Search from various English teachers...
Andréa Delogu
Does the word "saudade" only exists in Portuguese?
The word "saudade" is not peculiarity of the Portuguese language. Because derived from Latin, it exists in other Romance languages. Spanish is soledad. The Catalan soledat. The meaning, however, is not the same as that of Portuguese, it is closer to "home nostalgia", the desire to return home.
Portuguese originality was the extension of the term to situations other than loneliness felt by the lack of home: longing is the pain of an absence that we are happy to feel. Even in the semantic field, however, there is correspondent, in Romanian, but in another word: pain (it is said "durere").
It is a feeling that exists in Arabic, in the expression alistiyáqu '' ilal watani". Arabic may even have contributed to the form and meaning of our "saudade" as much as Latin.
Jul 11, 2018 7:25 PM
Corrections · 1
Isn't the word "nostalgic" the same meaning. For example, people are nostalgic to hear the music they listened to when they were younger. That time is gone and can never be re-experienced in the same way again, which seems like the definition of saudade above.
July 12, 2018
Want to progress faster?
Join this learning community and try out free exercises!
Andréa Delogu
Language Skills
English, Italian, Portuguese
Learning Language
English, Italian
Articles You May Also Like

How to Answer “How Was Your Weekend?” Naturally in English
5 likes · 3 Comments

Why Some Jokes Don’t Translate: Understanding Humor in English
2 likes · 0 Comments

How to Talk About Your Strengths and Weaknesses Professionally
1 likes · 0 Comments
More articles
