Someone asks you Como foi o filme?How was the film?
You could just say Foi bom.It was good.
Or you could reach for something with a little more personality. Here are 7 European Portuguese words that mean cool, nice or great.
fixe
- cool
- a good all-purpose option
- it never changes form: um carro fixe, uma ideia fixe, uns sapatos fixes
- watch the pronunciation, the x sounds like the “sh” in “shop”
- O teu relógio é muito fixe.Your watch is really cool.
porreiro / porreira
- cool, easy-going, likeable, decent
- warmer and slightly old-school
- you’ll hear it about people far more than about things
- O João é um tipo porreiro, dá-se bem com toda a gente.João is a good guy, he gets along with everyone.
bacano / bacana
- similar to porreiro/a
- works for people and for things
- Ele criou um espaço bacano.He created a cool space.
altamente
- awesome, amazing
- it also stands alone as an exclamation: Altamente!
- Ontem vi um filme altamente!Yesterday I saw an awesome film!
brutal
- brilliant, fantastic, intense
- the literal sense (savage, violent) is alive too, so tone and context decide which one you mean
- O concerto foi brutal.The concert was amazing.
top
- great, awesome
- informal, popular with younger speakers
- borrowed straight from English, and it doesn’t agree with anything: uma ideia top, uns ténis top
- A fotografia ficou mesmo top.The photo turned out really great.
giro / gira
- for things it means appealing in some sense: cool, nice, cute, interesting, charming, etc.
- for people, it’s usually narrowed to appearance: cute, pretty, good-looking, etc.
- A casa nova é gira, adorei.The new place is lovely, I loved it.
Pick your favourite and try it out this week!