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1 least
least [li:st]1. adjective2. pronoun• what's the least you are willing to accept? quel prix minimum êtes-vous prêt à accepter ?• it costs $5 at least cela coûte au moins 5 dollars• you could at least have told me! tu aurais pu au moins me le dire !• he's ill, at least that's what he says il est malade, du moins c'est ce qu'il dit► at the very least du moins• not in the least! pas du tout !• I was annoyed, to say the least j'étais mécontent, c'est le moins qu'on puisse dire• she was not very careful, to say the least elle était pour le moins imprudente3. adverb• nobody seemed amused, least of all John cela ne semblait amuser personne et surtout pas John► not least• all countries, not least the USA tous les pays, et en particulier les USA• not least because... notamment parce que...* * *Note: When the least is used as a quantifier followed by a noun to mean the smallest quantity of it is translated by le moins de: to have the least food = avoir le moins de nourritureBut when the least is used as a quantifier to mean the slightest it is translated by le or la moindre: I haven't the least idea = je n'en ai pas la moindre idéeFor translations of least as a pronoun or adverb see II and III belowThe phrase at least is usually translated by au moinsFor the phrase in the least see V below[liːst] 1.(superlative of little) quantifier(the) least — (le) moins de; ( in negative constructions) (le or la) moindre
2.they have the least food — ce sont eux qui ont le moins de nourriture or le moins à manger
pronoun le moins3.she was surprised, to say the least (of it) — le moins qu'on puisse dire, c'est qu'elle était surprise
1) ( with adjective or noun)the least — le/la moins; ( with plural noun) les moins
2) ( with verbs) le moins inv4.nobody liked it, John least of all ou least of all John — personne ne l'aimait, John encore moins que les autres
he's gone to bed - at least I think so — il est allé se coucher - du moins, je pense
5.such people are at the very least guilty of negligence — de telles personnes sont au moins coupables de négligence
in the least adverbial phraseI'm not worried in the least —
I'm not hungry in the least —
••last but not least —
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2 least
li:st
1. adjective, pronoun((something) which is the smallest or the smallest amount that exists, is possible etc: I think the least you can do is apologize!; She wanted to know how to do it with the least amount of bother.) lo menos, lo mínimo
2. adverb((somethimes with the) to the smallest or lowest degree: I like her (the) least of all the girls; That is the least important of our problems.) menos- at least- not in the least
least adv pron menosat least al menos / por lo menosnobody liked the play, least of all me a nadie le gustó la obra, al que menos a mítr[liːst]1 menor, menos1 menos■ nobody was interested, least of all him no le interesó a nadie, y a él menos■ tourism is on the rise, not least because of the new exchange rate el turismo está en alza, debido en gran parte al nuevo tipo de cambio1 lo menos■ the least you could have done was phone once in a while ¿qué menos que llamar de vez en cuando?\SMALLIDIOMATIC EXPRESSION/SMALLat (the) least por lo menos, al menos, cuando menosnot in the least! ¡en absoluto!, ¡qué va!not least en gran parteto say the least por no decir másleast ['li:st] adv: menoswhen least expected: cuando menos se esperaleast n1) : lo menosat least: por lo menos2)to say the least : por no decir másadj.• menor adj.• menos adj.• más pequeño adj.• mínimo, -a adj.adv.• menos adv.n.• menos s.m.
I liːst1) (superl of little I II)2)a) (smallest, slightest) más mínimob) (lowest, humblest) (liter) más humilde
II
1) (superl of little II)2) ( in adv phrases)at least — por lo menos, como mínimo
he can't afford it; at least that's what he says — no puede permitírselo; al menos eso es lo que dice
am I disturbing you? - not in the least — ¿te molesto? - en lo más mínimo or en absoluto
III
1) (superl of little III)2) (before adj, adv) menos[liːst]1. ADJ1) (superl)of littlea) (=minimum, smallest amount of) menorwith the least possible delay — con el menor retraso posible, a la mayor brevedad posible frm
choose yoghurts which contain the least fat — elija los yogures que contengan la menor cantidad de grasa
b) (=smallest, slightest) [idea, hint, complaint] más mínimo•
she wasn't the least bit jealous — no estaba celosa en lo más mínimo•
we haven't the least idea where he is — no tenemos la más mínima or la menor idea de dónde estálast I, 3., 1), line I, 1., 11)•
the least thing upsets her — se ofende a la mínima or por lo más mínimo2) (in comparisons) menos2. PRON1) (superl)of little II, 1., 1)"thanks, anyway" - "it was the least I could do" — -gracias de todas formas -era lo menos que podía hacer
what's the least you are willing to accept? — ¿qué es lo mínimo que estás dispuesto a aceptar?
