Is ‘Saudade’ the Defining Word of ‘Portugality’? Let’s Reconsider

What other word lies at the heart of the Portuguese soul?

Rui Alves
Babel
Published in
5 min readJun 14, 2024

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A Portuguese woman looking at a male “fadista” while he plays his guitars and sings a fado.
“Fado” by José Malhoa in Museu da Cidade | Source: Wikimedia Commons

What if the word many believe best captures the essence of Portugal isn’t “saudade”? Personally, I think there’s a shorter, yet equally elusive term that truly embodies our national ethos.

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Rui Alves
Babel
Editor for

Language teacher, linguist, life coach, published author (joined the Army and worked for the EU). A publisher, digital ronin, musician and alchemist of sound.