12 Affectionate nicknames from other countries that look weird when translated into Portuguese

“Querido”, “love”, “baby”, “cat” or “cat”, “my sweetie”, among others, are romantic nicknames that we repeat a lot here in Brazil. Most of these terms of endearment are often related to animals and sweets.

But, as we travel the world, these expressions that show intimacy and trust between two people can get very peculiar, when translated literally into Portuguese. Have you ever thought about calling your girlfriend or boyfriend “silly melon”? It may seem strange to you, but not to the Chinese better half! 🇧🇷

And that’s why we, from the awesome.club, we decided to challenge ourselves and search for unusual but cute names used around the globe among couples. Take a look!

Mice are small rodents known for being noisy and fast. There are those who don’t like them, but there are those who do and still use them as a romantic nickname. For example, in Germany, it is quite common for a man to call his girlfriend or wife “bad”.

The term is also a favorite for young children (who, admittedly, have more in common with tiny animals). In this case, the diminutive “Mäuschen” is the most appropriate.

The French use many animal names as endearing words. One of them, in particular, is “ma poule”, which translated into Portuguese means “my chicken”. Well, the French are very fond of eating poultry, so that might explain why there are so many sweet terms that pay homage to this culinary culture.

“Mon petit chou”. If you forget that the literal translation means “my little cabbage”, you will find that this phrase really means “my favorite” or “my favorite”. Contrary to what people think, the term does not come from cabbage, but from “chou à la crème”, which is a sweet and tasty cream puff. Remember we mentioned above how the French love to reference their cuisine? So it is…

Similar to calling your romantic partner “my treasure” in other languages, you can use “taku kairangi” in Maori, which in Portuguese is the same as saying “my best green stone”. This expression really shows how important this person is to you.

In Mandarin, the word “shǎguā” is a way of showing affection, while teasing your better half, in a playful tone. Think of the Portuguese words “bobo” or “tonto”, because the essence is the same.

Remember, this name should only be used with people you trust, like your partner. Don’t call someone a “melon” for nothing, in a corporate environment or at work, for example, as it can come across as an insult.

While Brazilians tend to affectionately call their peers through the diminutives of facial features, such as “narizinho”, for example. In Sweden, couples call each other “sötnos”, or “fluffy nose”. It means the same as saying “my darling” or “my darling” in Brazil.

The mammal “pig” is a sweet and endearing Cantonese term used to express love between two people — remember the clumsy little pig in Babe? Unlike Western countries, where the word is often used in a more derogatory tone.

The Germans use the combination of two little animals to create the word “mausebär”, which means “bear-mouse”. If for them, a mouse and a bear can be considered cute, then imagine how loving it is to call your partner that.

For this many did not expect. When a Chinese man wants to praise the beauty of a woman, he can say the expression “chén yú luò yàn”, which means “drowned fish, fallen goose”. Although it may seem strange (to us!), there is a story behind this term.

In China, there is a legend of a woman who was so beautiful that, when looking at the fish, they were dazzled, forgot to swim and “drown”. Likewise, it is said that when geese flew over a woman named Wang Zhaojun, they were so impressed by her beauty that they forgot to flap their wings and ended up falling to the ground. Now it makes a lot more sense, doesn’t it?

We could look at little lambs for hours, because they are such adorable little animals. South African women also seem to agree with us, as they refer to someone close to their heart as “hartlam” (the Afrikaans language) or for us, lamb’s heart.

Probably not everyone when they think of a possum, associates it with a cute animal, but Australians seem to think differently and use the word “possum” as a romantic name for their better half. Around here, it is likely that the term is more commonly used in a negative tone, right?

“Muru” is considered one of the most common and adorable Finnish nicknames to use with your boyfriend/girlfriend. It’s so popular that you can even find T-shirts for sale, with the expression stamped on them. So, are you going to risk it? “My bread crumb…”

Do you also show affection by calling your partner an unusual nickname? If so, how about sharing it with us in the comments and the story behind it? We’d love to know! 🇧🇷