There are few words capable of conveying so much with so littleand saudade is one of them. This simple and beautiful Portuguese word actually hides a very deep meaning.
We tell you the meaning of the word saudade and its originsso that you can include this beautiful and profound concept in your vocabulary.
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Saudade: definition and meaning
Saudade is a word of Portuguese origin that has no literal translation into other languages.It is a very complex and ambiguous concept. The Real Academia Española defines this word as “loneliness, nostalgia, longing”, but the truth is that its meaning is much more elaborate and specific.
The concept of saudade expresses a deep expresses is a deep feeling of longing for a person, something or a place that isThe concept of saudade expresses a deep feeling of longing for a person, something or a place that is far away, that we remember with affection and love, but at the same time with sadness for its absence. The Portuguese Manuel de Melo, a prominent writer and politician of the 17th century, described the concept of saudade as “good that is suffered and evil that is enjoyed”.
It is It is a bittersweet feeling of emptiness caused by the absence of that person or object, similar to the of that person or object, similar to melancholy, which brings with it the idea of wanting to experience it again or the desire to get it back, but at the same time knowing that it will not be possible.
It is a word used in Portuguese and GalicianIt has been included in Spanish and other languages with the same form, since no similar word has been found that can be similar to it and that can express the same thing. Even in Portuguese itself there have been difficulties to define it or to know where it comes from exactly.
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Difference between saudade and homesickness
More popular than saudade is a similar word that we have in the Galician language: morriña.. Although many people use them as synonyms or confuse them, the truth is that both concepts express very different feelings.
Morriña is defined by the RAE as “sadness or melancholy, especially nostalgia for the homeland”. It is a feeling of yearning and nostalgia that implies melancholy for a distant place or person. It is used especially to define the longing one has for one’s homeland, from which one is far away, implying sadness.
Saudade, on the other hand, seems to have a more transcendental and ambiguous point, as it encompasses other feelings that are deeper and more difficult to define. Saudade goes beyond the sadness and longing of homesickness, and also expresses the desire, the longing, the longing, the longing, the longing, the longing, the longing.It also expresses the desire, the longing for that object that goes together with the deep affection that one has for it.
Another difference between saudade and morriña is that the latter concept defines what is experienced by those who are leaving the place, whereas saudade is usually the feeling of melancholy of the person who awaits the arrival of what is gone. the arrival of what is gone. Saudade can also lead to the experience of homesickness, which is one more feeling included in this amalgam of experiences that define this beautiful Portuguese word.
Origin of the word
The origins of the word saudade have been much debated throughout history and there are many interpretations of its formation. and there are many interpretations about its formation. One of the most widespread theories is the one that explains its origin from the Latin word solitatewhich means loneliness, but it is not sufficiently substantiated to reach a true consensus.
Other theories speak of its derivation from other Latin words, such as solu o soidadewhich implies solitude. There are even authors who mention a possible relationship with the Arabic word saudáwhich expresses melancholy, discouragement or bad heart..
The concept has also been approached from philosophy, where authors such as Ramón Piñero have studied its meaning and have tried to explain its formation. For Piñero, saudade is a feeling and a state of mind that stems from lonelinessand that lacks psychological significance.
Other authors look for causes in the characteristics of Portuguese characteristics of Portuguese society, and relate it to its seafaring tradition and melancholic representation of the sea, geographical isolation, its history of conquestsThey relate it to its seafaring tradition and the melancholic representation of the sea, its geographical isolation, its history of conquests or other psychological and sociological aspects, such as the character of the Portuguese or their relationship with emigration.
When can we feel saudade?
As we have seen, saudade is a deep, complex and difficult-to-define feeling, which can really apply to many differentIt can really be applied to many situations. The truth is that the word has always been closely related to the absence of the loved one, especially since its use in literature, so in relation to love it is one of the most recurrent examples of use.
Saudade can represent our longing for a loved one who has had to leave, or it can represent sadness and affection for a loved one we will never see again. It can be the fond loving memory of something that has been lost and that we will never get backor when we learn to live from happiness a memory that really hurts.
But saudade can also represent what we feel when we remember a place we miss and we know we will not return to. Or moments from our childhood or the past that we will never be able to experience again. In short, it is a deep and transcendental conceptIt defines the moment in which the sadness and the joy that we feel for moments that will not be repeated are combined.
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