confusion
Raoul Parekh
"figo" or "fico" or something similar. Anyway, I tried to apply it to
someone ("Sei figa"), and I seemed to accidentally insult her. It was a
while before I could explain that hadn't been my intention. Anyway, what was
I trying to say and what did I accidentally say?
raoul
Mary Cassidy
:-)))
Figa means the unmentionable part of her anatomy.
Figo means cool. Not sure if you say it to women, as it's a masculine
word, but I'm sure one of the Italians will tell you.
--
Mary
Sebapop
LOL! ^_^
As Mary wrote you said something pretty different :).
Next time try using "forte".
Sei troppo forte --> "You're so funny!" or "You're so cool!".
Sei troppo il/la migliore --> "you are damn cool"
Sei un figo --> "You are a cool guy" or "You are a handsome guy"
Sei figo --> "You are handsome".
Sei una figa --> "You are a really beautiful girl" but it's derogatory
Sei figa --> "You are really beautiful", again, derogatory
Sei un grande --> "You are cool"
Sei una grande --> "You are cool" BUT be careful, because a lot of bad
sentences starts with "sei una grande...".
"sei una gran stronza", "sei una gran bugiarda", "sei una gran tr***".
Ok, there is "gran" and not "grande" but you can also say them using
"grande", even though is less common.
Be careful if you say "sei una grande", remember to lower the tone of
your voice at the end, or the girl will instinctively think you were
going to continue... :)
You can say "sei grandiosa" ("you're great").
I ran out of ideas... :)
Sebastiano
--
Por una mirada, un mondo;
por una sonrisa, un cielo;
por un beso... yo no sé
qué te diera por un beso.
Isabella Z
wrote:
[...]
>> ("Sei figa"), and I seemed to accidentally insult her. It was a
>> while before I could explain that hadn't been my intention. Anyway, what was
>> I trying to say and what did I accidentally say?
> Figa means the unmentionable part of her anatomy.
Exactly, and it says it the unmentionable way. Almost (there's worse
than that out there in Genitospeakland). BTW, it's only spelt with a
"g" in the North. It's "fica" in central and southern Italy, and in
dictionaries.
>Figo means cool. Not sure if you say it to women, as it's a masculine
>word, but I'm sure one of the Italians will tell you.
Not really, no. Sei forte, sei tosta, sei ganza (regional).
Ciao,
--
Isa
Work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching
Raoul Parekh
colourful range of alternatives. How unfortunate. She forgave me in the end,
though, as it's the same girl I was having the "Ti/vi voglio bene"
difficulties with.
raoul
Cristina Ciocca
"Sebapop" <sebapo...@libero.it> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:8j669v4un6uq7md0t...@4ax.com...
> Sei una grande --> "You are cool" BUT be careful, because a lot of bad
> sentences starts with "sei una grande...".
> "sei una gran stronza", "sei una gran bugiarda", "sei una gran tr***".
> I ran out of ideas... :)
luckily....
LOL
CC
Sebapop
>> I ran out of ideas... :)
>
>luckily....
Well, I guess it's my duty as Italian to help foreign people, don't
you think? ^_^
Sebapop
>thanks to mary & isabella for clearing that up, and Sebapop for his
>colourful range of alternatives.
Colorful?
http://www.notam02.no/~hcholm/altlang/ht/Italian.html
That's colorful, but don't use them! :)
Btw, how do I have to pronounce your name, Raoul Parekh? I can guess
the name, but I don't know how to say the surname. I don't know how to
say the <kh> part in English.
Today I have learnt that Ralph Fiennes is pronounced like "Rafe Fains"
and that Adam Atkinson is pronounced like "Throatwobbler-Mangrove"
(^_^) so I know my instinct is unreliable.
Raoul Parekh
"Sebapop" <sebapo...@libero.it> wrote in message
news:i0969vs7be0a4a9an...@4ax.com...
Well, it's not exactly english... a dodgy transliteration from the
gujarati/hindi who knows how long ago. Anyway, Raoul is Rowl for me, rather
than the more exciting spanish variety (I'm afraid I'm not sophisticated
enough to use phoenetic symbols), and Parekh is Parek with the 'e' as in
bet.
anyway, you seem to be italian, but your signature seems to be spanish, and
your english is eerily perfect. More info?
