Where it is said
- the Northeast· strongly associated
- Minas Gerais· more common here
- Bahia· more common here
How it is used
The Northeastern all-purpose 'cool/great', applied to ideas, films, people and nights out alike. It is invariable — 'muito massa', never 'masso' — and has spread well beyond the Northeast, but still sounds nordestino.
Examples
Sua ideia para o projeto foi muito massa.
Your idea for the project was really cool.
Que massa que você vai se mudar para o Japão, só não esquece de mandar sushi pra gente!
It's so awesome that you're moving to Japan, just don't forget to send us sushi!
Conhecer o Pelourinho em Salvador seria uma experiência massa demais.
Getting to know Pelourinho in Salvador would be a super awesome experience.
Practise “massa” in context
Hear it, use it in a sentence and get corrected — Falando’s Real Talk and Idioms Trainer are built for words like this. Free for 7 days.
Sources cited on this page
Sources: Aulete — massa · tier 2; Priberam — massa · tier 2; Dicionário Popular — Gírias nordestinas · tier 3