Portuguese is a very old language, and like all Romance languages, descended from spoken Latin somewhere in the 3rd century. It’s a beautifully dramatic language full of words that express many deep feelings including those related to the love. While there are many versions and combinations of words used to convey love in Portuguese, please accept my offering of those most used. They are:
Adorar (uh-doe-rah) is to worship and adore
O Afeto (o ah-fay-toe) means affection, to have an attachment.
Amor (uh-more) is the word for love and it is what you address the object of your love. For example, meu amor (my love) is how you may address your special loved one.
Amar (uh-mar) means to hold dear.
Amo (uh-mo) this is the act of loving as in "eu amo voce" which means I love you.
Apaixonar (uh-pah-sho-nar) is used to explain the act of falling in love.
Gostar de (goosh-tar) is used when you go for someone; care for
Paixão (pah-shong) means passion, infatuation, zeal
Pesoa amada (peh-sow-uh uh-ma-duh) is a true-love
Querer (keh-rr) is to imply that one wants another’s love.
Querido/a (keh-ree-doe/uh)-is one who is dearest
Saudade (sew-dahd) means the act of loving and longing
Ternura (teh-noo-rah) refers to affection with gentleness
Like all languages, there are ways of speaking which go beyond the use of everyday words. These words and phrases are “the secret handshake” and using them makes a person communicate like a native speaker. When conveying affection in Portuguese, adding the suffice inho or inha turns the ordinary into the loved. While that suffice, to outsiders, may be taken to mean that the object is little version of itself, what they don’t realize is that the suffice inho or inha also implies having affection for the object. For example, a house is casa but it’s referred to as a casinha if it’s a house is one the speaker loves. If a person is talking about his or her grandmother, the person may refer to the grandmother as Avó. But if the person says Avózinha, that implies this is a grandmother who is very dear to the person’s heart or dare I say it-the favorite grandmother?
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From your friends at Rooster Camisa, haja saúde and may all your days be full of amor and affection.