Italian · Joy & Hype
Da paura!
dah pah-OO-rah · /da paˈu.ra/
Awesome! / Insanely good!
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"From fear / scary"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Slang inversion — "so good it's scary," like English "sick" or "wicked." A party, a meal, a car can all be "da paura." Youthful and casual; you'll hear it more from under-forties. Clean.
Heard in the wild
La festa era da paura!
The party was insane!
Where it lands
Universal; youth slang
Quick answers
- What does "Da paura!" mean?
- In Italian, "Da paura!" means "Awesome! / Insanely good!". Literally it's "From fear / scary". Slang inversion — "so good it's scary," like English "sick" or "wicked." A party, a meal, a car can all be "da paura." Youthful and casual; you'll hear it more from under-forties. Clean.
- Is "Da paura!" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "Da paura!"?
- Say it "dah pah-OO-rah" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: da paˈu.ra.
Related in Italian
Figo! FEE-go Cool! / Awesome! / Sick! Che figata! kay fee-GAH-tah How awesome! / So cool! Grande! GRAHN-day Nice one! / You legend! / Way to go! Una bomba! OO-nah BOM-bah A blast / amazing / dynamite Spacchi! SPAHK-kee You rock! / You're killing it! Che goduria! kay go-DOO-ryah Sheer bliss! / So satisfying!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "That's awesome".
- French Ça déchire ! That rocks! / That's awesome!
- German Geil! Awesome! / Sick! / Hell yes!
- Greek ρε μαλάκα Hey man / dude / bro — the affectionate-insult greeting between friends.
- Japanese やばい Insane / crazy / no way — good OR bad, from context
- Korean 존나 Fucking / hella — the vulgar intensifier that goes in front of everything.
- Polish zajebisty Fucking awesome / badass — the great slang-POSITIVE of the jebać family.
- Portuguese Do caralho Fucking awesome — OR, with 'casa do', the middle of nowhere
- Russian Класс! Awesome! / Great! / Cool!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.