How do you say “de boa”, “deu ruim” or “sextou” in English? Slang rarely translates word for word, so the secret is to find the closest natural equivalent: the expression a native speaker would really use in the same situation, with the same register. Here are the most common Brazilian slang words with their English matches and plenty of examples.Como dizer “de boa”, “deu ruim” ou “sextou” em inglês? Gíria quase nunca se traduz palavra por palavra, então o segredo é encontrar o equivalente natural mais próximo: a expressão que um nativo realmente usaria na mesma situação, com o mesmo registro. Aqui estão as gírias brasileiras mais comuns, com os equivalentes em inglês e muitos exemplos.
B1 Everyday slang: people, greetings and reactions
Talking to friends
Words like “mano” and “parça” have several English equivalents, and they change from country to country. Bro and dude are typically American, while mate is British and Australian. Click each tile to listen.Palavras como “mano” e “parça” têm vários equivalentes em inglês, e eles mudam de país para país. Bro e dude são tipicamente americanos, enquanto mate é britânico e australiano. Clique em cada quadro para ouvir.
- Dude, you won’t believe what happened! (Mano, você não vai acreditar no que aconteceu!)
- Hey, what’s up? You good? (E aí, beleza? Tudo certo?)
- Thanks for the ride, man! (Valeu pela carona, mano!)
- It’s a long way, you know? So we need to leave early. (É longe, tá ligado? Então a gente precisa sair cedo.)
De boa: one expression, many situations
“De boa” is a great example of why slang needs context. In English, the equivalent depends on what you want to say.“De boa” é um ótimo exemplo de por que gíria precisa de contexto. Em inglês, o equivalente depende do que você quer dizer.
| Português | English | Situation |
|---|---|---|
| Desculpa o atraso! — De boa. | Sorry I’m late! — No worries. | accepting an apology |
| Quer mais café? — Tô de boa, valeu. | More coffee? — I’m good, thanks. | refusing politely |
| Hoje vou ficar de boa em casa. | I’m just going to chill at home tonight. | relaxing |
| O professor novo é de boa. | The new teacher is pretty chill. | describing a person |
| A prova foi de boa. | The test was easy. / The test was a breeze. | something easy |
Saying something is great (or terrible)
| Português | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| mó legal | super cool / so cool | Your new bike is so cool! |
| top / show | awesome / amazing | The concert was awesome! |
| da hora / massa | cool / sick | That skate trick was sick! |
| mandou bem | nailed it / killed it | You nailed the presentation! |
| lacrou | slayed / ate | She slayed that performance. |
| zoado / mó chato | lame / so annoying | That rule is so lame. |
| meia-boca | mid / so-so | The food was kind of mid. |
| cringe | cringe / cringey / cringeworthy | His dance video was so cringe. |
Top is not “top” in English
In Brazil, “top” alone means great: “a festa foi top”. In English, top normally needs a noun: top quality, the top student. To praise something, say awesome, amazing or great.No Brasil, “top” sozinho significa ótimo: “a festa foi top”. Em inglês, top normalmente precisa de um substantivo: top quality, the top student. Para elogiar algo, diga awesome, amazing ou great.
Partiu and sextou
partiu = let’s go!
Use Let’s go!, Let’s do this! or “… time!” to sound excited about a plan.Use Let’s go!, Let’s do this! ou “… time!” para mostrar empolgação com um plano.
Beach time! / Let’s hit the beach! (Partiu praia!)
sextou = TGIF
TGIF means “Thank God it’s Friday”. People also say It’s finally Friday! or Friday vibes!TGIF significa “Graças a Deus é sexta”. As pessoas também dizem It’s finally Friday! ou Friday vibes!
TGIF! Who’s up for pizza tonight? (Sextou! Quem topa pizza hoje?)
- Pizza after class? Let’s go! (Pizza depois da aula? Partiu!)
- Vacation starts tomorrow. Road trip time! (As férias começam amanhã. Partiu viagem!)
- I’m off to the gym. See you later! (Partiu academia. Até mais!)
- Finally Friday! Movie night at my place? (Sextou! Noite de filme lá em casa?)
B2 Plans, problems, drama and relationships
Rolê, balada and everyday life
| Português | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| rolê (plano) | plan / thing | What’s the plan tonight? |
| dar um rolê | hang out / go out | Wanna hang out at the mall? |
| balada | night out / clubbing | We went clubbing on Saturday. |
| grana | cash / money / bucks | I’m short on cash this month. |
| trampo | job / gig | I got a new gig at a café. |
| rango | grub / food | Let’s grab some grub. |
| perrengue | a struggle / a nightmare | Getting home in the storm was a nightmare. |
| topar | be up for / be down (for) | Karaoke tonight? I’m down! |
Zoar, treta, migué and deu ruim
These are some of the most Brazilian words of all, and each one has a few possible English equivalents depending on the context.Estas estão entre as palavras mais brasileiras de todas, e cada uma tem alguns equivalentes possíveis em inglês, dependendo do contexto.