If only I'd learnt those expressions before my italian trip. Incidentally,
noticing the meaning of "buona donna", does "brava ragazza" mean anything
strange? Because someone told me that they were "una brava ragazza" and I
assumed they meant they were "a good girl", but perhaps that wasn't it at
all...
Thanks for that link, but loads of the english on the site is confusing.
e.g. what on earth is a "very fucking woman"?
raoul
raoul
Sebapop
>Well, it's not exactly english... a dodgy transliteration from the
>gujarati/hindi who knows how long ago.
I knew it was Hindi - Google rules - but unfortunally I am not able to
speak it :). At first I thought it was Arabic - and I would have been
able to pronounce it - but Google showed only Hindi results. Anyway,
what was important was not the original pronunciation of the surname,
but how you say it.
>Anyway, Raoul is Rowl for me, rather
>than the more exciting spanish variety (I'm afraid I'm not sophisticated
>enough to use phoenetic symbols), and Parekh is Parek with the 'e' as in
>bet.
You don't need to use the phonetic symbols, you've been clear enough
without using them. :)
>anyway, you seem to be italian, but your signature seems to be spanish, and
>your english is eerily perfect. More info?
Eerily perfect? You kidding? It's not perfect, not at all :(. You've
not red the "informations" mistake I made some days ago.
Btw, my signature is indeed Spanish.
> Por una mirada, un mondo;
> por una sonrisa, un cielo;
> por un beso... yo no sé
> qué te diera por un beso.
For a glance, a world;
for a smile, a sky;
for a kiss... I don't know
what I'd give (to you) for a kiss
It's Bécquer, Rimas.
And yes, I am Italian. :)
>If only I'd learnt those expressions before my italian trip. Incidentally,
>noticing the meaning of "buona donna", does "brava ragazza" mean anything
>strange?
Nope, don't worry. A "brava ragazza" is a "brava ragazza" :).
Be careful with those expression, some of them are really strong.
>Because someone told me that they were "una brava ragazza" and I
>assumed they meant they were "a good girl", but perhaps that wasn't it at
>all...
LOL. Don't worry. I can't understand how "they" could possibly be "a
good girl". "She" can be "a good girl" and "they" can be "good girls"
(delle brave ragazze).
>Thanks for that link, but loads of the english on the site is confusing.
>e.g. what on earth is a "very fucking woman"?
I'd love to help you, but the term "smandrappata" is unknown to me.
I can guess that a "very fucking woman" is a woman that gets laid a
lor or a woman that is a perfect target for a screw (because she's
very beautiful or because she's easy).
Raoul Parekh
Heh. I probably won't get to use them for a while... I don't really think
they'd be very appropriate in my oral exam on Primo Levi or conversation
practice with my teacher, which are the only two situations I'll be speaking
italian in for a while...
> >Because someone told me that they were "una brava ragazza" and I
> >assumed they meant they were "a good girl", but perhaps that wasn't it at
> >all...
>
> LOL. Don't worry. I can't understand how "they" could possibly be "a
> good girl". "She" can be "a good girl" and "they" can be "good girls"
> (delle brave ragazze).
yeah, that was my english mistake "she meant she was" was what I should have
said. I think it comes from the recent "politically correct" trend to use
the plural object/subject pronoun to avoid favouring a specific gender, but
it was rather meaningless here.
> >Thanks for that link, but loads of the english on the site is confusing.
> >e.g. what on earth is a "very fucking woman"?
>
> I'd love to help you, but the term "smandrappata" is unknown to me.
> I can guess that a "very fucking woman" is a woman that gets laid a
> lor or a woman that is a perfect target for a screw (because she's
> very beautiful or because she's easy).
>
yeah, that's another thing. I was checking out the english-english version
of the dictionary on that site and there were quite a few words that I
didn't know, as well as quite a few that translated slang into more slang.
raoul
Giovanni Bajo
> I ran out of ideas... :)
Sei stupenda, sei fantastica, sei grandiosa, sei la meglio, sei speciale,
sei unica...
Giovanni
Giovanni Bajo
"Raoul Parekh" <raoul_...@nospam.hotmail.com> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:b6v244$skr$1...@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk...
You've been unlucky though, I know many girls who wouldn't get offended if
you told them "sei figa".
Giovanni
Sebapop
>Heh. I probably won't get to use them for a while... I don't really think
>they'd be very appropriate in my oral exam on Primo Levi or conversation
>practice with my teacher, which are the only two situations I'll be speaking
>italian in for a while...
