# malemolência



## suzzzenn

Hi, 

Does this word have a meaning in Portuguese? It is the title of a song. Sorry I can't give any more context than that..the whole song is in Portuguese. It is by CeU. 

Thanks!
Susan


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## cattivabambina

Hi Suasan,
I found a french article about the group "Céu" (probably the one you mean) and they translate "malemolência" with the french "malice", which means "mischievousness".

Laura


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## FranParis

A small misspelling. It's Malevolência.

It has a meaning: *Malevolence*


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## cattivabambina

Hi FranParis,
malemolência was right, at least it is the correct title of the song. I don't know portuguese, but maybe it's because the group is from Brazil, they might have slightly different spellings for single words. Well, the translation is about the same =)


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## FranParis

Don't be "cattiva" with me, D) but I think it's really malevolência :



> O primeiro disco de Céu toma conta do ambiente com um suingue um tanto contido, grooves preguiçosos, agudos sem exageros, graves sussurrados no ouvido. A faixa "Malevolência" talvez seja a mais conhecida por fazer parte da trilha de "Cidade dos Homens", porém ela está longe de resumir o disco.


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## cattivabambina

I have found:
"Le premier single «*Malemolencia*» a été inclus dans la bande son de la série TV «Cidade dos Homens» adaptation du film City of Gods, produit par
TV Globo, 4ème réseau TV mondial."

Seems like we could continue to argue about for ever =)

Laura


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## suzzzenn

Thank you both! The odd spelling the singer uses explains why I couldn't find it in the dictionary. Maybe it is a slang term or something, but I am sure it was intentional. It is the spelling that is used on the singer's website and CD. I got the impression it was a type of music, but couldn't really follow the Portuguese well enough.


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## Vanda

Fran, don't argue with the poor girl: it is malemolência. Although you won't find this word in a dictionary it has acquired a very Brazilian meaning that includes ginga/swing, malice and a special Brazilian way of being!


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## suzzzenn

Vanda said:


> Fran, don't argue with the poor girl: it is malemolência. Although you won't find this word in a dictionary it has acquired a very Brazilian meaning that includes ginga/swing, malice and a special Brazilian way of being!



Hi, What an interesting list of words..ginga/swing, & malice! Could you describe it a little more? How would you characterize the special Brazilian way of being? Does it have a positive meaning?

Susan


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## Vanda

_Does it have a positive meaning?_
For us? Surely! Malemolência, to begin with, brings baiano to my mind. Well, there is a whole story about being baiano in our country and you'd have to know Bahia to understand it.  When I include swing and malice it comes to my mind special rhytms and songs that come from Bahia mainly and the malandros of old Rio de Janeiro.

One of our dictionaries (Houaiss) actually has a definition for malemolência:
- ritmo gingado, característico da interpretação de certos cantores de samba, dançarinos, ou modo característico de portar-se dos antigos malandros; molejo.
 - jogo de atitudes, gestos, jeito de falar ou mover-se que denota qualidades diversas, *mas consideradas positivas* (como a manha, a malícia, a elegância, a destreza), de alguém; molejo


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## suzzzenn

> jogo de atitudes, gestos, jeito de falar ou mover-se que denota qualidades diversas, mas consideradas positivas (como a manha, a malícia, a elegância, a destreza), de alguém; molejo
> __________________



Thanks Vanda, 

Did I get this translation basically right? I don't speak portuguese but my Spanish helps a bit  

Play of attitudes, gestures, and forms of speaking or moving which denote diverse qualities, mostly considered positive (like ?, mischievousness, elegance, and skill) of someone; molejo? 

It's very interesting that such a complex concept is rolled into one word. It seems that there's no simple translation - you have to really understand the cultural context to get the meaning of the word. 

Have you ever heard the song Malemolencia by CeU? Do you think it is a good representation of the concept? (In addition to being a pretty song)


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## FranParis

Vanda said:


> Fran, don't argue with the poor girl: it is malemolência.


 
Vanda, I was not arguing,  ! just asserting what I thought it was.

