Cool in Portuguese

How do you say cool, sweet, sick, awesome, amazing, rad, dope in Brazilian Portuguese? Here are a few ways with examples:

legal

This is the most common way to say “cool” in Portuguese slang. Don’t get confused because it also means “legal” as in legality. This word is used way too much by gringos trying to learn Portuguese, so try some of the other words below.

irado

• Aquele dia foi irado, muito massa. – that day was cool, really cool.

massa

Cool, nice, awesome, sick. This word also means “dough” as in bread-making, it also means “pasta.” This would be a good word to start using when you get sick of saying “legal.” It’s used all the time in Brazil.

• Olha, essa guitarra é massa. – Look, this guitar is cool
• Nossa que carro “massa”! – Jesus, what a cool car!
• A montanha-russa era o brinquedo mais massa do parque de diversões. – The rollercoaster was the coolest ride at the theme park.

bacana

I love this word, it rolls off the tongue so nicely.

• O filme que assistimos foi muito bacana! – The movie we watched was really cool / good

maneiro

a cool situation or thing, something of good quality, that gets people’s attention.

• Achei seu tenis maneiro – I think your tennis shoes are awesome

dez

Literally: “ten.” Means something that’s really good, cool, beautiful, amazing etc. A perfect 10.

ótimo

This doesn’t really mean “cool,” but it’s similar. Literally means “optimum.” Means: great!

show / show de bola

Show means the same thing as “dez.” This is a weird one because it’s a word that Brazil adopted from English. In Brazilian Portuguese, “show” can refer to a music show, a concert but it can also be used as an adjective to mean “cool.” And sometimes, instead of saying “show” Brazilians say “show de bola,” (“ball show”) and I have absolutely NO IDEA where that came from, but it’s a term used quite frequently in Portuguese slang. “Show de bola” probably once had something to do with futebol (soccer), I’m just not sure what.

• Nossa essa balada foi show de bola, catei três lindas meninas. – Jesus, this party was really really good, I made out with three beautiful girls

genial

This is more of a respectable slang. It means something interesting, cool, clever or really intelligent.

• A idéia apresentada na reunião foi genial. – The idea presented at the meeting was really great.

badalada

There might even be some Brazilians who don’t know this gíria. Badalada most often refers to a really good environment (usually expensive or sophisticated), and would be most commonly used to describe a party or a nightclub (comes from “balada“).

da hora

“Cool.”

• O novo video-game que foi lançado é da hora! - The new video game that just came out is awesome.

interessante

“Interessante” in Portuguese does not always translate to the English “interesting.”

demais

Usually this just means “so much” (foi bom demais! – it was so good!). But “demais” by itself can also be used as an adjective for cool in Brazilian Portuguese slang.

• Você e demais! – You are too much! / You are awesome! (often said to thank someone for a favor)

na moral

Carioca slang often used when a person encounters a situation or an object that is pleasing to them, or something that has drawn their attention. Cool, nice.

• na moral o seu computador – Really cool, your computer.

Na moral has another meaning in Portuguese slang. It can mean the same thing as sem problemas, tranquilo, de boa, na moleza. It’s usually used when talking about strategically getting out of difficult situations:

Here are also a few ironic Ways to say “Cool” in Brazilian Portuguese:

sinistro

Literally: sinister.

• Foi sinistro, o salto de esqui – That ski jump was awesome

indecente

Literally: “indecent”

• O seu bolo foi indecente, Marta – Your cake was incredible, Marta

louco / doido

Louco is also spelled lôco. Both loco and doido literally mean crazy, like mentally unstable. But these words can also be used to mean that something is really cool or awesome.

• A nova versão daquele carro esporte ficou muito lôco. – The new version of that sports car turned out really sick.