How to Call Someone an Idiot in Portuguese (Like We Do in Brazil)

To say idiot in Portuguese, we in Brazil reach for words like "otário", "babaca", "trouxa" or "mané", and the one you pick depends on how hard you want it to land. There isn't one single word for it: we have a whole scale that goes from playful teasing between friends to insults you really shouldn't repeat at the dinner table, whether you want to say stupid in Portuguese or something closer to dumbass in Portuguese.

And if you speak some Spanish and came here looking for huevon in Portuguese (or "weon", as they say in Chile), the closest matches are "otário" and "babaca". Just like huevón, they can be a real insult or a joke between buddies depending on your tone.

In this lesson I'll show you how to call someone stupid in Portuguese in every flavor, with a video where I pronounce each word, what "otário", "babaca" and "trouxa" really mean, and a bonus section at the end with the heavier stuff. And if you want to go beyond calling someone an idiot, here's the full guide to the Brazilian Portuguese swear words we actually use.

Video: Different ways to say "idiot" in Portuguese

In this video I show you the different ways to say idiot in Portuguese, from the mildest to the harshest, with the pronunciation of each one. Pay attention to the tone: just like "jerk" in English, the same word in Brazil can sound like a joke between friends or a real insult.

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List of insults in Portuguese

These are the insults we use in Brazil to call someone an idiot, stupid or a fool without reaching for the really heavy swear words. "Otário" and "babaca" are the most common, "mané", "banana" and "zé ruela" sound more like teasing, and watch out: if you put "seu" or "sua" in front, as in "seu otário", the insult hits much harder.

Otário

"Otário" is someone who's easy to fool, what you'd call a "sucker" in English. That's the otário meaning you'll hear most when someone falls for a scam: "Só um otário cai nesse golpe" (only a sucker falls for that scam).

Babaca

"Babaca" is the idiot who acts foolish or obnoxious, pretty close to "jerk" or "dumbass" when it's said seriously: "Para de ser babaca!" (stop being a jerk!).

Using "seu" and "sua" to insult someone

In front of an insult, "seu" and "sua" don't mean "your". They work just like the "you" in "you idiot!", making the insult stronger. It works with almost any word on this list: "Seu babaca!", "Sua otária!".

Estúpido

In Brazil, "estúpido" doesn't just mean stupid. Above all, it means rude or ill-mannered. If someone tells you "Ele foi muito estúpido comigo", they mean that person treated them badly, not that he isn't smart.

Mané / Zé Mané

"Mané" or "Zé Mané" is the fool, the clueless guy who never notices anything, like a "doofus" or "dork" in English: "Deixa de ser mané, cara!" (don't be such a doofus, dude!).

Manezinho (Florianópolis)

"Manezinho" is not an insult in Florianópolis: it's the affectionate nickname for people born on the island, and locals say it with pride.

Palerma

"Palerma" is someone slow on the uptake, the dimwit who always shows up late to the conversation: "Que palerma, esqueceu a chave de novo" (what a dimwit, he forgot the key again).

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Banana

Besides the fruit, we call someone a "banana" when they have no backbone, never react and let everyone walk all over them, like a "pushover" in English: "Ele é um banana, faz tudo que a sogra manda" (he's a pushover, he does everything his mother-in-law tells him).

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Zé Ruela

"Zé ruela" is a nobody, someone unimportant and a bit dim. We use it to look down on a person: "Quem esse zé ruela pensa que é?" (who does this nobody think he is?).

Trouxa / Trouxa de roupas

"Trouxa" is the naive person everyone takes advantage of, especially in love, even though a "trouxa de roupas" is literally a bundle of clothes: "Ela me fez de trouxa" (she played me for a fool).

Lazarento

"Lazarento" is like calling someone a "bastard" or a "wretch", and it's the harshest word on this list. It comes from Lazarus, the biblical figure who suffered from leprosy: "Aquele lazarento me roubou" (that bastard robbed me).

BONUS CONTENT

Now we move from calling someone an idiot to the truly heavy swear words, what we in Brazil call "palavrões". "Filho da puta" and "arrombado" are strong insults, so learn them to understand a movie or a soccer game, not to throw them around at the dinner table.

Filho da puta / Fi da puta / FDP

"Filho da puta" is the direct equivalent of "son of a bitch". "Fi da puta" is how it sounds when said fast, and "FDP" is the abbreviation you'll see on social media and WhatsApp. Between very close friends it's sometimes used almost with admiration: "Esse FDP ganhou na loteria!" (that son of a bitch won the lottery!).

Arrombado

"Arrombado" is one of the most vulgar insults in Brazilian Portuguese. It comes from the verb "arrombar" (to break down a door), but as an insult it has a sexual connotation and works like a very heavy "bastard" or "asshole": "Sai daqui, seu arrombado!" (get out of here, you bastard!).

Filho de uma égua

"Filho de uma égua" literally means "son of a mare" and is a softer version of "filho da puta". It's very typical of northern Brazil, especially in Pará, where the form "fi d'égua" is also used as an exclamation of surprise or even admiration.

Cara de boceta

"Cara de boceta" is a very vulgar insult, because "boceta" is one of the crudest ways to refer to the vagina in Brazil (even though it originally means "little box"). It's one of those words worth understanding, but better never to say.

Have you heard any of these words or expressions?

If you want to learn more swear words in Portuguese, here's a full post explaining the most common insults in Brazil.

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Other ways to call someone stupid in Portuguese

Idiot isn't the only insult that changes when you cross into Portuguese: we also have our own ways to say clumsy, stingy or ignorant, and some of them look nothing like what you'd expect from English. Which one do you think sounds harsher in Brazil?

• How to say "clumsy" in Portuguese
• How to say "stingy" in Portuguese
• What "ignorante" means in Portuguese
• The difference between "berrar" and "xingar" in Portuguese