I wrote about Brazilian comedy series “Vai que cola”. It’s set in Méier, a neighborhood in the northern part of Rio de Janeiro and it’s set in a boarding house with very unique characters.

I started watching the second season last night and I chose seven cool slang words and expressions you’re going to love to learn!

1. quentinha

Quentinha (or marmita or marmitex) is where you put your lunch when you can’t have lunch at home. There are places who serve quentinhas so you go to a place, put what you want to eat in a plastic or aluminum foil plate and then go eat somewhere else. You can also order those quentinhas and most places will deliver it to you. Here’s what a quentinha looks like:

2. xilindró

Xilindró is the prison, the slammer. We can say that someone “foi parar no xilindró” or “caiu no xilindró” (was sent to prison). If you’re sent to prison you can also say, “ele vai ver o sol nascer quadrado”, meaning he’s going to watch the sun rise in a square shape, due to the prison bars.

3. gato

You know that gato is a cat, but in Brazilian slang a gato is a jerry-rig so you can have free cable, internet, electricity and even water. The expression we use is “fazer um gato”. The main satellite dish channel provider in Brazil is Sky, so people joke that they have a “Sky-gato” at home!

4. lesado

Lesado means “damaged”. In Brazilian slang, lesado is someone who’s not all there, who’s a little stupid, clueless. They don’t do things intentionally, they’re just lesados!

5. gamado

Gamado em alguém means you’re smitten with someone, you’re totally in love. For example: Ele tá gamado nela. (He’s madly in love with her.) or “Nossa, to gamadão nessa mina!” (Man, I’m really into this chick!). We can also use the verb “gamar”: Gamei nessa mina! (I fell deeply in love with this chick!)

6. dar (um) perdido

Dar perdido is one of my favorite slang expressions. It’s used when you to do some personal (or illegal or naughty) business so you practically disappear. You stop answering your phone, replying messages. You pratically vanish into thin air. So if a guy wants to cheat on his girlfriend he could say, “Meu, tenho que dar um perdido na minha namorada hoje” (Man, I have to disappear on my girlfriend today”).

7. peguete

Peguete is your squeeze, someone you usually meet only to make out with, it’s nothing serious. Peguete comes from pegar, which means to hook up. Peguete can be used for both guys and girls and it’s something most educated (and boring) adults wouldn’t say. If you have several peguetes and you need to pay attention only to one, you can say “Tive que dar um perdido na peguete 01 pra ficar com a peguete 02”.

Hope you like these cool Brazilian slang words and expressions! See you next time!