- Relax, I’m just messing with you! (Relaxa, tô só te zoando!)
- There was so much drama in the group chat yesterday. (Rolou a maior treta no grupo ontem.)
- He said he was sick, but it was just an excuse to skip class. (Ele disse que estava doente, mas foi só um migué para matar aula.)
- The bus broke down on the way to the airport. Everything went south. (O ônibus quebrou no caminho para o aeroporto. Deu tudo ruim.)
- I forgot my passport. We’re so screwed. (Esqueci meu passaporte. Deu muito ruim.)
| Português | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| pagar mico | embarrass yourself | I fell on stage and totally embarrassed myself. |
| vacilou | you messed up / you dropped the ball | You forgot her birthday? You messed up. |
| sem noção | clueless / out of line | That comment was totally out of line. |
| flopou | flopped | The movie flopped at the box office. |
| tá osso | it’s rough / it’s tough | Finding an apartment is rough right now. |
| fazer barraco | make a scene | She made a scene at the restaurant. |
Crush, ranço and relationships
Some Brazilian slang already comes from English, like “crush” and “cringe”. Others have a modern English equivalent from social media.Algumas gírias brasileiras já vêm do inglês, como “crush” e “cringe”. Outras têm um equivalente moderno em inglês vindo das redes sociais.
| Português | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| crush / tô a fim dele | crush / have a crush on | I have a crush on my neighbor. |
| gato / gata | cute / hot | Your cousin is so cute! |
| ficar com alguém | make out with someone | They made out at the party. |
| rolo / casinho | situationship / a fling | It’s not serious, just a fling. |
| ranço | the ick | He chewed with his mouth open. Instant ick. |
| gado | simp | He does everything she asks. Total simp. |
| shippar | ship | I totally ship those two characters. |
| biscoitar | fish for compliments | She posts selfies just to fish for compliments. |
Careful with “hook up”
Students often translate “ficar com alguém” as hook up. In American English, hook up usually suggests more than kissing. For a kiss at a party, make out or kiss is safer.Os alunos muitas vezes traduzem “ficar com alguém” como hook up. No inglês americano, hook up normalmente sugere mais do que beijo. Para um beijo numa festa, make out ou kiss é mais seguro.
Model chat: Portuguese slang, English slang
| Speaker | Line | Português |
|---|---|---|
| Rafa | TGIF, dude! What’s the plan tonight? | Sextou, mano! Qual é o rolê hoje? |
| Gui | There’s a party at Bia’s. You down? | Tem festa na casa da Bia. Topa? |
| Rafa | For sure! But I’m short on cash, you know? | Pode crer! Mas tô sem grana, tá ligado? |
| Gui | No worries, it’s free. My crush is going too. | De boa, é de graça. Meu crush também vai. |
| Rafa | Just don’t embarrass yourself like last time, lol. | Só não paga mico igual da última vez, kkk. |
| Gui | Stop messing with me! Let’s go, I’m picking you up at nine. | Para de me zoar! Partiu, passo aí às nove. |
| Rafa | Bet. Thanks, man! | Fechou. Valeu, mano! |
Register matters
Slang is for friends and relaxed situations. In a job interview, an email to a teacher or an exam, use neutral words: That’s great instead of “that’s sick”, money instead of “bucks”, Thank you instead of “cheers, man”.Gíria é para amigos e situações descontraídas. Numa entrevista de emprego, num e-mail para um professor ou numa prova, use palavras neutras: That’s great em vez de “that’s sick”, money em vez de “bucks”, Thank you em vez de “cheers, man”.
Common Mistakes
Avoid these
✗ The party was top! ✓ The party was awesome!Em inglês, “top” sozinho não funciona como elogio.
✗ I have a crush in him. ✓ I have a crush on him.A preposição certa é on.
✗ Gave bad. ✓ It went south. / We’re screwed.“Deu ruim” não se traduz palavra por palavra.
✗ Let’s give a roll at the mall. ✓ Let’s hang out at the mall.“Dar um rolê” é hang out ou go out.
✗ Stop to mess with me! ✓ Stop messing with me!Stop to + verbo significa “parar para” fazer algo; para “parar de”, use -ing.
✗ We stayed together at the party. ✓ We made out at the party.“Ficar com alguém” não é stay with.
Quick Summary
| Português | English | Register |
|---|---|---|
| mano / parça | bro, dude, buddy, mate (UK) | very informal |
| de boa | no worries, I’m good, chill | informal |
| valeu | thanks, man / cheers (UK) | informal |
| tá ligado? | you know? / you know what I mean? | informal |
| mó legal / top | so cool, awesome | informal |
| partiu / sextou | let’s go! / TGIF | informal |
| zoar / zoeira | mess with / banter | informal |
| treta / migué | drama, beef / an excuse | informal |
| deu ruim | it went south / we’re screwed | informal, a bit rude |
| crush / cringe | crush / cringe, cringey | informal |
Practice Time
Quiz