Questions tagged [english-comparison]
Questions about comparing differences in usage and meaning of a word or phrase between Italian and English
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Il sostantivo "manufatto" è il participio passato di un verbo irregolare?
Se la risposta fosse affermativa, vorrebbe dire che potrei utilizzarlo così,
Questo strumento è stato sapientemente manufatto.
che mi sembrerebbe una traduzione quanto più vicina all'inglese ...
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Traduzione di "commit" in informatica (es. "git commit")
Esiste una traduzione italiana del termine tecnico "commit" (nome o verbo) usato nel gergo di Git?
Più generalmente, esiste un dizionario online di termini informatici correnti? Sono nato in ...
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2
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Are there multiple ways to count age in Italian?
In reading about the Italian singer Francesco Di Giacomo, I found that the English Wikipedia lists his life as "(22 August 1947 – 21 February 2014)" and claims, logically enough, that he ...
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Chi ha chiamato Mario? = "Who did Mario call?" or "Who called Mario?"
When I translate "Who did Mario call?" and "Who called Mario?" using Google Translate I get "Chi ha chiamato Mario" for both cases. So is the Italian question ambiguous ...
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In italiano ci sono mai state parole analoghe alle inglesi "cake" e "pie"?
In inglese le torte (salate e dolci) si dividono in cake e pie. In italiano solitamente non si fa questa distinzione (apple pie è "torta di mele" ma birthday cake è "torta di compleanno&...
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"Colpo di espresso" = "shot of espresso"?
Does "shot of espresso" translate into Italian as "colpo di caffé espresso", or is there a different way of saying this, such as tazza?
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What is this grammar? It's so confusing
Non era un legno di lusso, ma un semplice pezzo da catasta, di quelli che d'inverno si mettono nelle stufe e nei caminetti per accendere il fuoco e per riscaldare le stanze.
Just a common block of ...
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Sull'uso di "evidenza" in espressioni come "(non) ci sono evidenze", "(non) c'è un'evidenza" o "evidenze scientifiche"
In una recente discussione nei commenti a questa domanda, si è menzionato che il termine "evidenza" usato in espressioni come "ci sono evidenze", "non ci sono evidenze", ...
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Issues with reflexive verbs and si passivante
I'll explain my current knowledge for context.
Given there is 3 main types of verbs, namely, action (transitive or intransitive), linking (e.g to be, to become), and modal (or helping verbs).
Firstly, ...
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Ranking of obligatoriness of Italian deontic modals
English has three modals for deontic differences. Ranked from lest to most obligatory, they seem to be:
He should.
He has to.
He must.
cf. «What is the difference between “have to”, “must”, and “...
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Is there an Italian equivalent for the English abbreviation "MC" for "main character?"
Since I see "MC" often in the context of English games and so forth, I wanted to know if Italians had an equivalent word that they would use when talking about a character/protagonist of a story, ...
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Pronuncia delle vocali "e" e "i" per studente inglese
Vorrei un consiglio su come aiutare una studentessa (anglofona) che continua a confondere le "i" con le "e". In particolare quando una parola in italiano finisce in "e", lei la pronucia "i". Credo sia ...
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Can "quasi quasi" carry the same disapproving, threatening tone as "have half a mind to do" in English?
The other day, in conversation I said jokingly:
Oh, ma guardati! Devi aver fatto un viaggio lunghissimo... I tuoi vestiti sono sporchissimi! Quasi quasi ti faccio spogliare e te li lavo!
Here I ...
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Why does "mi piace" mean "I like" instead of "he/she/it likes me"?
Something I've noticed whilst I'm learning Italian is that when you have a phrase such as "ti chiamo" is that the action described is being applied to the object of the sentence, and the conjugation ...
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Can I use G instead of GG (short for days) if I am out of space?
I am writing a mobile app and use 1H, 1D and 7D (English), which is 1H, 1G and 7GG (Italian). That extra G is messing up my layout.
Is it ok to use 7G? I know Italians use GG for plural form of days (...