•
that's the least of it — eso es lo de menos•
the least said the better — cuanto menos se hable de eso mejor•
accommodation was basic to say the least — el alojamiento era muy sencillo, por no decir otra cosathe country that spends the least on education — el país que menos (se) gasta en materia de enseñanza
2)• in the least, I don't mind in the least — no me importa lo más mínimo
•
"don't you mind?" - " not in the least" — -¿no te importa? -en absoluto or -para nada3)•
at least —a) (=not less than) por lo menos, como mínimo, al menosI must have slept for at least 12 hours — debo de haber dormido por lo menos or como mínimo or al menos 12 horas
he earns at least as much as you do — gana por lo menos or al menos tanto como tú
b) (=if nothing more) al menos, por lo menoswe can at least try — al menos or por lo menos podemos intentarlo
c) (=for all that) por lo menos, al menosit's rather laborious but at least it is not dangerous — requiere bastante trabajo pero por lo menos or al menos no es peligroso
d) (=anyway) al menos, por lo menosEtta appeared to be asleep, at least her eyes were shut — Etta parecía estar dormida, al menos or por lo menos tenía los ojos cerrados
e)at the (very) least — como mínimo, como poco
3.ADV menos•
least of all me — y yo menos, yo menos que nadieno one knew, least of all me — nadie lo sabía, y yo menos
•
for a variety of reasons, not least because it is cheap — por toda una serie de razones, entre ellas que es barato* * *
I [liːst]1) (superl of little I II)2)a) (smallest, slightest) más mínimob) (lowest, humblest) (liter) más humilde
II
1) (superl of little II)2) ( in adv phrases)at least — por lo menos, como mínimo
he can't afford it; at least that's what he says — no puede permitírselo; al menos eso es lo que dice
am I disturbing you? - not in the least — ¿te molesto? - en lo más mínimo or en absoluto
III
1) (superl of little III)2) (before adj, adv) menos -
3 least
1. adjective2. nounthat's the least of our problems — das ist unser geringstes Problem; see also academic.ru/41855/last">last I 1.
Geringste, dasthe least I can do — das mindeste, was ich tun kann
the least he could do would be to apologize — er könnte sich wenigstens entschuldigen
to say the least [of it] — gelinde gesagt
at the [very] least — [aller]mindestens
3. adverbnot [in] the least — nicht im geringsten
not least because... — nicht zuletzt deshalb, weil...