Mas a nossa professora de coisas ternas, Vanda, ja esclareceu tudo!


Cattiva, you were right, bambina,


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## Vanda

I want to make a correction. I didn't mean malice - it is a false cognate for our malícia= esperteza, vivacidade, astúcia, manha, marotice . So, in place of malice, please read witty, kinky, sly, plus the swing stuff...

As for the lyrics, they don't say much about malemolência. They mention the word one time in the end: vem pra roda da malemolência/ calling the other to enter the - errr, how do we say roda in this sense??? - malemolência ambiance.  And I'm just trying to recall the music, not sure if I know it!


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## suzzzenn

Vanda said:


> I want to make a correction. I didn't mean malice - it is a false cognate for our malícia= esperteza, vivacidade, astúcia, manha, marotice . So, in place of malice, please read witty, kinky, sly, plus the swing stuff...
> 
> As for the lyrics, they don't say much about malemolência. They mention the word one time in the end: vem pra roda da malemolência/ calling the other to enter the - errr, how do we say roda in this sense??? - malemolência ambiance.  And I'm just trying to recall the music, not sure if I know it!



I suspected  it must be a false cognate. It just didn't fit because the rest of the words you used were so positive.  Malice expresses real cruelity in English.

Kinky is another interesting word choice. So here's another question. How would someone use this term..as an adjective and/or a noun. "She is a malemolenica" "How malemolencia she is!" "She is being malemolencia" ?? I'd love some sentences where the word is being used. (With translations of course)

Thanks again for the interesting discussion! I learned a lot. I think I am going to explore this genre of music. Next stop Brazil!


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## jazyk

I don't think you should worry too much about this word. I've probably heard it only once in my entire life and am not that sure what it means myself.


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## suzzzenn

I wouln't say I'm worrying about it --I am enjoying it! But it is good to know it is not very common in mainstream Brazilian culture.


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## Vanda

> Kinky is another interesting word choice. So here's another question. How would someone use this term..as an adjective and/or a noun. "She is a malemolenica" "How malemolencia she is!" "She is being malemolencia" ?? I'd love some sentences where the word is being used. (


 
As an adjective: She is malemolente/ She's got the malemolência/ Uau! He is malemolente!/ She's being malemolente! 
Well, as for some sentences about it, besides the ones you've suggested I can't think of more. As Jazyk said above, it is not a word used  by all 'cause it is a word of a particular region in here. Most dictionaries even don't bring the word but the one I quoted above. 
And yes, I like pronouncing the word, it gives me a melemolência...


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## suzzzenn

Vanda you've been awesome! I've felt very welcome in this forum. ¡Que malemolente!  (I don't know how you move or how sly and kinky you are-- but you have the skilled part)


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## oivlis

Can be person very lazy.
I need intire song or name of musical group. Well, if the group is baiano (born in Bahia, Brazil), they must speak about lazyness.
Pode ser uma pessoa mole (preguiçosa).
Eu preciso da música inteira ou do nome do grupo musical. Bem, se o grupo é baiano, eles devem falar sobre preguiça.


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## Capitão Haddok

Vanda, acho que o sinónimo mais perfeito é, com efeito, "molejo" (lindíssima palavra também). Eu ouvi "malemolência" numa entrevista radiofónica ao Toquinho, para tentar exprimir precisamente o jeito especial de os brasileiros estarem no mundo em geral, e nomeadamente na praia. Malemolência é ver escapar papagaio ou balão dos mãos, e em vez de tentar apanhá-los ou chatear-se por o não conseguir, ficar a ver como é lindo o percurso que eles traçam no céu. A tradução francesa por "malice" acho-a péssima, pois indica uma vivacidade antes própria da "traquinice" que da malemolência


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## avok

"malemolência" reminds me of "melancolia"


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## suzzzenn

Capitão Haddok said:


> Vanda, acho que o sinónimo mais perfeito é, com efeito, "molejo" (lindíssima palavra também). Eu ouvi "malemolência" numa entrevista radiofónica ao Toquinho, para tentar exprimir precisamente o jeito especial de os brasileiros estarem no mundo em geral, e nomeadamente na praia. Malemolência é ver escapar papagaio ou balão dos mãos, e em vez de tentar apanhá-los ou chatear-se por o não conseguir, ficar a ver como é lindo o percurso que eles traçam no céu. A tradução francesa por "malice" acho-a péssima, pois indica uma vivacidade antes própria da "traquinice" que da malemolência



This looks interesting but I can't follow it. Could you translate this for me? I am curious! I want to know what the lindissima palavra is and what the radio show was about.

