transa

See also: transá and tranša

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtɾɐ̃.zɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtɾɐ̃.zɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈtɾɐ̃.za/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈtɾɐ̃.zɐ/

• Rhymes: -ɐ̃zɐ
• Hyphenation: tran‧sa

Etymology 1

Clipping of transação.

Noun

transa f (plural transas)

1. (Brazil, colloquial) deal, trade, agreement
2. (Brazil, colloquial) sex (an act of sexual intercourse)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

transa

1. inflection of transar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

transa

1. inflection of transir:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “transa”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Deverbal from Lunfardo transar (“to make a shady deal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɾansa/ [ˈt̪ɾãn.sa]
• Rhymes: -ansa
• Syllabification: tran‧sa

Noun

transa m or f by sense (plural transas)

1. (at least in Argentina) drug dealer
   • 2021 June 30, Katherine Sobering, Javier Auyero, “Entre narcos y policías”, in Anfibia‎^[2], retrieved 20 December 2023:

     Los “transas” que vendían en la calle y constituían la base de esta estructura piramidal no eran plenamente conscientes –y la evidencia lo muestra– de estos arreglos.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (Mexico, Ecuador, Paraguay, Rioplatense) loophole

Derived terms

• qué transa

Verb

transa

1. inflection of transar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative
2. inflection of transir:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “transa”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “transa”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010

Swedish

Etymology

From transvestit. The noun form is first attested from 1979,[3] the verb form from 1998.[4]

Noun

transa c

1. (colloquial) a (male) transvestite
2. (colloquial) a drag queen

   Synonym: druga

3. (colloquial, offensive) a trans person

Usage notes

The term can be perceived as highly offensive as a general term for trans persons, especially among younger speakers. It is less controversial as a term for drag queens and is still used as a self-reference among older transvestites.

Declension

Declension of transa

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	transa	transas
	definite	transan	transans
plural	indefinite	transor	transors
	definite	transorna	transornas

Verb

transa

1. (colloquial) to cross-dress; to go out in drag

References

• “transa”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “transa”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)