Portuguese · Football & the Terraces
Craque
KRAH-kee · /ˈkɾa.ki/
Star player / ace / a genius at something
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"(from English 'crack')"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The highest football compliment — the "craque" is the team's genius, the Pelé tier. It spreads beyond the pitch to anyone brilliant at their craft: "ela é craque na cozinha" (she's an ace in the kitchen). Clean, generous praise.
Heard in the wild
Esse menino é um craque, olha o drible!
That kid is a star, look at that dribble!
Where it lands
Brazil (universal).
Quick answers
- What does "Craque" mean?
- In Portuguese, "Craque" means "Star player / ace / a genius at something". Literally it's "(from English 'crack')". The highest football compliment — the "craque" is the team's genius, the Pelé tier. It spreads beyond the pitch to anyone brilliant at their craft: "ela é craque na cozinha" (she's an ace in the kitchen). Clean, generous praise.
- Is "Craque" 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 "Craque"?
- Say it "KRAH-kee" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈkɾa.ki.
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 Sinistro see-NEES-troo Sick! / Insane! (both awesome and scary) Que foda! keh FOH-dah Badass! / Awesome! — OR 'that's rough' (context flips it) Irado ee-RAH-doo Awesome / rad / killer
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.