least of all — am allerwenigsten
the least likely answer — die unwahrscheinlichste Lösung
* * *[li:st] 1. adjective, pronoun((something) which is the smallest or the smallest amount that exists, is possible etc: I think the least you can do is apologize!; She wanted to know how to do it with the least amount of bother.) geringst2. adverb((somethimes with the) to the smallest or lowest degree: I like her (the) least of all the girls; That is the least important of our problems.) am wenigsten- at least- not in the least* * *[li:st]disaster struck when we \least expected it das Unglück schlug zu, als wir es am wenigsten erwartetenthe \least likely of the four to win von den vier diejenige mit den geringsten Gewinnchancenthe \least little thing die kleinste Kleinigkeit\least of all am allerwenigstenno one believed her, \least of all the police niemand glaubte ihr, schon gar nicht die Polizei1. (tiniest amount) geringste(r, s)of all our trainees, she has the \least ability von all unseren Auszubildenden ist sie am unfähigstenhe's lost all his money but at \least he's still got his house er hat sein ganzes Geld verloren, aber wenigstens sein Haus hat er nochthe line of \least resistance der Weg des geringsten Widerstandes2. BIOL Zwerg-* * *[liːst]1. adj2) (with uncountable nouns) wenigste(r, s)2. adv1) (+vb) am wenigsten2)(+adj)
least possible expenditure — möglichst geringe Kostenthe least expensive car — das billigste or preiswerteste Auto
the least known — der/die/das Unbekannteste
the least interesting —
he's the least aggressive of men — er ist nicht im Mindesten or mindesten aggressiv
3. nthe least — der/die/das Geringste or wenigste
I have many worries, and money is the least of them — ich habe viele Sorgen, und Geld kümmert mich am wenigsten
it's the least I can do —
you gave yourself the least — du hast dir (selbst) am wenigsten gegeben
at least, I think so — ich glaube wenigstens
there were at least eight —
at the very least you could apologize — du könntest dich wenigstens or zumindest entschuldigen
all nations love football, not least the British — alle Völker lieben Fußball, nicht zuletzt die Briten
not in the least! — nicht im Geringsten!, ganz und gar nicht!
he was not in the least upset — er war kein bisschen or nicht im Geringsten verärgert
to say the least — um es milde zu sagen
the least said, the better, least said, soonest mended (Prov) — je weniger man darüber spricht, desto besser
* * *least [liːst]2. geringst(er, e, es), unbedeutendst(er, e, es):at the least thing bei der geringsten Kleinigkeitat least wenigstens, zumindest;at (the) least mindestens;at the very least allerwenigstens;not in the least nicht im Geringsten oder Mindesten;to say the least (of it) (Redew) gelinde gesagtC adv am wenigsten:least possible geringstmöglich;least of all am allerwenigsten;tomorrow least of all morgen schon gar nicht;least said, sooner mended (Sprichwort) je weniger man darüber spricht, desto besser* * *1. adjective2. nounthat's the least of our problems — das ist unser geringstes Problem; see also last I 1.
Geringste, dasthe least I can do — das mindeste, was ich tun kann
to say the least [of it] — gelinde gesagt
at least — mindestens; (if nothing more; anyway) wenigstens
at the [very] least — [aller]mindestens
3. adverbnot [in] the least — nicht im geringsten
not least because... — nicht zuletzt deshalb, weil...
* * *adj.am wenigsten adj.geringst adj.kleinst adj.letzt adj.wenigst adj. -
4 least
[liːst] 1.(the) least — (il) meno; (in negative constructions) (il) minimo
2.they had the least food — hanno ricevuto meno cibo di tutti o la minor quantità di cibo
pronome il meno, il minimo3.he was surprised, to say the least (of it) — era sorpreso, a dir poco
2) (with verbs) menonobody knew it, Tom least of all o least of all Tom — nessuno lo sapeva, Tom meno di tutti o meno di tutti Tom
3) at least almeno, perlomenosuch people are at the very least guilty of negligence — tali persone sono come minimo colpevoli di negligenza
4)I'm not worried in the least I'm not in the least (bit) worried non sono minimamente preoccupato, non sono preoccupato neanche un po'; it doesn't bother me in the least — non mi disturba affatto
••••last but not least last but by no means least — ultimo, ma non meno importante
