Euro-speak

speak [with somebody] on or about something — [mit jemandem] über etwas (Akk.) sprechen

Mr Grant speaking — (when connected to caller) Grant hier; hier ist Grant

who is speaking, please? — wer ist am Apparat, bitte?; mit wem spreche ich, bitte?

speak one's opinion/mind — seine Meinung sagen/sagen, was man denkt

English spoken here — man spricht Englisch

they don't speak (to one another) — sie reden or sprechen nicht miteinander

she never spoke to me again — seitdem hat sie nie wieder mit mir geredet or gesprochen

I'll have to speak to my lawyer about it — das muss ich mit meinem Anwalt besprechen

speak when you're spoken to — antworte, wenn man mit dir redet or spricht

servants should only speak when spoken to — Diener sollten nur dann etwas sagen, wenn man sie anspricht

speaking of dictionaries... — da or wo wir gerade von Wörterbüchern sprechen..., apropos Wörterbücher...

it's nothing to speak of — es ist nicht weiter erwähnenswert, es ist nichts weiter

no money/trees etc to speak of — so gut wie kein Geld/keine Bäume etc

he is well spoken of — er genießt große Achtung

speaking personally... — wenn Sie mich fragen..., was mich betrifft...

speaking as a member of the club I have... — als Mitglied des Vereins habe ich...

then Geoffrey rose to speak — dann stand Geoffrey auf, um das Wort zu ergreifen

speaking! — am Apparat!

who is that speaking? — wer ist da, bitte?; (on extension phone, in office) wer ist am Apparat?

Euro-speak — Eurojargon m

speak [with somebody] on or about something — [mit jemandem] über etwas (Akk.) sprechen

Mr Grant speaking — (when connected to caller) Grant hier; hier ist Grant

sono rimasto in casa — I stayed at home, I stayed indoors

è nell' editoria/nell' esercito — he is in publishing/in the army

è in fondo all'armadio — it is at the back of the wardrobe

è bravo in latino — he's good at Latin

dottore in legge — doctor of law

in lei ho trovato una sorella — I found a sister in her

in lui non c'era più speranza — there was no hope left in him

nell' opera di Shakespeare — in Shakespeare's works

vivo in Scozia — I live in Scotland

aveva le mani in tasca — he had his hands in his pockets

il pranzo è in tavola — lunch is on the table

se fossi in te — if I were you

un giornale diffuso in tutta Italia — a newspaper read all over o throughout Italy

andare in campagna/in montagna — to go into the country/to the mountains

andrò in Francia — I'm going to France

entrare in casa — to go into the house

entrare in macchina — to get into the car

gettare qc in acqua — to throw sth into the water

inciampò in una radice — he tripped over a root

l'ho messo là in alto/basso — I put it up/down there

spostarsi di città in città — to move from town to town

sta facendo un viaggio in Egitto — he's travelling in o around Egypt

negli anni ottanta — in the eighties

è cambiata molto in un anno — she has changed a lot in a year

in autunno — in autumn

di giorno in giorno — from day to day

in gioventù — in one's youth

in questo istante — at the moment

in luglio, nel mese di luglio — in July

lo farò in settimana — I'll do it within the week

mi piace viaggiare in aereo — I like travelling by plane, I like flying

pagare in contanti/in dollari — to pay cash/in dollars

ci andremo in macchina — we'll go there by car, we'll drive there

siamo andati in treno — we went by train

in abito da sera — in evening dress

tagliare in due — to cut in two

in fiamme — on fire, in flames

in gruppo — in a group

in guerra — at war

tradurre in italiano — to translate into Italian

parlare in italiano — to speak Italian

nell' oscurità — in the darkness

in piedi — standing, on one's feet

in prosa — in prose

in silenzio — in silence

scrivere in stampatello — to write in block letters

in versi — in verse

in marmo — made of marble, marble attr

braccialetto in oro — gold bracelet

lo stesso modello in seta — the same model in silk

me lo hanno dato in dono — they gave it to me as a gift

in favore di — in favour of

in onore di — in honour of

in altezza — in height

arrivarono in gran numero — they arrived in large numbers

in lunghezza — in length

siamo in quattro — there are four of us

in tutto — in all

si è fatto male nel salire sull'autobus — he hurt himself as he was getting onto the bus

nell' udire la notizia — on hearing the news

abito in via Roma — I live in BE o on AE via Roma

passeggiare in centro — to walk in the city centre BE o around downtown AE

viaggiare in Cina, negli Stati Uniti — to travel around o through Cina, the United States

in settimana mangio alla mensa — during the week I eat at the canteen; (entro)

hemos de ser fuertes ante la adversidad — we must be strong o tough in the face of adversity

un beso muy fuerte — [en cartas] lots of love

un fuerte abrazo, Carmen — best wishes, Carmen; [más cariñoso] love, Carmen

nunca toma cosas fuertes, solo cerveza y vino — he never drinks spirits o the hard stuff *, just beer and wine

me dijo cosas muy fuertes que no podría repetir ahora — she said some harsh o nasty * things that I couldn't repeat now

-lo llamó a la oficina y lo despidió en el acto -¡qué fuerte! — * "he called him at the office and fired him there and then" - "that's outrageous o appalling!"

ser o estar fuerte a algo — to stink of sth

jugar fuerte — (lit) to gamble heavily; (fig) to take a gamble

toca muy fuerte — she plays very loud o loudly

el canto no es mi fuerte — singing is not my forte o strong point

es un hombre fuertísimo or fortísimo — he's an exeptionally strong man

hacerse fuerte — to pull oneself together

no estoy muy fuerte en ese tema/en física — I'm not very strong on that topic/in physics (colloq)

un fuerte golpe — a heavy o hard blow

me dijo que era un inútil - qué fuerte! — (fam) he said I was useless - that's a bit much (AmE) o (BrE) a bit over the top!

es un hombre fuertísimo or fortísimo — he's an exeptionally strong man

hacerse fuerte — to pull oneself together

no estoy muy fuerte en ese tema/en física — I'm not very strong on that topic/in physics (colloq)

un fuerte golpe — a heavy o hard blow

me dijo que era un inútil - qué fuerte! — (fam) he said I was useless - that's a bit much (AmE) o (BrE) a bit over the top!

