Portuguese · Exclamations & Reactions
Caraca!
kah-RAH-kah · /ka.ˈɾa.ka/
Whoa! / Holy cow! / No way!
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"(minced form of caralho)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
A softened blend of "caralho" and "caraMBA" — all the shock, none of the vulgarity. Pure wide-eyed surprise: a magic trick, a plot twist, a shocking price. Very Rio, now nationwide, big with younger speakers. Clean enough for anywhere.
Heard in the wild
Caraca, você viu esse gol?!
Whoa, did you see that goal?!
Where it lands
Brazil (universal); Rio origin.
Quick answers
- What does "Caraca!" mean?
- In Portuguese, "Caraca!" means "Whoa! / Holy cow! / No way!". Literally it's "(minced form of caralho)". A softened blend of "caralho" and "caraMBA" — all the shock, none of the vulgarity. Pure wide-eyed surprise: a magic trick, a plot twist, a shocking price. Very Rio, now nationwide, big with younger speakers. Clean enough for anywhere.
- Is "Caraca!" 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 "Caraca!"?
- Say it "kah-RAH-kah" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ka.ˈɾa.ka.
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 Caramba! kah-RAHM-bah Wow! / Geez! / Holy cow! Cacete! kah-SEH-chee Damn! / Bloody hell! — also 'a ton' as 'pra cacete' Nossa! NOH-sah Oh my! / Wow! / Geez! Que porra é essa? keh POH-hah eh EH-sah What the fuck is this? / What the hell is going on?
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.
- Italian Minchia! Holy shit! / Wow! / Damn!
- 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.'
- Russian Офигеть! Wow! / Holy cow! / No way!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.