canalha
What does “canalha” mean in English?
This refers to a dishonest or contemptible person, essentially calling someone a scoundrel. It's a general insult without any sexual connotation.
Literally “scoundrel”
You'd use it directly at someone, similar to calling them a prick or a bastard in English. It's moderately strong, often used in arguments or when expressing disdain.
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Related Portuguese words
bastardo
3/5 · VulgarIt's an insult used to describe someone as cruel or contemptible. The literal sense refers to a person born outside of marriage, but that’s not the focus today.
pilantra
2/5 · CoarseIt's an insult for someone who's dishonest or untrustworthy. Think of it as calling someone a scoundrel or a rogue.
cagão
3/5 · VulgarThis term is used to insult someone by calling them a coward. Literally, it translates to 'person who shits.'
corno
3/5 · VulgarThis refers to someone whose partner is cheating on them, implying they are a cuckold. The literal translation is 'horn', which relates to the idea of being 'horned' by infidelity.
About this data
Swear Atlas is a source-attested, AI-curated reference — not a native-speaker-certified dictionary. Meanings and the 1–5 Burn Rating are approximate editorial assessments that vary with context, region, tone and speaker. Inclusion of a word does not constitute endorsement of its use.
The literal gloss is a short editorial translation to show word-for-word sense, not an etymological claim.
“Sounds like” is an English-friendly approximation of how the word sounds, not an authoritative pronunciation. Where shown, the romanisation is a conventional Latin-script transliteration of the original spelling.
Term attested via Viddexa SafeText (MIT). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.