Thanks


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## Vanda

Molejo is the swing thing we have already said. 
molejo- saracoteio= Ato ou efeito de saracotear(-se); saracoteamento,  rebolado, bamboleio.


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## Macunaíma

*Malemolência* não é uma palavra tão desconhecida assim, e até me espantou constatar que ela realmente não consta do dicionário Aurélio. É uma palavra muito encontrada na cultura popular e na literatura mais voltada a descrever essa cultura --você a encontrará muito nos livros de Jorge Amado, por exemplo, e nas letras de sambas.

*Malemolência* vem de *mole *(lazy), assim como *molejo*. Acho que originalmente descrevia apenas o modo de caminhar dos malandros, dos capoeiras de cais, depois passou ter um significado mais geral, sendo usada também para descrever uma maneira de levar a vida. Eu me lembro de uma das últimas entrevistas de Bezerra da Silva na TV, em que ele atribuía o _caminhar malemolente_ do malandro carioca ao fato de ele estar acostumado a descer as ladeiras e becos do morro onde mora. Daí ele se levantou e, no seu terno branco típico da malandragem dos velhos tempos, mostrou como é que malandro caminha. 

Os atributos da boa malandragem são valorizados na cultura brasileira como típicos de um povo que vive com alegria e enfrenta as adversidades sem fatalismo, com flexibilidade e bom humor. Foi essa cultura da malandragem (malemolente por natureza) que produziu o melhor da música brasileira, e foi descrevendo essa cultura que a nossa literatura e nosso cinema viveram seus melhores momentos.

Traduzir malemolência...uhm, acho difícil. Como a suzzzenn disse bem, é preciso entender o contexto cultural onde ela é aplicada. Não descreve preguiça propriamente dita, mas uma antipatia ao trabalho que não seja apenas o necessário para viver e não deixe tempo para a boemia com os amigos ( aí nasceu uma cultura! ). Flexibilidade, sim, é um bom conceito para se juntar à definição de malemolência --e malandragem, por conseguinte. Mas acho que já deu para entender.


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## Capitão Haddok

suzzzenn said:


> This looks interesting but I can't follow it. Could you translate this for me? I am curious! I want to know what the lindissima palavra is and what the radio show was about.
> 
> Thanks


excuse me, my English level is very low, but I'll try

"Vanda, I think the most perfect synonym is, in fact, "molejo" (very beautiful word also). I heard "malemolência" in a radio interview to Toquinho (a famous brasilian singer, composer and music player), trying explain precisely the special way of brasilians are in the world, specialy at beach. Malemolência is wacht a kite or balloon runig away from our hands and nothing do, no try catch it, no get angry for no get it, but remain looking how is beautiful the path they desing in the sky. The French traslation as "malice" I think's completly wrong, beacause involve some liveliness (vivacity), related better to "traquinice" (mischief) than "malemolência"."
The word I heard on radio was "malemolência", no "molejo". Both proceed, ultimately, I think, from "mole" (soft) or "mola" (spring), or perhaps a blend made from both: a soft spring, like an especial hip shaking


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## suzzzenn

Capitão Haddok said:


> excuse me, my English level is very low, but I'll try
> 
> "Vanda, I think the most perfect synonym is, in fact, "molejo" (very beautiful word also). I heard "malemolência" in a radio interview to Toquinho (a famous brasilian singer, composer and music player), trying explain precisely the special way of brasilians are in the world, specialy at beach. Malemolência is wacht a kite or balloon runig away from our hands and nothing do, no try catch it, no get angry for no get it, but remain looking how is beautiful the path they desing in the sky. The French traslation as "malice" I think's completly wrong, beacause involve some liveliness (vivacity), related better to "traquinice" (mischief) than "malemolência"."
> The word I heard on radio was "malemolência", no "molejo". Both proceed, ultimately, I think, from "mole" (soft) or "mola" (spring), or perhaps a blend made from both: a soft spring, like an especial hip shaking



