Portuguese · Romance & Rejection
Gato / Gata
GAH-too / GAH-tah · /ˈɡa.tu / ˈɡa.ta/
Hottie / good-looking guy or girl
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"Cat (m/f)"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
Calling someone a "cat" means they're gorgeous — "que gata!" / "aquele gato." Also a friendly term of address ("oi, gata"), which can read as flirty or just warm depending on tone and who's speaking. Clean and constant. To dial it up: "gato(a) pra caramba."
Heard in the wild
Viu o novo professor? Que gato!
Did you see the new teacher? What a hottie!
Where it lands
Brazil (universal).
Quick answers
- What does "Gato / Gata" mean?
- In Portuguese, "Gato / Gata" means "Hottie / good-looking guy or girl". Literally it's "Cat (m/f)". Calling someone a "cat" means they're gorgeous — "que gata!" / "aquele gato." Also a friendly term of address ("oi, gata"), which can read as flirty or just warm depending on tone and who's speaking. Clean and constant. To dial it up: "gato(a) pra caramba."
- Is "Gato / Gata" 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 "Gato / Gata"?
- Say it "GAH-too / GAH-tah" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈɡa.tu / ˈɡa.ta.
Related in Portuguese
Ficar (com alguém) fee-KAR To make out / hook up casually (no strings) Gostoso / Gostosa gohs-TOH-zoo / gohs-TAW-zah Hot / sexy (of a person); also literally 'delicious' (of food) Cantada kahn-TAH-dah A pickup line / a come-on Levar um fora leh-VAR oong FOH-rah To get rejected / dumped / blown off Levar um chifre leh-VAR oong SHEE-free To be cheated on Pra caralho prah kah-RAH-lyoo As hell / a shitload / extremely
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.