Portuguese · Exclamations & Reactions
Meu Deus!
meh-oo DEH-oos · /mew ˈdews/
Oh my God! / Good Lord!
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"My God!"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Straight "oh my God," for shock, worry, or awe. Extend to "meu Deus do céu" ("my God in heaven") for maximum drama, beloved by aunts everywhere. Completely clean and constant. Note the religious source runs deep in Brazilian exclamations — "Nossa," "credo," "Ave Maria" all come from the same well.
Heard in the wild
Meu Deus, que notícia terrível!
Oh my God, what terrible news!
Where it lands
Brazil (universal).
Quick answers
- What does "Meu Deus!" mean?
- In Portuguese, "Meu Deus!" means "Oh my God! / Good Lord!". Literally it's "My God!". Straight "oh my God," for shock, worry, or awe. Extend to "meu Deus do céu" ("my God in heaven") for maximum drama, beloved by aunts everywhere. Completely clean and constant. Note the religious source runs deep in Brazilian exclamations — "Nossa," "credo," "Ave Maria" all come from the same well.
- Is "Meu Deus!" 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 "Meu Deus!"?
- Say it "meh-oo DEH-oos" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: mew ˈdews.
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!
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