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Portuguese · The Basics

Caralho!

kah-RAH-lyoo · /ka.ˈɾa.ʎu/

Fuck! / Hell! — exclamation and all-purpose intensifier

3/5 Watch your audience

genuinely rude; friends only, never at work

Literally

"Dick / cock"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

Stronger than "porra" and unusually versatile. Solo it's raw shock ("Caralho, que susto!"). It's also a place: "vai pra casa do caralho" sends someone to the middle of nowhere, and "lá no caralho" means unbelievably far away. As an amplifier, "pra caralho" means "as hell." Genuinely rude — friends only, and never in front of your girlfriend's mother.

Heard in the wild

Caralho, esse trânsito não anda!

Fuck, this traffic isn't moving!

Where it lands

Brazil (universal). In PT-PT even more of a workhorse exclamation.

Quick answers

What does "Caralho!" mean?
In Portuguese, "Caralho!" means "Fuck! / Hell! — exclamation and all-purpose intensifier". Literally it's "Dick / cock". Stronger than "porra" and unusually versatile. Solo it's raw shock ("Caralho, que susto!"). It's also a place: "vai pra casa do caralho" sends someone to the middle of nowhere, and "lá no caralho" means unbelievably far away. As an amplifier, "pra caralho" means "as hell." Genuinely rude — friends only, and never in front of your girlfriend's mother.
Is "Caralho!" offensive?
It's genuinely rude — a 3/5 (Watch your audience) on the Punch-o-Meter. Fine among friends, never at work or with people you've just met.
How do you pronounce "Caralho!"?
Say it "kah-RAH-lyoo" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ka.ˈɾa.ʎu.

Related in Portuguese

Porra! POH-hah Damn! / Fuck! — but mostly used as pure punctuation Merda! MEHR-dah Shit! / Crap! Droga! DROH-gah Darn! / Damn it! Caramba! kah-RAHM-bah Wow! / Geez! / Holy cow! Bosta! BOSS-tah Crap! / (a) piece of garbage Cacete! kah-SEH-chee Damn! / Bloody hell! — also 'a ton' as 'pra cacete'

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Damn".

how to say "Damn" →

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