Note:When the least is used as a quantifier followed by a noun to mean the smallest quantity of, it is translated by (il) meno, (il) più piccolo, (il) minore: they had the least food = hanno ricevuto meno cibo di tutti / la minor quantità di cibo. - But when the least is used as a quantifier to mean the slightest, it is translated by il minimo or la minima: I haven't the least idea about it = non ne ho la minima idea. For examples of these and particular usages, see below. - For translations of least as a pronoun or adverb see II and III below. - The phrase at least is usually translated by almeno. For examples and exceptions, see III 3 below. - For the phrase in the least, see III 4 below* * *[li:st] 1. adjective, pronoun((something) which is the smallest or the smallest amount that exists, is possible etc: I think the least you can do is apologize!; She wanted to know how to do it with the least amount of bother.) minimo2. adverb((somethimes with the) to the smallest or lowest degree: I like her (the) least of all the girls; That is the least important of our problems.) meno- at least- not in the least* * *[liːst] 1.(the) least — (il) meno; (in negative constructions) (il) minimo
2.they had the least food — hanno ricevuto meno cibo di tutti o la minor quantità di cibo
pronome il meno, il minimo3.he was surprised, to say the least (of it) — era sorpreso, a dir poco
2) (with verbs) menonobody knew it, Tom least of all o least of all Tom — nessuno lo sapeva, Tom meno di tutti o meno di tutti Tom
3) at least almeno, perlomenosuch people are at the very least guilty of negligence — tali persone sono come minimo colpevoli di negligenza
4)I'm not worried in the least I'm not in the least (bit) worried non sono minimamente preoccupato, non sono preoccupato neanche un po'; it doesn't bother me in the least — non mi disturba affatto
••••last but not least last but by no means least — ultimo, ma non meno importante
Note:When the least is used as a quantifier followed by a noun to mean the smallest quantity of, it is translated by (il) meno, (il) più piccolo, (il) minore: they had the least food = hanno ricevuto meno cibo di tutti / la minor quantità di cibo. - But when the least is used as a quantifier to mean the slightest, it is translated by il minimo or la minima: I haven't the least idea about it = non ne ho la minima idea. For examples of these and particular usages, see below. - For translations of least as a pronoun or adverb see II and III below. - The phrase at least is usually translated by almeno. For examples and exceptions, see III 3 below. - For the phrase in the least, see III 4 below -
5 least
least [li:st]le moins ⇒ 1 (a), 3 le/la moindre ⇒ 1 (b), 2 (b) le moins de ⇒ 2 (a) au moins ⇒ 4 (a)-(c) du moins ⇒ 4 (c), 4 (d)1 pronoun(a) (in quantity, size)∎ he's the one who drank the least c'est lui qui a bu le moins;∎ he's got the least c'est lui qui en a le moins∎ it was the least we could do c'était la moindre des choses;∎ that's the least of our worries c'est le moindre ou c'est le cadet de nos soucis;∎ proverb least said, soonest mended moins on en dit, mieux on se porte(a) (in quantity, size)∎ I ate the least chocolate c'est moi qui ai mangé le moins de chocolat;∎ she has the least money out of all of us c'est elle qui a le moins d'argent d'entre nous tous∎ I haven't the least idea je n'en ai pas la moindre idée;∎ the least thing upsets her un rien la contrarie;∎ the government clamps down on the least sign of opposition le gouvernement serre la vis au moindre signe d'opposition;∎ I'm not the least bit musical je ne suis pas musicien pour un sou;∎ I'm not the least bit interested cela ne m'intéresse pas le moins du monde3 adverb(le) moins;∎ which do you find (the) least useful? à votre avis, lequel est le moins utile?;∎ the least interesting film I've ever seen le film le moins intéressant que j'aie jamais vu;∎ it's what we least expected c'est ce à quoi nous nous attendions le moins;∎ it always happens when you are least expecting it ça arrive toujours au moment où tu t'y attends le moins(a) (not less than) au moins;∎ at least $500 au moins 500 dollars;∎ she's at least seventy elle a au moins soixante-dix ans;∎ he smokes at least forty cigarettes a day il fume au moins quarante cigarettes