Hello readers,
It’s national day of saudade in Brazil! Feliz dia da saudade! 🙂
As you know, I am from Brazil, and my native tongue is Portuguese. It’s one of the so-called romance languages, and it sounds, as I’ve been told, like a French person trying to speak Spanish. While I am not sure of the accuracy of this statement (I hardly think I sound French), one thing is for sure: I have seen quite a few articles and books mentioning a particular word from my language that seems to be driving gringos to swoon: saudade.
From Michaelis Dictionary, here is what the word means:
saudade
sau·da·desf
1 Sentimento nostálgico e melancólico associado à recordação de pessoa ou coisa ausente, distante ou extinta, ou à ausência de coisas, prazeres e emoções experimentadas e já passadas, consideradas bens positivos e desejáveis; sodade, soidade.
Translation:
Nostalgic and melancholic feeling associated to the remembrance of the person or thing absent, distant or extinct, or the absence of things, pleasures and emotions experimented and already past, considered positive and desirable goods. Continue reading