I guess you are right. I don't think that calling your teacher
"coglione" is a nice way to start a conversation. :)
>yeah, that was my english mistake "she meant she was" was what I should have
>said. I think it comes from the recent "politically correct" trend to use
>the plural object/subject pronoun to avoid favouring a specific gender, but
>it was rather meaningless here.
Then, if she meant she was a good girl, than she is a good girl.
Anyway, if someone told you that she is a good girl she is probably a
good girl, if *she* told you that she is a good girl, well, that could
be a different matter. I am thinking about a girl that say "sono una
brava ragazza" to a guy and I can only get a picture of a girl who is
coming on to him, and childly plays with him.
But it depends on the context.
Why would anyone talk about their own qualities? If the guy - or you,
in this situation - said something that undermined her qualities, she
could have answered with "hey, I am good girl, you know" with the
meaning of "I am a good girl, I don't do what you think I would do".
But, if there was no talking like that, but only a billing and cooing
from both sides (or at least from her side) I would say she's hot on
the guy - ehm - you.
>yeah, that's another thing. I was checking out the english-english version
>of the dictionary on that site and there were quite a few words that I
>didn't know, as well as quite a few that translated slang into more slang.
I can imagine. :) I have an American slang dictionary and I doubt that
every American knows all those words.
Please, when you reply to a message, cut the parts you're not replying
to. It's easy to read.
Thanks.
Sebastiano
--
Sebapop
>Sei stupenda, sei fantastica, sei grandiosa, sei la meglio, sei speciale,
>sei unica...
Per un attimo ho pensato che ci stessi provando e volevo comunicarti
che sono un uomo. :)
Gnomo
Sebapop wrote
> >Thanks for that link, but loads of the english on the site is confusing.
>>e.g. what on earth is a "very fucking woman"?
>I'd love to help you, but the term "smandrappata" is unknown to me.
>I can guess that a "very fucking woman" is a woman that gets laid a
>lor or a woman that is a perfect target for a screw (because she's
>very beautiful or because she's easy).
I think that "smandrappata" and "smandrappona" are typical
to Rome and surroundings and hardly understood elsewhere.
I don't know the origin of either term, but they both mean a
VERY easy woman or girl, who does just nothing to hide
the fact that she's always ready for a screw, and all you have
to do is ask.
I have sometimes heard "sgangherata" in the same meaning:
just to give you an idea, this one comes from *a door with
hinges worn out or broken from excessive or improper use,
which would no longer close properly and always remain
(partially) open* ...
That is, exactly the opposite of "una brava ragazza" ;-)
Good luck, Raoul - HTH !
--
Gnomo
...any way the wind blows...
Putifarre at despammed {Enrico C.}
I think you are O.T. here.
You should post your question on it.cultura.linguistica.italiano
--
Enrico
| http://web.mclink.it/MC2515
| I put a peace flag on my home page
Roscio
news:b6v244$skr$1...@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk...
> Another problem: While in Italy, I thought I'd learnt the word for 'cool',
As you can see, "figa" is a four letter word. ;-)))
Defining a girl as "figa", is quite a "hard" compliment...
Its meaning is "you're a cool one", but it also means
"you're a gorgeous one"... and not every girl can
appreciate the compliment.
But, if you tell a guy "sei figo", it means only
"you're cool"...
--
Er Roscio.
Roscio
news:HzIka.20059$DT4.5...@twister1.libero.it...
>
> You've been unlucky though, I know many girls who wouldn't get offended if
> you told them "sei figa".
Can you give us any address, phone number, e-mail... ?... ;-)))
--
Er Roscio.
Raoul Parekh
> Why would anyone talk about their own qualities? If the guy - or you,
> in this situation - said something that undermined her qualities, she
> could have answered with "hey, I am good girl, you know" with the
> meaning of "I am a good girl, I don't do what you think I would do".
yeah, it was this one I'm afraid, not the one below...
> But, if there was no talking like that, but only a billing and cooing
> from both sides (or at least from her side) I would say she's hot on
> the guy - ehm - you.
and she specifically told me how "bello" she thought my friend was..
Incidentally, is "bello" just an incredibly flexible word, or are Italians
incredibly mawkish and over-the-top?
raoul
Raoul Parekh
> I think that "smandrappata" and "smandrappona" are typical
> to Rome and surroundings and hardly understood elsewhere.
