Italian · Exclamations
Porca vacca!
POR-kah VAHK-kah · /ˈpor.ka ˈvak.ka/
Holy cow! / Darn!
2/5 Bar-safe
coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances
Literally
"Pig cow"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The barnyard branch of the "porca ___" tree, and a favorite dodge: it sounds like it's winding up to a bestemmia and lands harmlessly on a cow. Family-friendly astonishment, much like "porca miseria." Northern speakers love it.
Heard in the wild
Porca vacca, quanto costa?!
Holy cow, how much does it cost?!
Where it lands
Universal; common in the north
Quick answers
- What does "Porca vacca!" mean?
- In Italian, "Porca vacca!" means "Holy cow! / Darn!". Literally it's "Pig cow". The barnyard branch of the "porca ___" tree, and a favorite dodge: it sounds like it's winding up to a bestemmia and lands harmlessly on a cow. Family-friendly astonishment, much like "porca miseria." Northern speakers love it.
- Is "Porca vacca!" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 2/5 (Bar-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances.
- How do you pronounce "Porca vacca!"?
- Say it "POR-kah VAHK-kah" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈpor.ka ˈvak.ka.
Related in Italian
Cazzo! KAHT-tso Fuck! / Damn! / The all-purpose Italian curse. Merda! MEHR-dah Shit! / Damn it! Porca miseria! POR-kah mee-ZEH-ryah Dammit! / For heaven's sake! Minchia! MEEN-kyah Holy shit! / Wow! / Damn! Cavolo! KAH-vo-lo Darn! / Shoot! / The clean stand-in for cazzo. Mamma mia! MAHM-mah MEE-ah Oh my! / Good heavens! / Wow!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Unbelievable".
- French Oh la vache ! Holy cow! / Wow! / Whoa!
- German Verdammt nochmal! God damn it! / For crying out loud!
- Greek έλα ρε Come on! / No way! / You're kidding — disbelief, protest, or delight depending on tone.
- Japanese やばい Insane / crazy / no way — good OR bad, from context
- Korean 헐 Whoa / no way / I can't even — the all-purpose stunned noise.
- Polish masakra A disaster / unbelievable / total carnage — the all-purpose 'this is insane.'
- Portuguese Caramba! Wow! / Geez! / Holy cow!
- Russian Офигеть! Wow! / Holy cow! / No way!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.