Portuguese · Frustration & Despair
Que saco!
keh SAH-koo · /ke ˈsa.ku/
What a drag! / So annoying! / Ugh!
2/5 Bar-safe
coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances
Literally
"What a (scro)tum / sack"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The default groan of daily annoyance — traffic, a delayed flight, a boring chore. "Encher o saco" means to bug/pester someone ("para de encher meu saco"), and "estou de saco cheio" means "I'm fed up." Yes, "saco" is literally the scrotum, but this usage is so worn-in it's barely felt as vulgar. Bar-safe.
Heard in the wild
De novo com problema no wi-fi? Que saco!
Wi-fi acting up again? What a drag!
Where it lands
Brazil (universal).
Quick answers
- What does "Que saco!" mean?
- In Portuguese, "Que saco!" means "What a drag! / So annoying! / Ugh!". Literally it's "What a (scro)tum / sack". The default groan of daily annoyance — traffic, a delayed flight, a boring chore. "Encher o saco" means to bug/pester someone ("para de encher meu saco"), and "estou de saco cheio" means "I'm fed up." Yes, "saco" is literally the scrotum, but this usage is so worn-in it's barely felt as vulgar. Bar-safe.
- Is "Que saco!" 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 "Que saco!"?
- Say it "keh SAH-koo" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ke ˈsa.ku.
Related in Portuguese
Droga! DROH-gah Darn! / Damn it! Que sacanagem! sah-kah-NAH-zhang That's so unfair! / What a low blow! Pra caralho prah kah-RAH-lyoo As hell / a shitload / extremely Chato SHAH-too Annoying / boring / a pain Putz! POOTS Darn! / Ugh! / Oh no! Que foda! keh FOH-dah Badass! / Awesome! — OR 'that's rough' (context flips it)
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Tough luck".
- French C'est nul ! That sucks / That's lame
- German Mist! Crap! / Rats! — the family-friendly 'damn'
- Greek σιγά Big deal / whatever / calm down / as if — dismissive minimizing.
- Italian Merda! Shit! / Damn it!
- Japanese 勘弁して Give me a break / spare me / oh, come on
- Korean 아이고 Oh dear / oof / good grief — the sound of Korea sitting down after a long day.
- Polish szlag Damn it — 'szlag by to trafił' = may a stroke strike it.
- Russian Капец! That's it, it's over / Damn / Whoa
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