How to Say Good in Portuguese

The most direct way to say good in Portuguese is “bom” (masculine) and “boa” (feminine), and to react by saying “that’s great!” Brazilians say “que bom!” or “que legal!”. But that’s just the start: Brazilian Portuguese has tons of ways to say something is good, from the most neutral to very colloquial expressions that will make you sound like a native.

In this lesson you’re going to learn how to say good in Portuguese at every level: from “bom” and “muito bom” (very good) to everyday gems like legal, massa, bacana, maneiro and show de bola. Each expression comes with an example sentence so you can practice it in context. That way you’ll understand us here in Brazil and respond naturally whenever something strikes you as good, great or excellent.

Video: Several ways to say “good” in Portuguese

Before getting into the expressions, watch the video where I explain several ways to say “good” in Portuguese with my own pronunciation. The base form is bom (masculine) and boa (feminine), but in Brazil we almost never stop there: we use a bunch of variations depending on the context and the emotion.

Portuguese phrases to practice

Here are 14 ways to say something is good in Portuguese, each with an example sentence to practice in context. They range from the most neutral, like “muito bom”, to very colloquial expressions we use here in Brazil day to day; pay attention to register, because some are informal and others are even a bit crude.

BOM / BOM DEMAIS!

“Bom” is the most direct way to say good in Portuguese, and “bom demais” bumps the intensity up to “really good” or “too good”. It’s 100% neutral: you can use it in any situation, formal or informal, with no fear of getting it wrong.

• Eu achei esse restaurante bom demais, superou minhas expectativas.

DA HORA!

“Da hora” is a colloquial way to say that something is cool, awesome or great, very common among younger people in Brazil. It’s the equivalent of that “how cool!” you blurt out when something excites you.

• Nossa cara, que da hora que você já teve a oportunidade de conhecer meu país.

Learn 20 Irregular Verbs in Portuguese

LEGAL

“Legal” is probably the most common word for saying that something is good, cool or nice in Brazilian Portuguese, and it has nothing to do with the “legal” of laws. If you learn only one expression from this list, make it this one: you’ll hear it all over Brazil.

• Ela me falou que o que achou mais legal da hospedagem nesse hotel foi o SPA.

BACANA

“Bacana” means that something is good, pleasant or well done, and it already sounds familiar in several countries. In Brazil we use it both for things and for people, with a kind, positive tone.

• Caramba, você sabe decorar muito bem, ficou bacana.

MASSA

“Massa” is a very informal way to say that something is awesome or really good, typical of colloquial Brazilian speech. In English it’s close to saying “that’s sick” or “so cool”.

• Ele não achou a festa massa porque só tinha gente muito jovem, ele se sentia um velhinho por lá.

FILÉ

“Filé” literally is a cut of meat, but as an expression it means that something (or someone) is top quality, the best of the best. Watch the context: applied to a person it usually has a flirty tone.

• Nossa, você deve tá malhando muito viu, tá só o filé! (in this case almost hitting on someone)

MUITO FODA

“Muito foda” is a vulgar but very common expression to say that something is awesome, badass, the best. It’s a swear word, so it only goes in informal contexts; among friends it sounds perfectly natural.

• Ele me contou que o tour tinha sido muito foda, hoje tive a oportunidade de ir e não achei lá essas coisas.

In Brazilian Portuguese, when you say “não achei lá essas coisas” you mean that you didn’t find it all that interesting.

How to use FODA in Portuguese

JÓIA

“Jóia” is used to say that something is fine, in order, all good, especially when answering how something is going. It’s informal, positive and sounds super friendly in everyday life.

• E aí, tudo jóia no trabalho?

I also found out that in Argentina they use “joya” for the same thing, “que tal, joya?”; in other Spanish-speaking countries I haven’t seen that.

MANEIRO

“Maneiro” means that something is cool, neat or really good, and it’s very typical of Rio de Janeiro (carioca) Portuguese. Careful, because the verb “maneirar” is another thing, and I explain it right below.

• Me contaram que o festival de música que vai começar na próxima semana será maneiro.

Verb maneirar: this verb refers to “toning down/lowering” something, for example: “Maneira aí no volume da música”, where they’re asking you to turn down the volume.

PRIMEIRA

Saying something turned out “primeira” (from “primeira qualidade”) means it came out excellent, top-notch. It’s an affectionate, colloquial way to praise something well made, especially food.

• Ei, prepara aí um daqueles sanduíches que você faz que fica primeira.

Typical foods of Brazil

DO CARALHO

“Do caralho” is a very emphatic and vulgar way to say that something is excellent, something like “damn good” or “fucking great”. It works as an extremely strong compliment, but it’s a swear word: only use it among close friends.

• Eu achei sua apresentação do caralho, com certeza você vai ter um feedback muito positivo do público.

The most used swear words in Portuguese

CARALHO – Keep in Mind

Keep in mind that the swear word “Caralho” would be like “damn/dammit” in English, but in Brazil it’s a heavy word.

Whenever I’m unsure about a swear word in another language, I ask:

“Hey… but can I say this word at the table during a family dinner?”

hahaha.. and when they tell me NO, right there I realize it’s a swear word to use only among friends!! =D

The word “caralho” in Portuguese literally means “the balls, testicles”.

You can also use it to express outrage “caralho, não aguento ver esse tipo de coisa” or when you’re amazed “caaaaaaralhooo.. você viu o salto que o cara fez na moto?”

SHOW

“Show” is used to react by saying that something is great or awesome, almost like a “perfect!” or “let’s do it!”. It’s short, positive and works well for wrapping up a conversation on a good note.

• – É verdade que você vai vir passar 2 semanas no Brasil?
  – É
  – Show

SHOW DE BOLA

“Show de bola” is the more emphatic version of “show”: it means that something was excellent, spectacular, the best. It comes from the world of football and adds a very Brazilian touch to the compliment.

• O que ela fez pra tirar a empresa das ruínas foi impressionante, muito show de bola a atitude dela.

How to react to good and bad news

UM LUXO

Saying something turned out “um luxo” means it came out gorgeous, elegant, luxurious. We use it to praise a decoration, a meal or anything made with care and good taste.

• Estou impressionada, você caprichou na decoração hein, ficou um luxo.

ÓTIMO

“Ótimo” is the neutral, safe way to say excellent in Portuguese, one step above “bom”. Careful with the pronunciation: the stressed “o” is quite open, and it doesn’t mean “optimal” like it can in English, just very good.

• O jantar de hoje esteve ótimo, fique com vontade de comer mais só de gula.

DEMAIS

“Demais” can mean “too much”, but as a compliment it means that something is awesome, great, incredible. It all depends on the tone: “achei demais” is pure praise, not a complaint.

• Ela mencionou que tava pensando em se mudar pro Brasil e seu amigo achou essa ideia demais.

ARRASAR / ARRASOU

The verb “arrasar” can be used in the sense of “devastating something”, for example “você deixou meu coração arrasado”, or also as something good, “uau, você arrasou na reunião”, in the sense of doing something really well.

• Fiquei sabendo que você arrasou na prova da semana passada, se não me engano foi a nota mais alta né?

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QUE CHIQUE

“Que chique” is used to say that something is elegant, fancy or in good taste, often with a playful wink. It’s that “how fancy!” you drop, sometimes half-joking, when something looks expensive or sophisticated.

• Escutei eles comentando que queriam fazer um casamento muito chique, vão gastar uma nota preta nessa festa.

Several ways to use NOTA in Portuguese