par jour;∎ she's at least as tall as you elle est au moins aussi grande que toi(b) (as a minimum) au moins;∎ I can at least try je peux toujours essayer;∎ you could at least have phoned vous auriez pu au moins téléphoner;∎ at the very least he might have warned us la moindre des choses aurait été de nous avertir(c) (indicating an advantage) au moins, du moins;∎ at least we've got an umbrella au moins ou du moins on a un parapluie(d) (used to qualify) du moins;∎ I didn't like him, at least not at first il ne m'a pas plu, en tout cas ou du moins pas au début;∎ I understand now, at least I think I do ça y est, je comprends, du moins je crois(with negative) not in the least pas du tout, pas le moins du monde;∎ am I boring you? - not in the least je t'ennuie? - pas du tout;∎ she's not in the least angry elle n'est pas du tout fâchée;∎ she didn't seem to mind in the least ça ne semblait pas la déranger le moins du mondesurtout pas, encore moins;∎ nobody could understand it, Liz least of all or least of all Liz personne ne comprenait, surtout pas Liz ou Liz encore moins que les autres;∎ we didn't expect to win any prizes, least of all this one nous ne nous attendions pas à gagner un prix, et en tout cas, certainement pas celui-là∎ many politicians, not least the Foreign Secretary, are in favour de nombreux hommes politiques y sont favorables, notamment le ministre des Affaires étrangères►► British the least common denominator le plus petit dénominateur commun;Ornithology least sandpiper bécasseau m minuscule -
6 can
I.1 ( expressing possibility) we can rent a house nous pouvons louer une maison ; anyone can enrol n'importe qui peut s'inscrire ; they can't ou cannot afford to fly ils ne peuvent pas se permettre de prendre l'avion ; it can also be used to dry clothes on peut aussi s'en servir pour faire sécher le linge ; how can one know in advance? comment peut-on savoir à l'avance? ; we are confident that the job can be completed in time nous sommes convaincus que le travail peut être fini à temps ; you can't have forgotten! tu ne peux pas avoir oublié! ; it can be described as on peut le décrire comme étant ; it cannot be explained logically ça n'a pas d'explication logique ; it could be that… il se peut que… (+ subj) ; could be ○ peut-être ; they could be dead ils sont peut-être morts ; it could be a trap c'est peut-être un piège, ça pourrait être un piège ; I could be wrong je me trompe peut-être, il se peut que j'aie tort ; this could be our most important match c'est peut-être or ça pourrait être le match le plus important pour nous ; the engine could explode le moteur pourrait exploser ; it could be seen as an insult ça pourrait être considéré comme une insulte ; it could be argued that on pourrait dire que ; could it have something to do with the delay? est-ce que ça pourrait avoir un rapport avec le retard? ; you could have been electrocuted! tu aurais pu t'électrocuter! ; ‘did she know?’-‘no, how could she?’ ‘est-ce qu'elle était au courant?’-‘non, comment est-ce qu'elle aurait pu l'être?’ ; the computer couldn't ou can't have made an error l'ordinateur n'a pas pu faire d'erreur, il est impossible que l'ordinateur ait fait une erreur ; they couldn't ou can't have found out so soon ils ne peuvent pas avoir compris si vite, il est impossible qu'ils aient compris si vite ; nothing could be simpler il n'y a rien de plus simple ;2 ( expressing permission) you can turn right here vous pouvez tourner à droite ici ; I can't leave yet je ne peux pas partir pour le moment ; we cannot allow dogs in the café nous ne pouvons pas autoriser les chiens dans le café ; can we park here? est-ce que nous pouvons nous garer ici? ; people could travel without a passport on pouvait voyager sans passeport ; we could only go out at weekends nous ne pouvions sortir ou nous n'avions le droit de sortir que le week-end ; could I interrupt? puis-je vous interrompre? ;3 ( when making requests) can you leave us a message? est-ce que tu peux nous laisser un message? ; can you do me a favour? est-ce que tu peux me rendre un service? ; can I ask you a question? puis-je poser une question? ; can't you get home earlier? est-ce que tu ne peux pas rentrer plus tôt? ; could I speak to Annie? est-ce que je pourrais parler à Annie?, puis-je