Lovicarious

(https://www.lovicarious.com/)
 (https://twitter.com/lovicarious)  (http://www.facebook.com/WeAreLovicarious)

 (http://www.instagram.com/lovicarious)
home (http://www.lovicarious.com) about  (https://www.lovicarious.com/about-2/)
destinations  (https://www.lovicarious.com/destinations/)
adventures  (https://www.lovicarious.com/adventures-2/)
travel tips  (https://www.lovicarious.com/travel-tips/) 

A Guide To Cape Verdean Slang





 A Guide To Cape Verdean Slang

 (https://www.lovicarious.com/author/cecilia/) -  -
 Africa (https://www.lovicarious.com/category/destinations/africa/)

Cape Verdean Creole, also called kriolu or kriol, is a native language derived

from both Portuguese and African dialects. It is primarily an oral language so

certain expressions and their spelling may vary depending on which island

you are visiting.

It is fairly simple to find a guide to common words and touristic phrases

online, however, it is not so easy to find a list of the slang and colloquialisms
of the region. With the help of my fellow RPCV’s (Returned Peace Corps

(https://www.peacecorps.gov) volunteers), I compiled a list of phrases and

slang which you are likely to encounter during your visit.

Onl
Earn N
Started

Online

Side note, compiling this list and reminiscing on my 2 years spent in Cape
Verde truly filled me with sodade. Don’t worry, you will learn that word below.


Common Phrases And Expressions

Casca dente – This literally translates as “to peel the teeth”. Just as Americans

may say “say cheese!”, this is an expression often used among children
meaning “to smile”.

Example: “Get ready to take a picture, casca dente!”

Da pa dodu – This phrase translates to “give for crazy” and is an expression

meaning to act silly. It also can be used when someone is playing a joke on
someone else or acting up.

Example: I used this expression quite a bit with my students when they
would act up in class. If a student was joking around I would say to the class
“el da pa dodu, o não?” This means “he is acting silly, don’t you think?”

PRICE DROP

Pi D Al t

Djabôdja – This word is actually a shortened version of the phrase “dja bo

odja” meaning “now you see” or “I told you so”.

Example: A mother is telling her child not to play with the scissors, yet the

child persists and winds up cutting himself. The mother is likely to exclaim
“djabôdja”.

Ka ta da – This expression is used when something just isn’t going to happen.

Example: If a guy is trying to impress a girl who is just not interested.

Someone might sympathetically say “Sorry man, ka ta da.”

Maneira – This is a one-word expression translating to “what’s up”?

Example: You pass by someone in the road and can say “maneira?”

O nha mae – This literally means “oh my mother”. It an expression similar to

“oh my gosh”.

Example: You watch your friend put way too much hot sauce on their
Cachupa (http://www.lovicarious.com/cape-verdean-food-morabeza/) and

you know she is going to make herself sick. You watch her bring the spoon
of extremely spicy food up to her mouth and cover your eyes as you exclaim
“oh nha maeeeeee”. (Sometimes the word mae is held for a long time for
added effect, just like you would hold the word “noooooooo”.)

Sodade te matam – This phrase literally means “longing is killing me.” It is

similar to the American saying “to miss something so bad it hurts.”

Example: I haven’t seen my friends in Cape Verde in 6 years, sodade te

matam.

Sta sab; sab di mas; rei de sabi – These three expressions mean “it is good”

with increasing levels of intensity. Sta sab basically means “it is good”,
whereas sab di mas means “it is very good”. If you are eating at someone’s

home and you really want to flatter your host, you can say the meal is rei de

sabi literally translating as “the king of good”.  This expression can be used to
describe most anything from food and music, to a state of being.

 New Approach
Arthritis Management O
Arthritis

Joint Pain Help

Example: If someone asks “How was the party? You can respond O nha mae,

sta sab de mas”, which we now know translates to “Oh my goodness, it was
very good!”

Ta ba ta bai – Commonly used on São Nicolau, this Cape Verdean phrase is a

response meaning “it’s going”.

Example: Someone asks “how are you doing today?” You may respond “ta ba
ta bai.”

Tchuba ta tchobi – Literally translating as “the rain is raining”, this expression

is used simply to indicate that it is raining.

Example: You walk inside, drenched from the rain, and alert your friends that
indeed “tchuba ta tchobi”.

Tomá um pinguin – Often used when referring to an alcoholic beverage, this

phrase means “to take a sip”.

Example: “Come over here and try this grogue (rum), tomá um pinguin.”

Txin-txin – This expression equates to saying “cheers!”


 Example: Raise your glass of grogue and say “txin-txin”!

“Tomá um pinguin.” Tio Toi with his specialty grogue.

Common Words And Exclamations

Basofu –(adj.) elegant; showy; extravagant

Bulea – (n.) free ride; hitchhiking is very common in Cape Verde, so knowing

this word will certainly be useful

Claro – (expression) duh; obviously; of course

Fixe/ Fixola – (adj.) cool

Fla-fla – (n.) This word literally translates to “talk-talk”, meaning gossip


Fofa – (adj./n.) A term of endearment meaning cute. You can use it as an

adjective or as a noun by calling someone “nha (my) fofa”.

Fusko; Moku – (adj.) drunk

Gatita – (n.) cat; sexy girl

Malcriôde – (n.) miscreant; someone who is poorly raised

Morabeza – (n.) This is truly a creole word as it does not translate into
Portuguese. It is a word referring specifically to Cape Verdean warmth and
hospitality. You may thank a host saying “Obrigada pa bo morabeza” meaning

“thank you for your hospitality.” For more on Cape Verdean morabeza, take a

peek at our other article (http://www.lovicarious.com/cape-verdean-food-
morabeza/) .

Moço/ Mos – (expression) dude/man/bro

 Volvu – (n.) granny panties

Xata – (adj.); This word is often used to describe a clingy or overly jealous
girlfriend, although it really just refers to a crazy/annoying female

Insults, Cursing And Other Vulgarities

Anda na cominho ku – This basically means to have sex

Bai pa merda –This expression equates to “f*ck off”.

Da raiba – This is an expression for “piss off”.


Gustoso/Gustosa – This word translates to “tasty”, but is often used to mean
desirable or sexy.

Krika bu mae – This expression means “your mom’s vagina”. It is not used as

an insult, but rather as an exclamation. If someone accidentally drop

something, or if someone is startled, you may hear them yell out krika by mae!

Mata porku – Although this expression translates literally to “kill a pig”, it refers
to the act of having sex.

Nha kre ovo – This is an expression meaning “I want some loving”.

Peixe/Cabeça de peixe – Peixe literally translates to fish, but it is also a common

word for penis. Cabeça means head, so you can figure the rest out. This is a
good word to know, otherwise you will be an easy target for jokes. I had a

whole conversation with a group of teenagers in creole talking about how I

like peixe, but I won’t touch Cabeça de peixe because they are scary looking. Of
course I was referring to fish, and not wanting to eat fish heads, but being

teenagers, they decided to interpret this the other way. They had a laugh and

I was confused, that is until I discovered the other meaning of this word.

Sab pa kaga – This saying means “cool as shit.”

Ta fest ti koku –  This basically translates to “I’m gonna party ‘til I shit.”

Planning a trip to Cape Verde? Be sure to check out our list of must-try local

dishes. (http://www.lovicarious.com/cape-verdean-food-morabeza/)

Like what you see? Pin me to read later!           