Thank you for this translation. I really appreciated the effort and understood what you were saying very well. The music did have a soft quality to it. Does Toquino's music have a malemolente feel? I would like to start listening to more music that expresses this idea so I can get a "feeling" for it. 



> Malemolência não é uma palavra tão desconhecida assim, e até me espantou constatar que ela realmente não consta do dicionário Aurélio. É uma palavra muito encontrada na cultura popular e na literatura mais voltada a descrever essa cultura --você a encontrará muito nos livros de Jorge Amado, por exemplo, e nas letras de sambas.
> 
> Malemolência vem de mole (lazy), assim como molejo. Acho que originalmente descrevia apenas o modo de caminhar dos malandros, dos capoeiras de cais, depois passou ter um significado mais geral, sendo usada também para descrever uma maneira de levar a vida. Eu me lembro de uma das últimas entrevistas de Bezerra da Silva na TV, em que ele atribuía o caminhar malemolente do malandro carioca ao fato de ele estar acostumado a descer as ladeiras e becos do morro onde mora. Daí ele se levantou e, no seu terno branco típico da malandragem dos velhos tempos, mostrou como é que malandro caminha.
> 
> Os atributos da boa malandragem são valorizados na cultura brasileira como típicos de um povo que vive com alegria e enfrenta as adversidades sem fatalismo, com flexibilidade e bom humor. Foi essa cultura da malandragem (malemolente por natureza) que produziu o melhor da música brasileira, e foi descrevendo essa cultura que a nossa literatura e nosso cinema viveram seus melhores momentos.
> 
> Traduzir malemolência...uhm, acho difícil. Como a suzzzenn disse bem, é preciso entender o contexto cultural onde ela é aplicada. Não descreve preguiça propriamente dita, mas uma antipatia ao trabalho que não seja apenas o necessário para viver e não deixe tempo para a boemia com os amigos ( aí nasceu uma cultura! ). Flexibilidade, sim, é um bom conceito para se juntar à definição de malemolência --e malandragem, por conseguinte. Mas acho que já deu para entender.



Could you do me the same favor and translate this into English (or Spanish) for me? I would have to look up every third word in the dictionary. I did get the part about Jorge Amado. he is one of my favorite writer's and I've read almost all of his books (English Translations). Could you give me a specific example of this voice in one of his novels? Are there any books that embody it more than others? characters? passages? Like for example, maybe Gabriela...

It is interesting how music, images, attitudes, movement, rythym, and even a way of looking at life can be expressed in one word! I am so glad that I asked for a translation - I thought it would be simple, but complex is so much better. 

Susan


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## edupa

Macunaíma said:


> *Malemolência* não é uma palavra tão desconhecida assim,
> 
> Concordo, Macu. Aqui no Brasil ouço e já usei "malemolência", principalmente pra se referir ao cantar, andar, falar típico de algumas pessoas.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> suzzzenn said:
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you for this translation. I really appreciated the effort and understood what you were saying very well. The music did have a soft quality to it. Does Toquino's music have a malemolente feel? I would like to start listening to more music that expresses this idea so I can get a "feeling" for it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> As far as I'm concerned Toquinho is possibly the furthest thing from malemolência you'll get. Which is not to say his music is not...interesting (mostly) for its historical value. Plus Toquinho is a real trip, the biggest story teller you'll ever know. His concerts are totally worth it.
> 
> For malemolência, suzzzenn, you want to listen to Rosa Passos, especially to her recording of "Na Baixa do Sapateiro" -- that, my friend, is the epitome of malemolência. Her middle name should be Rhythm and Swing...
> 
> Vanda, please don't erase this  I'm really trying to help suzzzenn get the meaning of malemolência -- only it's thru music.
> 
> Click to expand...
Click to expand...


