Saudade vs. Sentir Falta: Say You Miss Someone in Portuguese
Estar com saudade de and sentir falta de both express missing someone or something, with different sentence structures.
Real Life Portuguese · 5 min read · Updated October 14, 2026
The short answer
Saudade is a noun for a feeling of missing someone, a place, or an experience. A common Brazilian phrase is estar com saudade de: estou com saudade da minha família (I miss my family). The verb estar changes with the subject, and de contracts with articles: de + a becomes da; de + o becomes do.
Use estar com saudade de for a feeling of missing someone
Saudade can feel warm, wistful, or affectionate depending on context. English often uses the verb ‘miss,’ but Portuguese packages the feeling as a noun in this expression.
Estou com saudade de você.
I miss you.
A gente está com saudade do verão.
We miss the summer.
Ela sente saudade da cidade onde cresceu.
She misses the city where she grew up.
Use sentir falta de to emphasize someone or something absent
Sentir falta de literally describes feeling the absence or lack of someone or something. It often translates naturally as ‘to miss’: sinto falta dos meus amigos (I miss my friends). The phrase works for people, routines, objects, and activities.
The two expressions overlap. Saudade may highlight an emotional feeling; sentir falta can make the absence itself more explicit, but speakers do not follow a strict distinction in every sentence. Learn both and choose the one that fits your own tone.
Sinto falta de conversar com vocês.
I miss talking with you all.
Você sente falta de morar perto da praia?
Do you miss living near the beach?
Estamos com saudade das nossas caminhadas de domingo.
We miss our Sunday walks.
Put it into practice
Use estar com saudade de or sentir falta de to say you miss someone, a place, or an activity. Both are natural; the second makes the sense of absence especially clear.
Quick practice
Which Portuguese example matches “Do you miss living near the beach”?
Choose an answer to check yourself.
Keep practicing with the Real Life Portuguese app
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