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Portuguese · The Basics

Merda!

MEHR-dah · /ˈmɛʁ.da/

Shit! / Crap!

2/5 Bar-safe

coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances

Literally

"Shit"

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

How to use it

Does exactly what "shit" does in English — dropped thing, wrong turn, bad news. "Que merda" ("what a mess/how awful") is the everyday complaint. "Um merda" aimed at a person means a worthless nobody. Curiously, telling an actor "merda!" before a show is Brazilian for "break a leg." Coarse but bar-safe.

Heard in the wild

Merda, o ônibus já passou.

Crap, the bus already left.

Where it lands

Brazil and Portugal alike.

Quick answers

What does "Merda!" mean?
In Portuguese, "Merda!" means "Shit! / Crap!". Literally it's "Shit". Does exactly what "shit" does in English — dropped thing, wrong turn, bad news. "Que merda" ("what a mess/how awful") is the everyday complaint. "Um merda" aimed at a person means a worthless nobody. Curiously, telling an actor "merda!" before a show is Brazilian for "break a leg." Coarse but bar-safe.
Is "Merda!" 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 "Merda!"?
Say it "MEHR-dah" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈmɛʁ.da.

Related in Portuguese

Porra! POH-hah Damn! / Fuck! — but mostly used as pure punctuation Caralho! kah-RAH-lyoo Fuck! / Hell! — exclamation and all-purpose intensifier Droga! DROH-gah Darn! / Damn it! Bosta! BOSS-tah Crap! / (a) piece of garbage Cacete! kah-SEH-chee Damn! / Bloody hell! — also 'a ton' as 'pra cacete' Que sacanagem! sah-kah-NAH-zhang That's so unfair! / What a low blow!

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "Damn".

how to say "Damn" →how to say "What a mess" →

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