Jiujiteiro (feminine jiujiteira) is the Portuguese word for a person who practises jiu-jitsu. It is the BJJ counterpart of the judo word judoka, and it has crossed into English along with the rest of the sport's vocabulary.
- Language: Portuguese, jiujiteiro (male), jiujiteira (female). Also written jiu-jiteiro.
- In BJJ: used for anyone who trains, at any belt.
- In judo: the equivalent word is judoka.
What it means
Portuguese builds the names of people who do things with the ending -eiro, so a jiujiteiro is a jiu-jitsu person the way a capoeirista is a capoeira person. Say it zhoo-zhee-TAY-roo. In Brazil it is the ordinary word for everyone on the mat; in English-speaking academies it is a borrowed word that shows you know the culture, and it sits beside plainer words like grappler and BJJ player.
Like judoka, the word carries no rank. A first-week white belt is a jiujiteiro.
Where you hear it
- In Portuguese commentary and in the names of Brazilian academies and events.
- In English BJJ writing, podcasts and social media, often half-joking.
- On patches and shirts, where it marks you as part of the sport.
- In the feminine, jiujiteira, which is used widely for women who train.
How to use it
Use it as a plain noun: she is a jiujiteira; the room was full of jiujiteiros. Spell it with or without the hyphen; both are common. It is a friendly word, so it fits a conversation about training better than a competition rulebook. If you train both arts, you are a judoka on Tuesday and a jiujiteiro on Thursday, and both words are yours.
For the jiujiteiro who has everything except a decent present, our BJJ gifts collection covers it.
Related terms
Judoka, Academy (BJJ), Oss, Mat rat, Lineage.