parler à Annie? ; could she spend the night with you? est-ce qu'elle pourrait dormir chez toi? ; you couldn't come earlier, could you? est-ce que tu pourrais venir un peu plus tôt? ; couldn't you give us another chance? est-ce que vous ne pourriez pas nous donner une autre chance? ;4 ( when making an offer) can I give you a hand? est-ce que je peux te donner un coup de main? ; what can I do for you? qu'est-ce que je peux faire pour vous aider? ; you can borrow it if you like tu peux l'emprunter si tu veux ;5 ( when making suggestions) you can always exchange it tu peux toujours l'échanger ; I can call round later if you prefer je peux passer plus tard si ça t'arrange ; we could try and phone him nous pourrions essayer de lui téléphoner ; couldn't they go camping instead? est-ce qu'ils ne pourraient pas faire du camping à la place? ;6 (have skill, knowledge to) she can't drive yet elle ne sait pas encore conduire ; can he type? est-ce qu'il sait taper à la machine? ; few people could read or write peu de gens savaient lire ou écrire ; she never told us she could speak Chinese elle ne nous a jamais dit qu'elle savait parler chinois ;7 (have ability, power to) computers can process data rapidly les ordinateurs peuvent traiter rapidement les données ; to do all one can faire tout ce qu'on peut or tout son possible ; he couldn't sleep for weeks il n'a pas pu dormir pendant des semaines ; if only we could stay si seulement nous pouvions rester ; I wish I could have been there j'aurais aimé (pouvoir) être là ; I wish I could go to Japan j'aimerais (pouvoir) visiter le Japon ; I can't ou cannot understand why je ne comprends pas pourquoi, je n'arrive pas à comprendre pourquoi ;8 (have ability, using senses, to) can you see it? est-ce que tu le vois? ; I can't hear anything je n'entends rien ; we could hear them laughing on les entendait rire ; I could feel my heart beating je sentais mon cœur battre ;9 (indicating capability, tendency) she could be quite abrupt elle pouvait être assez brusque ; it can make life difficult ça peut rendre la vie difficile ; Italy can be very warm at that time of year il peut faire très chaud en Italie à cette période de l'année ;10 (expressing likelihood, assumption) the cease-fire can't last le cessez-le-feu ne peut pas durer ; it can't be as bad as that! ça ne peut pas être aussi terrible que ça! ; it can't have been easy for her ça n'a pas dû être facile pour elle ; he couldn't be more than 10 years old il ne peut pas avoir plus de 10 ans ;11 ( expressing willingness to act) I cannot give up work je ne peux pas laisser tomber le travail ; we can take you home nous pouvons te déposer chez toi ; I couldn't leave the children ( didn't want to) je ne pouvais pas laisser les enfants ; ( wouldn't want to) je ne pourrais pas laisser les enfants ;12 ( be in a position to) one can hardly blame her on peut difficilement le lui reprocher ; they can hardly refuse to listen ils peuvent difficilement refuser d'écouter ; I can't say I agree je ne peux pas dire que je suis d'accord ; I couldn't possibly accept the money je ne peux vraiment pas accepter cet argent ;13 ( expressing a reproach) they could have warned us ils auraient pu nous prévenir ; you could at least say sorry! tu pourrais au moins t'excuser! ; how could you! comment as-tu pu faire une chose pareille! ;14 ( expressing surprise) what can she possibly want from me? qu'est-ce qu'elle peut bien me vouloir? ; who could it be? qui est-ce que ça peut bien être? ; where could they have hidden it? où est-ce qu'ils ont bien pu le cacher? ; you can't ou cannot be serious! tu veux rire ○ ! ; can you believe it! tu te rends compte? ;15 ( for emphasis) I couldn't agree more! je suis entièrement d'accord! ; they couldn't have been nicer ils ont été extrêmement gentils ; you couldn't be more mistaken tu te trompes complètement ;16 ( expressing exasperation) I was so mad I could have screamed! j'aurais crié tellement j'étais en colère! ; I could murder him ○ ! je le tuerais ○ ! ;17 ( expressing obligation) if she wants it she can ask me herself si elle le veut elle peut venir me le demander elle-même ; you can get lost ○ ! tu peux toujours courir ○ ! ; if you want to chat, you can leave si vous voulez bavarder allez faire ça dehors ; if he doesn't like it he can lump it ○ même si ça ne lui plaît pas il va falloir qu'il fasse avec ○ ;18 ( avoiding repetition of verb) ‘can we borrow it?’