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Russian · Mat: The Four Roots

Пиздец!

pizdets

peez-DYETS · /pʲɪzˈdʲet͡s/

It's fucked / total disaster / holy shit

4/5 Fighting words

aimed at a person, will start something

Literally

"The end (from 'pizda')"

Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.

How to use it

Built on the "pizd-" root, this is the all-purpose mat noun for catastrophe — "everything's fucked" — or, as a bare exclamation, "holy shit." Perversely it can also intensify something amazing ("pizdato" = fucking great). Serious mat: unusable at work, in front of kids, or with strangers. The clean stand-in is "kapets" or "pipets."

Heard in the wild

Машину угнали. Полный пиздец.

The car got stolen. Total fucking disaster.

Where it lands

Russia (universal); mat — heavily restricted

Quick answers

What does "Пиздец!" mean?
In Russian, "Пиздец!" means "It's fucked / total disaster / holy shit". Literally it's "The end (from 'pizda')". Built on the "pizd-" root, this is the all-purpose mat noun for catastrophe — "everything's fucked" — or, as a bare exclamation, "holy shit." Perversely it can also intensify something amazing ("pizdato" = fucking great). Serious mat: unusable at work, in front of kids, or with strangers. The clean stand-in is "kapets" or "pipets."
Is "Пиздец!" offensive?
Yes — very. It rates 4/5 on the Punch-o-Meter (Fighting words). aimed at a person, will start something. Read the usage note before you even think about it.
How do you pronounce "Пиздец!"?
Say it "peez-DYETS" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: pʲɪzˈdʲet͡s.

Related in Russian

The same idea, elsewhere

Via concepts like "What a mess".

how to say "What a mess" →how to say "Unbelievable" →

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