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Commas to separate city and country?
In Italian, does one use a comma to separate city and country?
For example, in English, one says “Rome, Italy.” In Italian, is this “Roma, Italia” or “Roma Italia” or “Roma d’Italia”? What is the ...
user5434
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Mi Amore? Is this correct?
I want to know if I put "Mi Amore" on a sign for the name of a store would it be understood as My Love by most languages although it may be incorrect? I understand that there is a proper way to say it ...
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How to translate cool, nice, great in Italian
I mean “cool”, “nice”, “great” specifically in the generic sense of, if someone is talking to you and they say they did something nice and cool but not amazing or spectacular, you know, something ...
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Wither on the vine
The English idiomatic phrase to wither on the vine is used in the context of something or someone who is neglected or ignored. Can anyone please suggest an equivalent idiomatic expression in Italian?
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Writing a friend a birthday wish in Italian...?
I'm writing my Italian friend a birthday card and wanted to write
'May today and all your days be full of wonderful adventures, creative energy, and many occasions to toast to.'
which I translated (...
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Translation of a sentence from English to Italian
I would like to give some present to my Italian friend and I would like to write on this present the following: "with all my heart and love". Could please someone translate this into Italian?
My ...
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Come faccio a distinguere quand'è che “torta” corrisponde a “cake" e quando a “pie”?
Per favore perdonate il mio povero italiano. Sto usando Google Translate per aiutarmi, perché sono un principiante in italiano. (Lo sto studiando da soltanto otto mesi.)
Capisco che la parola ...
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Cross-language equivalents of Italian proper names
I was wondering whether a wikipedia name exists listing all proper name correspondences between names in English and names in Italian. For example, John: Giovanni. It would even be good if there were ...
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“Osteopatia” in italiano versus “osteopathy” in inglese
Buongiorno,
Questo post concerne se l'uso della parola osteopatia in inglese ha dei significati diversi dall'uso di questa parola in italiano. I dizionari Merriam-Webster e Treccani esibiscono le ...
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Italian verb for "to hash" in computer
I'm looking for a single verb that translates to hash in the context of computers. Eg.
Passwords in the database are hashed with SHA256
that translated is something like
Le password nel ...
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Could a translation error lead to squares to not be considered as rectangles?
I'm reading a certain set of kindergarten/lower primary maths textbooks that is written by North American authors for a European company.
Whenever students are asked to identify the number of ...
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What is the closest equivalent to the English "good to go"?
I've seen a couple of different variations in some reverse-translations:
pronto a partire
pronto ad andare
pronto (seems like this is just "ready" though)
buono per andare
Most of these seem like ...
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Bravo, brave, or bravas?
When my wife and I wish to compliment the chef of our local pizzeria on the excellent quality of the night's pizzas (pizze!) should we follow the English noun-"Bravas!", the Italian noun-"Brave!" or ...
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When is it appropriate to say "Ciao ragazzi"?
I noticed Italians saying "Ciao ragazzo/a/i/e" in bars and restaurants in Rome. When is it appropriate to use this greeting? Is it a regional/Roman greeting? How informal is it? Is it commonly only a ...
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Prepositions vs Preposizioni
I'm an Italian who is learning English. Sometimes I do comparisons between the two languages, because it helps me understanding better the language.
I can't find this information anywhere so I hope ...
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Ma che sei grullo?
Does anyone know if the right meaning of Ma che sei grullo? is something similar to but are you crazy?!
An Italian friend used this expression and I understood this by context, also checked on the ...
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Applying an adjective to a masculine AND a feminine word
In English, if I want to say something like "my beloved aunt and uncle", beloved is understood to modify both words. How do you do this in Italian if the two words are masculine and feminine (or at ...
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How to translate in English a mythical phrase from an Italian film [closed]
In a scene from 'Il Marchese del Grillo', Alberto Sordi explains to the villain:
"Perché io so' io e tu non sei un c...o",
I have removed the vulgar part but I am pretty sure that every one ...
