The Falando Atlas of Brazilian Portuguese

Regional vocabulary in Bahia

15 regional vocabulary words and expressions documented for Bahia, including forms associated with baiano speakers.

Last updated August 21, 2026Maintained by the Falando editorial team38 cited sourcesHow to cite this page

Why regional patterns differ

Bahian Portuguese helped define the classic “falar baiano” area, marked in part by open e and o before the stressed syllable. Modern ALiB research finds that this vowel pattern is strongest in northern and interior areas and extends into northern Minas Gerais, while Salvador and other urban centres have their own social and generational distributions.

Bahia is also central to research on rural Afro-Brazilian Portuguese. Recordings from long-established communities document grammatical patterns shaped through the historical acquisition and transmission of Portuguese in African-descendant populations. In present-day Salvador, você strongly predominates as the second-person subject form.

Sources: (2010)

Interjections & fillers

Regional vocabulary in Bahia: Vocabulary and expressions
Word	Meaning	Category	Register
arretado	awesome, amazing, angry	Praise, insults & judgements	informal
barril	risky, dicey	Praise, insults & judgements	slang
buzu	bus	Everyday objects	slang
contorno	roundabout	Places & getting around	neutral
fuzuê	commotion, ruckus	Other words	informal
macaxeira	cassava	Food & drink	neutral
mainha	mom, mommy	People & forms of address	informal
massa	cool, awesome	Praise, insults & judgements	informal
meu rei	my king (friendly term of address)	People & forms of address	informal
oxe	what?, huh?, wow!	Interjections & fillers	informal
pão de trigo	bread roll in Florianópolis and parts of Bahia	Food & drink	neutral
queimado	wrapped hard candy in parts of Bahia	Food & drink	neutral
tabacudo	silly, idiot	Praise, insults & judgements	informal
tribufu	ugly person	People & forms of address	informal

oxe

/ˈɔ.ʃi/

what?, huh?, wow!

The clipped form of 'oxente', fired off at the start of a reply to signal surprise, disbelief or mild indignation. It is the single most recognisable Northeastern marker in speech and instantly regional-sounding elsewhere.

Oxe, de onde você tirou essa ideia maluca?What? Where did you get that crazy idea?

informal

Bahia· more common here
the Northeast· strongly associated
Pernambuco· more common here

Sources: Aulete Digital — oxe · Meaning; Priberam — oxe · Meaning, Where it is most associated; Passeios em Recife — Gírias recifenses · Meaning, Where it is most associatedRead more →

People & forms of address

mainha

/maˈi.ɲɐ/

mom, mommy

Affectionate 'mum' in the Northeast (strongest in Bahia), formed from mãe + the diminutive -inha; its male counterpart is painho. Used as a term of address inside the family.

Mainha sempre faz comida pra gente no domingo.My mom always cooks for us on Sundays.

informal

Bahia· strongly associated
the Northeast· strongly associated

Sources:

Praise, insults & judgements

arretado

/a.ʁeˈta.dʊ/

awesome, amazing, angry

The all-purpose Northeastern intensifier of approval — a show, a meal or a person can be arretado. Beware the two other senses Priberam records: 'arretado' also means furious, and in informal Brazilian usage it can mean sexually aroused, so intonation and context matter.

O show de ontem foi arretado!The show last night was awesome!

informal

Bahia· more common here
Ceará· more common here
the Northeast

Food & drink

macaxeira

/ma.ka.ˈʃej.ɾɐ/

cassava

The everyday word for sweet cassava across the Northeast and the North — in Recife or Salvador this, not mandioca, is what you order. Priberam marks it a Brazilian regionalism without naming the region.

No Nordeste, muita gente fala macaxeira.In the Northeast, many people say macaxeira.

neutral

Bahia· more common here
the Northeast· strongly associated

Everyday objects

buzu

/bu.ˈzu/

bus

An informal Bahia word for a bus, especially associated with Salvador. Both buzu and buzú appear in writing; the final syllable is stressed.

Vou pegar o buzu para o centro.I'm taking the bus downtown.

slang

Bahia· strongly associated — Bahia popular-newspaper corpus; Salvador usage independently documented.

Sources: UEFS — Imprensa escrita e produtividade lexical: neologismos no Jornal Massa! (2020) · Where it is most associated

Places & getting around

contorno

/kõ.ˈtoʁ.nu/

roundabout

A regional name for a roundabout with its clearest concentration in Bahia, particularly the sertão. It also appeared more diffusely elsewhere, so the boundary is not exclusive.

Entre no contorno e saia depois do posto de gasolina.Enter the roundabout and exit after the gas station.

neutral

Bahia· strongly associated — The most frequent response in Bahia, especially in the sertão.

Sources: ALiB — Variação lexical em itens da vida urbana nos dados do Projeto do Atlas Linguístico do Brasil (2023) · Meaning, Where it is most associated

Other words

fuzuê

/fu.zuˈe/

commotion, ruckus

Covers both halves of a loud crowd: a lively party with music and dancing, and a noisy row. Context decides which — 'teve um fuzuê danado' can be a great night or a brawl.

Teve um fuzuê danado na festa ontem.There was a huge commotion at the party last night.

informal

Bahia· also used here
the Northeast

Regional vocabulary in Bahia

Why regional patterns differ

Quick comparison

Interjections & fillers

oxe

Learn these 15 baiano words with spaced repetition

People & forms of address

mainha

Praise, insults & judgements

arretado

Food & drink

macaxeira

Everyday objects

buzu

Places & getting around

contorno

Other words

fuzuê

Idioms from Bahia

comer água

Sources cited on this page

meu rei

tribufu

barril

massa

tabacudo

pão de trigo

queimado