I’ve spent a few more hours than I care to admit feeling Saudade about the many things in life. From as profound as a loss of a friend to the impactul artistry of the Avengers, it captures the emotion perfectly. It is a brilliant word. Saudade, per Wikipedia, is described as “the love that remains” after someone is gone. Saudade is the recollection of feelings, experiences, places, or events that once brought excitement, pleasure, well-being, which now triggers the senses and makes one live again.”
Here’s another take at this untranslatable word, courtesy of NPR:
Perhaps my favorite of these elusive words is saudade, a Portuguese and Galician term that is a common fixture in the literature and music of Brazil, Portugal, Cape Verde and beyond. The concept has many definitions, including a melancholy nostalgia for something that perhaps has not even happened. It often carries an assurance that this thing you feel nostalgic for will never happen again. My favorite definition of saudade is by Portuguese writer Manuel de Melo: “a pleasure you suffer, an ailment you enjoy.”
When do you feel saudade about something? I decided to make it a celebratory, human word. It perfectly summarizes the human condition in one word.