Ex: Had he consulted an Indian history, he would have found, for instance, that what the Britannica called the Fort Phil Kearney massacre the Indians call the 'Battle of the Hundred Slain'.

Ex: Although microcomputers are relatively robust, they do not take kindly to frequent moves from one location to another, particularly on wheeled trollies.

Ex: The most boring meal can be pepped up with spicy and tangy herbs.

se volete, possiamo partire subito — if you like o want, we can leave right away

prendine quanto vuoi — help yourself, take as many (o much) as you like

parla bene l'inglese quando vuole — he can speak English well when he has a mind to o when he feels like it

che cosa vuoi da me? — what do you want from me?, what do you expect of me?

la tradizione vuole che... — custom requires that...

vuole troppo dai suoi studenti — he expects too much of his students

il verbo transitivo vuole il complemento oggetto — transitive verbs require a direct object

voglio dire... — (per correggersi) I mean...

ci vuol ben altro per farmi arrabbiare — it'll take a lot more than that to make me angry

quanto ci vuole per andare da Roma a Firenze? — to how long does it take to go from Rome to Florence?

è quel che ci vuole — it's just what is needed

volesse il cielo che... — God grant that...

se Dio vuole — God willing

voler male a qn — to dislike sb

sembra che voglia piovere — it looks like rain

volere è potere — where there's a will there's a way

qui ti voglio — that's the problem

non vorrei sbagliarmi, ma... — I may be wrong, but...

senza volere — unwittingly, without meaning to, unintentionally

chi troppo vuole nulla stringe — (Proverbio) don't ask for too much or you may come away empty-handed

voglio vedere se rifiuta — I bet she doesn't refuse

vuoi... vuoi... — either... or...

volersi bene — (amore) to love each other, (affetto) to be fond of o like each other

contro il volere di — against the wishes of

per volere del padre — in obedience to his father's will o wishes

vuole fare l'astronauta — he wants o would like to be an astronaut

vorrebbero andare a casa — they wish o would like to go home

avrei voluto vedere te! — colloq. I'd like to have seen you!

volevo una birra — colloq. I'd like a beer

vieni quando vuoi — come whenever you want o like

cos'altro vogliono da noi? — what else o more do they want of us?

queste piante vogliono un clima umido — these plants require o need a humid climate

questo verbo vuole il congiuntivo — this verb requires o takes the subjunctive

ci vuole pazienza — it takes o you need patience

con quel vestito ci vorrebbe un foulard rosso — (addirsi) a red scarf would go well with that dress

prendine quanto ne vuoi — take as much as you please o want

volerne a qcn. — (serbare rancore) to bear BE o hold AE a grudge against sb., to bear sb. ill will

te la sei voluta — (cercarsela) you brought it on yourself, you asked for it

come vuoi (tu) — as you wish o like

volere male a qcn. — (nutrire rancore) to bear ill will to sb.; (nutrire odio) to hate sb.

volere la pelle di qcn. o volere morto qcn. to want sb. dead; vuoi... vuoi either... or; vuoi vedere che telefona? do you want to bet he's going to call? anche volendo non ce l'avrei mai fatta even had I wanted to, I would never have made it; volendo potremmo vederci domani we could meet tomorrow if we wanted; puoi gridare quanto vuoi, tanto ci vado ugualmente! you can shout until you're blue in the face, I'm going anyway! se Dio vuole Dio volendo God willing; senza volerlo [urtare, rivelare] by accident, unintentionally; cosa vuoi (che ti dica),... what can o shall I say,...; cosa vuoi, sono bambini! what do you expect, they're children! qui ti voglio! let's see what you can do! (è questo il problema) that's just it o the trouble! ce n'è voluto! it took some doing! ( per fare to do); è proprio quello che ci vuole! that's just the job o the (very) thing! ci vuol (ben) altro che... it takes more than...; ci vuole un bel coraggio! it really takes some cheek (a to); ci voleva anche questa! this is just too much! as if we didn't have enough problems! that's all we needed! that's done it! non ci vuole molto a capirlo spreg. it doesn't take much understanding; che ci vuole? it's not all that difficult! quando ci vuole, ci vuole = sometimes you've just got to; volere è potere — prov. where there's a will there's a way

er verdient káúm 1500 Euro — he earns barely 1500 euros

ich habe káúm noch 10 Liter — I've barely 10 litres (Brit) or liters (US) left

das kostet káúm 100 Euro — it doesn't even cost 100 euros

man braucht káúm 10 Liter — you'll need less than 10 litres (Brit) or liters (US)

sie war káúm hereingekommen, als... — hardly or scarcely or no sooner had she come in when..., she had hardly etc come in when...

es ist káúm zu glauben, wie... — it's hardly or scarcely believable or to be believed how...

er kann káúm noch sprechen/laufen — he can hardly etc speak/walk any more

er verdient äußerst wenig, káúm dass er davon satt wird — he earns extremely little and can hardly even buy enough to eat

kaum jemand/etwas — hardly anybody or anyone/anything

kaum älter/größer/besser — hardly or scarcely any older/bigger/better

ich konnte kaum rechtzeitig damit fertig werden — I could hardly or barely finish it in time

ich glaube kaum — I hardly or scarcely think so

kaum hatte er Platz genommen, als... — no sooner had he sat down than...