There’s much ado in the linguist community about words that are difficult to translate, and two Portuguese words often appear on lists of untranslatable words. But I’m going to argue that while both are complex words, they’re not untranslatable.

1. Cafuné

While this word encompasses a concept rather than a single word, it’s pretty straightforward, and incredibly beautiful. Cafuné is the act of tenderly running your fingers through someone else’s hair. Just because you can’t cover it in one word doesn’t mean it’s impossible to translate it; it just takes a bit more explanation (see it in action in a very sweet video of a father and his baby).

Example: A avó fez cafuné novamente até ele adormecer. The grandmother ran her fingers through his hair until he fell asleep.

2. Saudades

This is the most common Portuguese word that linguists allege cannot be translated, because it has more than one layer of meaning. It has a bittersweet component, in that saudades bring happiness in remembering something you love, but brings sadness because that thing or person is gone (though not necessarily forever).

It’s really easy to learn how to use saudades in everyday Portuguese! Click here to read the Portuguese Blog guide to saudades. Then you can listen to the classic song “Chega de Saudade” below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3or_wthpOkE