>
> I don't know the origin of either term, but they both mean a
> VERY easy woman or girl, who does just nothing to hide
> the fact that she's always ready for a screw, and all you have
> to do is ask.
ah, thanks, that makes things much clearer
> I have sometimes heard "sgangherata" in the same meaning:
> just to give you an idea, this one comes from *a door with
> hinges worn out or broken from excessive or improper use,
> which would no longer close properly and always remain
> (partially) open* ...
>
lol, I wish english slang was so inventive.
raoul
Raoul Parekh
> I think you are O.T. here.
> You should post your question on it.cultura.linguistica.italiano
I probably am, but I'm looking for explanations in english, and all the
posts on it.cultura.languistica.italiano are in italian...
raoul
Mary Cassidy
Don't worry, plenty of foreign learners of Italian post here.
--
Mary
Mary Cassidy
Raoul Parekh wrote:
>
> Incidentally, is "bello" just an incredibly flexible word, or are Italians
> incredibly mawkish and over-the-top?
Extremely flexible.
You can use it for practically anything, like "nice" in English.
--
Mary
Sebapop
>Extremely flexible.
>You can use it for practically anything, like "nice" in English.
True indeed, but he said "how "bello" she thought my friend was...".
In that sentence "bello" can only be "handsome".
Mary Cassidy
Sebapop wrote:
>
> True indeed, but he said "how "bello" she thought my friend was...".
> In that sentence "bello" can only be "handsome".
>
True, and you wouldn't use it to describe food (I still make that
mistake after 20 years in Italy).
--
Mary
Cristina Ciocca
> On Tue, 08 Apr 2003 19:23:22 GMT, "Cristina Ciocca" wrote:
>
> >> I ran out of ideas... :)
> >
> >luckily....
>
> Well, I guess it's my duty as Italian to help foreign people, don't
> you think? ^_^
Yeah right....help them to be smacked right on their face...
LOL
CC
Cristina Ciocca
"Roscio" <ser...@libero.it> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:74Rka.20955$iy5.6...@twister2.libero.it...
> "Raoul Parekh" <raoul_...@nospam.hotmail.com> ha scritto nel messaggio
> news:b6v244$skr$1...@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk...
>
> Its meaning is "you're a cool one", but it also means
> "you're a gorgeous one"... and not every girl can
> appreciate the compliment.
>
> But, if you tell a guy "sei figo", it means only
> "you're cool"...
....bloody linguistic chauvinism....
CC
Sebapop
>True, and you wouldn't use it to describe food (I still make that
>mistake after 20 years in Italy).
^_^. I would use "bello" to describe food only if I am talking about
the look of it. A "bella" cake is a beautiful cake, from an aesthetic
point of view. A "bella bistecca" is a big steak" and "bel piatto di
pasta" is a plate full of pasta, from a quantitative point of view. In
the second and third examples "bello/a" means "big amount".
Using "bello/a" to describe the taste of food is wrong but, you know,
it's not a huge mistake, and as I've already told you, your Italian is
way better than the one of some people I know. :)
Do you say "bello" and someone looks you with a puzzled expression?
Ok, let's say to him that you say "bello" because when you taste
delicious food, you become happy and so you use the exclamation
"bello!" to express your feeling of happiness. ^_^
Sebastiano/tangled speech
Paolo Fiore
news:b6v244$skr$1...@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk...
> "figo" or "fico" or something similar. Anyway, I tried to apply it to
> someone ("Sei figa"), and I seemed to accidentally insult her.
or really unlucky or a very good morphing in action! ;)
Tony the ice man
She has round heels.
Putifarre at despammed {Enrico C.}
> Figo means cool. Not sure if you say it to women,
No, you do not say "figo" (masculin) to a woman.
You could sometimes say "quanto sei figa" to a girl meaning "how cool
wou are", but only to a good friend and with big smiles, making clear
you are not making sexual comments!
(but it's a sort of joke, everybody will laugh :-)
Instead, I would never use the "letter c" variant to say "cool" to a
lady.
--
Enrico (Rome, Italy)
| http://web.mclink.it/MC2515
| plz no email replies, reply in Ng
Putifarre at despammed {Enrico C.}
> Don't worry, plenty of foreign learners of Italian post here.
My mistake, then, sorry :)
--
Enrico
| Just my 2 cents
| Quella riportata è solo una semplice opinione personale
| di un italiano che si arrabbatta per imparare l'inglese