Portuguese · The Porra Toolkit — Amplifiers & Punctuation
Pra cacete
prah kah-SEH-chee · /pɾa ka.ˈse.tʃi/
A lot / tons / a ton
2/5 Bar-safe
coarse but friendly; fine among acquaintances
Literally
"For (the) club/cudgel"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The bar-safe version of "pra caralho." Means "a lot" without the full punch: "trabalhei pra cacete hoje" (I worked a ton today). Coarse but friendly — you can say it around people you've just met. If even this feels strong, "pra caramba" is the clean option.
Heard in the wild
Andei pra cacete procurando o hostel.
I walked a ton looking for the hostel.
Where it lands
Brazil (universal).
Quick answers
- What does "Pra cacete" mean?
- In Portuguese, "Pra cacete" means "A lot / tons / a ton". Literally it's "For (the) club/cudgel". The bar-safe version of "pra caralho." Means "a lot" without the full punch: "trabalhei pra cacete hoje" (I worked a ton today). Coarse but friendly — you can say it around people you've just met. If even this feels strong, "pra caramba" is the clean option.
- Is "Pra cacete" 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 "Pra cacete"?
- Say it "prah kah-SEH-chee" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: pɾa ka.ˈse.tʃi.
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 Cacete! kah-SEH-chee Damn! / Bloody hell! — also 'a ton' as 'pra cacete' Pra caralho prah kah-RAH-lyoo As hell / a shitload / extremely Do caralho doo kah-RAH-lyoo Fucking awesome — OR, with 'casa do', the middle of nowhere Que porra é essa? keh POH-hah eh EH-sah What the fuck is this? / What the hell is going on?
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.