:
“Nós temos um teste de inglês amanhã”
2. Rasca – Lame
Rasca is the ultimate Portuguese insult. In English, we have countless insults ranging from mildly insulting to extremely insulting to borderline offensive. In Portuguese, they have one: Rasca.
One person may use rasca to mean lame. Another person may use rasca to call someone common (similar to how basic is used in America). Another person may use rasca to call someone an f***ing b***ard.
A word of warning with rasca. Due to it sometimes having quite vulgar implications, many older Portuguese people, (60+) tend to have a very hard time hearing people use it, as they do consider it to be swearing.
Example:
“Ele é totalmente rasca!”
1. Tugas – Portuguese
In Australian slang, they refer to themselves as Aussies, in New Zealand slang, they refer to themselves as Kiwis, in Irish slang, they refer to themselves as paddies. In Portuguese slang, they refer to themselves as tugas.
Tugas actually originates in Africa. During the Portuguese Empire, explorers came to Africa in search of wealth, here the natives asked who they were. However, they could only pronounce the tugas part.
From then on, the Portuguese were known as tugas both in Portugal and in Africa! Many Portuguese people, both old and young, will happily refer to themselves as tugas, and often say this with pride!
Example:
“Somos todos Tugas aqui!”
Which are your favorite Portuguese slang words? Tell me in the comments!