In Season 1 of The Bear, a character utters the enigmatic phrase "say matae." So, what does "matae" mean? Fans have tons of theories!
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Who Says "Matae" In The Bear, and When?
The phrase "say matae" is heard in The Bear Season 1 Episode 5 - Sheridan, courtesy of Richard "Richie" Jerimovich (portrayed by Ebon Moss-Bachrach).
Moss-Bachrach's character, Richie, is the best friend of Michael, Carmy's later brother. He acts as the de facto manager of the restaurant.
He keeps repeating this phrase during a fight with Neil Fak, another childhood friend of Carmy's family.
Sometimes, Fak acts as a handyman for the restaurant. The episode in question features a physical fight between Neil and Richie over the latter's drug dealing.
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What Does "Matae" Mean? Theories Explained
So far, The Bear team hasn't officially addressed the meaning of Richie's "Say Matae" so it's up to the fans of the show to come up with a plausible meaning.
A common consensus is that "matae" could be a reference Bloodsport, a 1988 movie starring Jean-Claude Van Damme.
This is a martial arts/sports film and, since Episode 5 of The Bear's first season gets Neil Fak involved in a physical fight, this could actually be plausible.
In Japanese sports, such as ninjutsu which we see in the movie, "Matte" can be one of the words used by the referee to stop a match.
In the context of the movie, the word was also used to mean "I give up."
Of course, given that no other references to the movie are present in the show, this is probably something few fans will get unless they're also fans of 80s martial arts films.
If we look at the etymology of the word "matae" the Wiktionary explains it as a verb meaning "cause to defecate" or "happen to defecate" which would also be somewhat plausible in the context of being offensive in a restaurant.
However, in the context in which it is said by Richie, we aren't persuaded that he was referring to bodily functions.
Finally, some Reddit users mention that "matae" is an old-fashioned way to say "uncle" that was used in the 90s in the Midwest.
This, too, has not been confirmed by anyone working on The Bear but, based on the context, we would agree it means something akin to "timeout" or "I give up."
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