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## suzzzenn

> For malemolência, suzzzenn, you want to listen to Rosa Passos, especially to her recording of "Na Baixa do Sapateiro" -- that, my friend, is the epitome of malemolência. Her middle name should be Rhythm and Swing...



Hola
I looked for that  song and couldn't find it. She has very pure, sweet voice - very lovely. I somehow thought malmolência  would sound darker, smokier, more raw. But as I look back through the posts, most people are describing it as very soft and flowing. Since I can't get that particular song, are there any others that epitomize malmolência? 

Obrigada


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## Vanda

Aviso aos navegantes: Caso queiram citar músicas, _links_ para vídeos sobre o assunto, façam como eu fiz: mandem um PM. Not here, though!


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## Maria Maya

"malemolência" is something you have, or don't. I think you could use it in a context like: you see someone (man or woman) walking or dancing and you comment to someone near you, "look her/him, full of 'malemolência'." In my way of seeing things, it is all about what Vanda said, but very related with the way a person moves. The word "groovy" comes to my mind, the problem is that i don't know if my understandingo of 'groovy' is that good. kisses.


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## happyfox

The word malemolencia is unique and untranslateable Brazilian word which describes "the Brazilian way of being" and can mean being lazy in a clever way, having an easy rhythm and skill in the way you do anything (walk or play football etc.), taking it easy but being the best nevertheless. It's the easy effortlessness with which their hips move when they dance and so on...

The album notes from the French version of the album misunderstood the word which has nothing to do with malice. 

Ceu's song of that name, according to Whatmusic who released the English version, is about her watching a beautiful boy dancing the capoeira who she falls in love with because he is doing it in 'the malemolencia way'. The chorus line "menino benito" means "you beautiful boy!"

It's a shame that when you google "malemolencia" the subtext from wordreference.com from this forum picks the wrong meaning!


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## Brasileirinha56

Hi.
Yes, the word "malicia" in Portuguese is different in meaning than in English.  It is more indicative of being cunning or astute or perceptive or quick mentally.  

Ginga is unique to Brasilians and is used a lot in describing Brasilian soccer players.  They just have 'it'...that way of moving.  Brasilian women have 'it' too...sensuality, confidence.  There are words that just sound like they mean something and "malemolencia" is one of those words.  The Ceu song talks about a beautiful boy who dared to look at her in such a way as to take her breath away.  So, she then talks about "falling into the dance" and falling into the spinning of the malemolencia.  To me, it's abstract, but gives the feeling of falling in love and the dance of love that is so earthy and sensual.  The motions that go with love, the game, the dance of love.

It's poetic.

Also...you should all buy the Ceu cd.  It is really, really good.  Very sexy and very hip.


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## Dom Casmurro

Thank you, Brasileirinha, for unearthing  this thread, which had been dormant since April.  If it weren't  for you, I would have missed the brilliant comments (yours included) that were posted here about the tricky meaning of 'malemolência'. It has been a sheer pleasure to read them.


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## okporip

Um único detalhe: "Céu" não é o nome de um grupo, mas de uma cantora!


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## Brasileirinha56

You are very welcome, Dom Casmurro.    I too enjoyed reading everyone's comments and observations.  Thank you.


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## anjinho

Acho que a musica "Morena Boca de Ouro" diz "...samba com malemolência."


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## malemolente

malemolencia is a kind of swagger (slow, soft, lethargic, absent of efforts).  A "malemolente" person is an opposite of hard work person.


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## bentstavanger

My educated guess is, that "malemolência" is a dialectal attrition of "malevolência", which means the same as "malevolence" in english. The word is also found in the song "Morena Boca de Ouro" by Ary Barroso, along with another word that has probably suffered attrition as well: "sestrosa" from "destroça"...?

Anyway, Brazilian culture is full of references to mischievousness, not least when dealing with samba, capoeira and candomblé. So the word is probably not to be understood as malevolence as such, but rather as unpredictable playfulness with a twist of calculating spite...


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