Italian · At the Match
Rigore!
ree-GO-ray · /riˈɡo.re/
Penalty! (screamed appeal)
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"Penalty (strictness)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The instinctive roar the moment a defender so much as breathes on a striker in the box — fifty thousand people demanding a penalty at once. Clean, but the emotion behind it is anything but. Follow it, inevitably, with "arbitro!" and worse if it's waved away.
Heard in the wild
L'ha toccato! Rigore! Rigoreee!
He touched him! Penalty! Peeenalty!
Where it lands
Universal across Italy (stadium context)
Quick answers
- What does "Rigore!" mean?
- In Italian, "Rigore!" means "Penalty! (screamed appeal)". Literally it's "Penalty (strictness)". The instinctive roar the moment a defender so much as breathes on a striker in the box — fifty thousand people demanding a penalty at once. Clean, but the emotion behind it is anything but. Follow it, inevitably, with "arbitro!" and worse if it's waved away.
- Is "Rigore!" 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 "Rigore!"?
- Say it "ree-GO-ray" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: riˈɡo.re.
Related in Italian
Arbitro cornuto! AR-bee-tro kor-NOO-to You cheating cuckold of a ref! Arbitro venduto! AR-bee-tro ven-DOO-to The ref's been bought! / Bent referee! Forza! FOR-tsah Come on! / Let's go! / Go [team]! Dai! DYE Come on! / Come off it! / Please! Cazzo! KAHT-tso Fuck! / Damn! / The all-purpose Italian curse. Che cazzo?! kay KAHT-tso What the fuck?!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "No way".
- French Oh la vache ! Holy cow! / Wow! / Whoa!
- German Quatsch! Nonsense! / Rubbish! / No way!
- Greek έλα ρε Come on! / No way! / You're kidding — disbelief, protest, or delight depending on tone.
- Japanese マジ Seriously / for real / no joke
- Korean 헐 Whoa / no way / I can't even — the all-purpose stunned noise.
- Polish no co ty! No way! / Come on! / You can't be serious.
- Portuguese Porra nenhuma! Bullshit! / Like hell! / Not a damn thing
- Russian Офигеть! Wow! / Holy cow! / No way!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.