Saudade: discover the meaning of this beautiful Portuguese word

There are few words capable of transmitting a lot with so little, and 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 origins, so you can include this beautiful and deep 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, since it is a very complex and ambiguous concept. The Royal Spanish Academy defines this word as "loneliness, nostalgia, longing", but the truth is that its meaning is much more elaborate and specific.

The concept of saudade what expresses is a deep feeling of longing for a person, of 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 seventeenth century, described the concept of saudade as "good to suffer and bad to enjoy."

It is a bittersweet feeling of emptiness caused by absence of that person or object, similar to melancholy, which carries the idea of ​​wanting to experience it again or the desire to recover it again, but at the same time knowing that it will not be possible.

It is a word used in Portuguese and Galician, which 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 comes to express the same thing. Even in Portuguese itself there have been difficulties in defining it or knowing exactly where it comes from.

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Difference between saudade and morriña

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". Is about a feeling of longing and nostalgia which implies melancholy for a distant place or person. It is used especially to define the longing that one has for his native land, from which he is far away, implying sadness.

On the other hand, Saudade seems to have a more transcendental and ambiguous point, since it encompasses other feelings that are deeper and difficult to define. Saudade goes beyond sadness and longing for homelessness, and also expresses the desire, the longing for that object that is linked to the deep affection that one has for it.

Another difference between saudade and morriña is that the latter concept defines what those who leave the place experience, while saudade is usually the feeling of melancholy of the person who expects the arrival of what has left. Saudade can also lead to experiencing morriña, which would become a feeling more encompassed in this amalgam of experiences that define this beautiful Portuguese word.

Origin of the word

The origins of the word saudade have been highly debated throughout history 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 solitate, which means loneliness, but it does not have sufficient grounds for a true consensus to be reached.

Other theories speak of its derivation from other Latin words, such as solu or soidade, which implies solitude. There are even authors who mention the possible relationship with the word from Arabic saudi, what expresses melancholy, discouragement or a 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 comes from loneliness, and that it lacks psychological significance.

Other authors look for causes in their own characteristics of Portuguese society, and they relate it to its maritime tradition and the melancholic representation that the sea has, the geographical isolation, its history of conquests or other psychological and sociological aspects, such as the character of the Portuguese or their relationship with the emigration.

When can we feel saudade?

As we have seen, saudade is about a deep, complex and difficult to define feeling, which 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 common examples of use recurring.

Saudade can represent our longing for the loved one who has had to leave, or it can represent sadness and affection for a loved one that we will never see again. Can be the good loving memory of something that has been lost and that we will no longer recover, or when we learn to live from happiness a memory that actually hurts.

But saudade can also represent what we feel when we remember a place that we long for and that we know we will not return to. Or moments from our childhood or the past that we will not be able to experience again. In short it is a deep and transcendental concept, which defines the moment when sadness and joy come together that we feel for moments that will not be repeated.

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