What does “chiquérrimo” mean in Portuguese?
Brincando de adivinhar placas de rua absurdas
B2 Portuguese listening practice · Brazilian Portuguese · Curated for upper-intermediate learners
The usual way to say “very” in one word is -íssimo: lindíssimo (very beautiful), caríssimo (very expensive). A few words use an older ending, -érrimo, like paupérrimo (extremely poor). Brazilians borrow that ending for fun. Chiquérrima is ultra-chic, and breguérrimo is ultra-tacky (brega = tacky, cheesy). It sounds fake-fancy on purpose.
Chiquérrimo is common enough to appear in dictionaries as an informal word for “very chic.” The -érrimo forms go back to Latin superlatives like pauperrimus. In this sketch, a made-up sign bans ribbons in your hair. The verdict: the sign is chiquérrima, and ribbons in your hair are breguérrimo mesmo.
Vocabulary frequency
How common is the vocabulary in this B2 Portuguese listening practice listening practice?
General Portuguese frequency
Spoken Portuguese frequency
Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · SUBTLEX-PT-BR 2012 (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.