garota má
The English phrase "bad girl" is translated into Portuguese as garota má.
The phrase is used to describe a girl or woman who behaves poorly or breaks the rules.
How does it change in a sentence?
In this phrase, the adjective má follows the noun garota. If you wish to express the plural form "bad girls", both the noun and the adjective must take the plural suffix, resulting in garotas más. You can also use menina má as a synonym, where menina serves as an alternative for garota to mean "girl".
Did you know?
- In Brazil, using the word rapariga to mean 'girl' is a major faux pas, as it is a highly offensive term for a prostitute in that country.
- The word má shares the same Latin root as the English word 'malice', meaning both words are distant linguistic cousins.
- Calling someone garota má can sound like the name of a villain in a 'telenovela', which are the highly dramatic soap operas popular across Brazil.
Examples in context
- Ela é uma garota má.She is a bad girl.
- A garota má não seguiu as regras.The bad girl did not follow the rules.
Example conversation
Gabriel catches Camila playing a prank.
- GabrielO que você está fazendo, Camila?What are you doing, Camila?
- CamilaEu só estou brincando!I'm just playing!
- GabrielVocê é uma garota má hoje.You are a bad girl today.
- CamilaEu não sou má!I am not bad!
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries garota, má, CC BY-SA 4.0.
