Brazilian Words
The closing ceremony of the Rio Olympic Games guaranteed an emotional farewell when the word “saudades” was projected onto the field – the word represents the act of missing someone/something. It is often used in poems and the lyrics of Brazilian songs, but the word has no direct translation in English.
Here is a list of some other words that often confuse foreigners: cafuné, the loving act of stroking your fingers through someone’s hair; xodó, something/someone you really appreciate; calorento/friorento, an adjective given to someone who is sensitive to high/low temperatures; farofa, toasted cassava flour, perhaps the most popular of accompaniments in Brazilian cuisine; folgado, an adjective characterising a person who abuses the goodwill of others; and malandro, the label given to that guy who always tries to take advantage of everything, and can actually have a positive or negative connotation depending on the context.