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Tradurre "Membership" o "Memberships", "Member" in assenza di contesto
Come tradurreste "Membership" o "Memberships" in assenza di contesto?
Devo tradurre cose come "User Membership" o "Membership Plan" in un software per gestire "Memberships" in modo molto astratto.
...
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Qual è la differenza tra Scusa e Scusami?
The both carry the same meaning: "Excuse Me". But there has to be a difference in their usage.
Please answer in English.
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Use of the indefinite article in Italian vs. English
In English, we would say:
I am a boy.
We are boys.
using the indefinite article in the singular case.
Is this the case with Italian as well? In other words, would you translate the above sentences ...
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Differenze tra l'uso delle lineette [dash] in inglese ed in italiano
Esistono differenze nel'uso? Mi riferisco esclusivamente all' em dash , ovvero il trattino lungo utilizzato per separare parti della frase —e non singole parole. Faccio alcuni esempi dell'uso inglese:
...
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"Come si scrive il tuo nome": why "si scrive" instead of "si scrivi"?
As the translation of "how do you write your name", I find it hard to wrap my head around using the third person conjugation. Can I say "come si scrivi il tuo nome" instead? I would appreciate the ...
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Sarebbe corretto sostituire "contractor" con "lavoratori" in questa frase?
A volte mi risulta sorprendente l'uso di vocaboli di origine inglese che se ne fa in testi italiani. Frequentemente mi chiedo se non sia possibile in tali casi usare dei termini più italiani. Nelle ...
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What is an appropriate translation for "Remove Follower"?
The translation I have been given for "Remove Follower" is "Follower remoto". This doesn't seem correct to me. This is the title on a button that removes or deletes a "Follower" (subscriber) from a ...
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The use of "Tuo" as a sign off in a letter
Is "Tuo" followed by the name meant as an intimate sign off or is it like the English term "yours" which can be used for anyone?
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Dropping Demonstrative Pronouns
When using an informal tone, is it common to drop Demonstrative Pronouns? For instance in English your grand father might stand at his door looking out at people outside making noise and say "darn ...
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We all know what the Pantheon is and means, don't we?
I've recently found, to my surprise, that pantheon in English also means:
a group of persons most highly regarded for contributions to a field or endeavour, i.e. : the pantheon of modern ...
user519
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Equivalente italiano dell'espressione "early+name of day"
Come si può rendere in italiano l'espressione "early+nome di giorno"?
Il contesto è "FIFA officially announced an investigation early wednesday"
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How do (Italian speaking vs. English speaking) children learn spelling and pronunciation (in elementary school)? [closed]
In Italian elementary school children learn the following spelling rules, usually via a set of vertically stacked syllables inside tables written on large cartelloni (posters) with the sequences of ...
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Any etymological relationship between the Italian "eh" and the (mostly Canadian) English "eh"?
Having checked out the definitions of the Italian word eh (IPA pronunciation: /ɛ/) in the Treccani online dictionary and contrasted its meanings with those for the English word eh (IPA pronunciation: /...
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How to translate bank address details in Italian?
I'm trying to translate some text from English to Italian for a formal document. A friend of mine living in Italy (Rome) sent me this translation but I feel is not right.
Bank Name: Banca ...
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"Ultima chance"
Oggi ho letto in una pubblicità: "Ultima chance per i tuoi regali di Natale: invia un Buono Regalo!" La mia domanda è sull'espressione "ultima chance". Si tratta di un calco dell'inglese "last chance"?...
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How can I translate "we are hundreds of kilometers apart"?
I am trying to say
I miss my mother everyday because we are hundreds of kilometres apart and I only get to talk to her on the internet.
Can I say this?
Manco molto mia madre perché stiamo a ...
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How to translate I'll sing for my supper?
I think that a very strong way to answer a phrase like "Don't think this is going to grant you any special treatment" or the like, is "I will sing for my supper, I don't expect it for free"
At least, ...
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