Beautiful in Portuguese

Saying beautiful in Portuguese is not difficult, in fact it is a very easy word to pronounce. “Beleza” is the noun for beautiful in portuguese. As in “Que Beleza!”  (How Beautiful! / What Beauty!) – the wonderful Portuguese phrase that we heard in the Brazilian song Pais Tropical by Jorge Ben Jor.

However, the word beleza also has many other uses in Portuguese.

To say beautiful in Portuguese when speaking about a person (physical beauty) you would say linda (for a woman) or lindo (for a man).

beautiful in portuguese

Other Ways to say Beautiful in Portuguese

If you want to expand your Portuguese vocabulary a bit, here are some synonyms for beautiful in Portuguese:

formoso -  means formidable. lovely, handsome, refined. This is a good one to use if your friend shows up somewhere overly dressed up, you can tease them a bit and say something like “Oi, seu formoso!” (Hey, Mr. handsome!)

bonito – pretty

boa-pinta – this is an adjective used only for describing men. It means “good looking.”

belo – this word is a bit archaic, and it’s usually used in phrases from old Portuguese or in literature, rather than to describe something. For example, you could begin telling the story of something that happened by saying “Um belo dia….”  (“One [fine/beautiful] day…”)

elegante – elegant

simpático – usually this just means “nice” (walking about personality) but it can also suggest a pleasant or appealing physical appearance

charmante – this means charming, but in Portuguese the meaning extends to physical appearance unlike in English where the word refers only to personality.

atraente – attractive

gracioso – graceful

cativante – captivating

jeitoso – this is someone que “tem jeito” (has a way about them, a certain allure). Aquele rapaz é muito jeitoso! 

bem arrumado – someone who is nicely put together, clean, looks good

Beautiful in Portuguese Slang

Here are some Portuguese slang terms for “beautiful:”

gata/gato – literally “cat” but it really means “hot” or “beautiful”

gostosa/gostoso