Slang and Expressions vocabulary Gírias e Expressões
12 Portuguese words on the topic of slang and expressions — with pictures, audio recordings and example sentences. Street language—with regional markers, as it varies greatly.
| Picture | English | Portuguese · Português | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 | cool | genial | False friend: English 'genial' means friendly; genial in Portuguese = brilliant, awesome. The everyday Brazilian slang is legal (lit. 'legal'). |
 | cash | o dinheiro | The nh sounds like 'ny' in canyon. Common Brazilian slang for cash: a grana. |
 | guy | o rapaz | Neutral word for a young man; the Brazilian slang for 'guy' is o cara. |
 | party | a festa | Word family: festejar (to celebrate); cf. English 'feast'. In Brazil the Festas Juninas (June festivals) are a national tradition. |
 | what's up? | o que está acontecendo? | The literal question; as a casual greeting Brazilians say E aí? or Tudo bem? |
 | drunk | bêbado | Stress on the first syllable: bê-ba-do. Family: beber (to drink), a bebida (drink). |
 | hangover | a ressaca | a ressaca = hangover AND rough sea. |
 | I don't care | não me importo | Reflexive importar-se, takes com. The Brazilian slang version: não estou nem aí ('I couldn't care less'). |
 | nothing you can do | não tem jeito | jeito = way, knack; dar um jeito = to find a workaround — the root of the famous jeitinho brasileiro. |
 | amazing | incrível | The suffix -vel = English '-ible'; its plural is -veis: incríveis. |
 | perfect | perfeito | Latin -ct- became -it- in Portuguese: perfeito, noite (night), oito (eight). |
 | to flirt | flertar | Borrowed from English 'to flirt', conjugated as a regular -ar verb. The everyday Brazilian slang is paquerar. |