Where it is said
- the Northeast· strongly associated
- Pernambuco· more common here
How it is used
Pulling silly faces or generally clowning around — 'para de fazer munganga' is what an adult says to a kid mugging for the camera. Light and teasing in tone.
Examples
Pare de fazer munganga na foto!
Stop clowning around in the photo!
O Wesley vive fazendo munganga, tipo, toda hora.
Wesley is always making silly faces, like, all the time.
As mungangas dele fizeram todos rirem.
His clowning around made everyone laugh.
Practise “munganga” 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 — munganga · tier 2; Priberam — munganga · tier 2; DPopular — 190 gírias e expressões nordestinas mais usadas · tier 3; Janelas Abertas — Dicionário de gírias recifenses · tier 4