Portuguese · Joy & Hype
Que foda!
keh FOH-dah · /ke ˈfɔ.da/
Badass! / Awesome! — OR 'that's rough' (context flips it)
3/5 Watch your audience
genuinely rude; friends only, never at work
Literally
"What a fuck"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
A perfect two-faced Brazilian word. "Que foda!" over something impressive means "how badass" — "esse cara é foda" (that guy's a beast). But "tá foda" about a situation means "it's rough / it's screwed." Same word, and only tone tells the difference. Coarse; keep it casual.
Heard in the wild
Ele fala cinco idiomas? Que foda!
He speaks five languages? That's badass!
Where it lands
Brazil (universal).
Quick answers
- What does "Que foda!" mean?
- In Portuguese, "Que foda!" means "Badass! / Awesome! — OR 'that's rough' (context flips it)". Literally it's "What a fuck". A perfect two-faced Brazilian word. "Que foda!" over something impressive means "how badass" — "esse cara é foda" (that guy's a beast). But "tá foda" about a situation means "it's rough / it's screwed." Same word, and only tone tells the difference. Coarse; keep it casual.
- Is "Que foda!" offensive?
- It's genuinely rude — a 3/5 (Watch your audience) on the Punch-o-Meter. Fine among friends, never at work or with people you've just met.
- How do you pronounce "Que foda!"?
- Say it "keh FOH-dah" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ke ˈfɔ.da.
Related in Portuguese
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 Putz! POOTS Darn! / Ugh! / Oh no! Que massa! keh MAH-sah How cool! / Awesome! Da hora dah OH-rah Cool / awesome / sweet Sinistro see-NEES-troo Sick! / Insane! (both awesome and scary)
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "That's awesome".
- French Ça déchire ! That rocks! / That's awesome!
- German Geil! Awesome! / Sick! / Hell yes!
- Greek ρε μαλάκα Hey man / dude / bro — the affectionate-insult greeting between friends.
- Italian Figo! Cool! / Awesome! / Sick!
- Japanese やばい Insane / crazy / no way — good OR bad, from context
- Korean 존나 Fucking / hella — the vulgar intensifier that goes in front of everything.
- Polish zajebisty Fucking awesome / badass — the great slang-POSITIVE of the jebać family.
- Russian Класс! Awesome! / Great! / Cool!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.