que diabos?
/ki d͡ʒiˈa.bus/word by word
In Portuguese, "what the hell" can be translated as que diabos? If unsure, use que diabos? Wiktionary also lists que raio?
Meaning: an intensive form of what (phrase)
Ways to say it
| Portuguese | IPA |
|---|---|
| que diabos? | /ki d͡ʒiˈa.bus/ (Brazil, word by word) |
| que raio? | /ki ˈʁaj.u/ (Brazil, word by word) |
Both que diabos? and que raio? are used as intensifiers in questions to express disbelief or annoyance.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase que diabos? literally translates to "what devils", while que raio? literally translates to "what lightning bolt".
Which one should you use?
Que diabos? is a more direct equivalent to the English "what the hell" in terms of intensity and tone. In contrast, que raio? is slightly milder and functions more like the English "what the heck".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
Que diabos? is an informal expression. Note that Que porra is an informal phrase meaning "what crap" or "what the fuck".
How do you pronounce it?
The phrase is pronounced /ki dʒiˈa.bus/. It has 3 syllables, with the stress on the 2nd syllable.
Did you know?
- While que diabos? translates to 'what devils', the word diabo is often used in Portuguese to describe a person who is incredibly clever or mischievous, not just evil.
- The word raio is a linguistic doublet of rádio, meaning they both originate from the same Latin root radius.
- In Brazil, adding the word diabos to a question can sometimes signal a challenge or a dare rather than just simple annoyance.
Examples in context
- Que diabo está acontecendo aqui?What the devil is going on here?
- Que raios você está fazendo?What in the world are you doing?
- Que porra é essa?What the hell is this?
- Que merda aconteceu aqui?What the hell happened here?
Sources
- Wiktionary, “what the hell” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (que, diabos, raio) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries que, raio, CC BY-SA 4.0.
