Portuguese · Joy & Hype
Sinistro
see-NEES-troo · /si.ˈnis.tɾu/
Sick! / Insane! (both awesome and scary)
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"Sinister"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
"Sinister" gone slang — it flags anything intense, good or bad. A jaw-dropping trick is "sinistro" (sick!); so is a scary neighborhood ("aquela área é sinistra"). Tone and context sort it out. Clean; big with younger speakers.
Heard in the wild
O show ontem foi sinistro, melhor que já vi.
The show last night was insane, best I've ever seen.
Where it lands
Brazil (universal).
Quick answers
- What does "Sinistro" mean?
- In Portuguese, "Sinistro" means "Sick! / Insane! (both awesome and scary)". Literally it's "Sinister". "Sinister" gone slang — it flags anything intense, good or bad. A jaw-dropping trick is "sinistro" (sick!); so is a scary neighborhood ("aquela área é sinistra"). Tone and context sort it out. Clean; big with younger speakers.
- Is "Sinistro" 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 "Sinistro"?
- Say it "see-NEES-troo" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: si.ˈnis.tɾu.
Related in Portuguese
Do caralho doo kah-RAH-lyoo Fucking awesome — OR, with 'casa do', the middle of nowhere Que massa! keh MAH-sah How cool! / Awesome! Da hora dah OH-rah Cool / awesome / sweet Que foda! keh FOH-dah Badass! / Awesome! — OR 'that's rough' (context flips it) Irado ee-RAH-doo Awesome / rad / killer Arrasou! ah-hah-ZOH You nailed it! / You killed it! / Slay!
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.