Eu sinto saudade da minha família.

I miss my family.

Breakdown of Eu sinto saudade da minha família.

• eu: I
• minha: my
• a família: the family
• sentir saudade de: to miss

Questions & Answers about Eu sinto saudade da minha família.

What does the sentence "Eu sinto saudade da minha família" mean in English?

It translates to "I miss my family." More literally, it conveys the idea of "I feel a deep longing for my family," capturing a bittersweet mix of nostalgia and the pain of absence.

What exactly does the word saudade signify?

Saudade is a uniquely Portuguese term that expresses a profound sense of longing, nostalgia, or missing someone or something. It carries an emotional depth that implies both the joy of having experienced the presence of that person or thing and the sorrow of its absence. There isn’t an exact one-word translation in English.

Why is the contraction da used before "minha família"?

In Portuguese, da is a contraction of de + a. Since família is a feminine noun and requires the article a, combining them yields da instead of saying de a.

Why is the verb sinto used to express "I miss" instead of another verb?

The verb sinto is the first-person singular form of sentir, which means "to feel." In Portuguese, the expression for missing someone is structured as "sinto saudade"—literally “I feel longing”—which naturally conveys an emotional state rather than simply stating the fact of missing someone.

Is there any difference between "Eu sinto saudade da minha família" and "Tenho saudade da minha família"?