-‘you can’ ‘est-ce que nous pouvons l'emprunter?’-‘bien sûr’ ; leave as soon as you can partez dès que vous pourrez ; ‘can anyone give me a lift home?’-‘we can’ ‘est-ce que quelqu'un peut me déposer chez moi?’-‘oui, nous’.as happy/excited as can ou could be très heureux/excité ; no can do ○ non, je ne peux pas.II.A n3 ○ ( prison) taule ○ f ;5 ○ US Naut destroyer m.1 Culin mettre [qch] en conserve [fruit, vegetables] ;2 ○ can it! I'm trying to sleep ferme-la ○, j'essaie de dormir! ;3 ○ US ( dismiss) virer ○.1 [food] en boîte ;2 ○ [music, laughter, applause] enregistré ;3 ○ ( drunk) bourré ○.a can of worms une affaire dans laquelle il vaut mieux ne pas trop fouiller ; in the can ○ Cin ( of film) dans la boîte ; ( of negotiations) dans la poche ; to carry the can for sb ○ porter le chapeau à la place de qn ○. -
7 can
I.can1 [kæn]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━1. modal verba.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• can you come tomorrow? pouvez-vous venir demain ?• can I help you? est-ce que je peux vous aider ?• where can he be? où peut-il bien être ?• can he have done it already? est-il possible qu'il l'ait déjà fait ?• he can't be dead! ce n'est pas possible, il n'est pas mort !• you can't be serious! vous ne parlez pas sérieusement !• she can't be very clever if she failed this exam elle ne doit pas être très intelligente si elle a échoué à cet examend. ( = know how to) savoire.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► can used with a verb of perception is not usually translated.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━2. compounds[person, organization] dynamiqueII.can2 [kæn]1. nouna. (for oil, petrol) bidon mb. [of food] boîte f (de conserve)[+ food] mettre en conserve3. compounds* * *I [kæn]1) ( expressing possibility)it could be that... — il se peut que... (+ subj)
could be — (colloq) peut-être
it could be a trap — c'est peut-être un piège, ça pourrait être un piège
I could be wrong — je me trompe peut-être, il se peut que j'aie tort
‘did she know?’ - ‘no, how could she?’ — ‘est-ce qu'elle était au courant?’ - ‘non, comment est-ce qu'elle aurait pu l'être?’
the computer couldn't ou can't have made an error — l'ordinateur n'a pas pu faire d'erreur, il est impossible que l'ordinateur ait fait une erreur
2) ( expressing permission)3) ( when making requests)4) ( when making an offer)what can I do for you? — ( in shop) qu'y a-t-il pour votre service?
5) ( when making suggestions)6) (have skill, knowledge to)7) (have ability, power to)to do all one can — faire tout ce qu'on peut or tout son possible
8) (have ability, using senses, to)9) (indicating capability, tendency)10) (expressing likelihood, assumption)he couldn't be more than 10 years old — ( now) il ne peut pas avoir plus de 10 ans
I couldn't leave the children — ( didn't want to) je ne pouvais pas laisser les enfants; ( wouldn't want to) je ne pourrais pas laisser les enfants
12) ( be in a position to)13) ( expressing a reproach)14) ( expressing surprise)you can't ou cannot be serious! — tu veux rire! (colloq)
15) ( for emphasis)16) ( expressing exasperation)I could murder him! — (colloq) je le tuerais! (colloq)
17) ( expressing obligation)you can get lost! — (colloq) va te faire fiche! (colloq)
18) ( avoiding repetition of verb)‘can we borrow it?’ - ‘you can’ — ‘est-ce que nous pouvons l'emprunter?’ - ‘bien sûr’
‘can anyone give me a lift home?’ - ‘we can’ — ‘est-ce que quelqu'un peut me déposer chez moi?’ - ‘oui, nous’
••as happy/excited as can ou could be — très heureux/excité
II 1. [kæn] 2.no can do — (colloq) non, je ne peux pas
transitive verb (p prés etc - nn-) Culinary mettre [quelque chose] en conserve3.canned past participle adjective1) [food] en boîte2) (colloq) [laughter] enregistré••in the can — (colloq) Cinema ( of film) dans la boîte; ( of negotiations) dans la poche
to carry the can for somebody — (colloq) porter le chapeau à la place de quelqu'un (colloq)
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8 one cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
посл."из свиного уха шёлковый кошелёк не сошьёшь", т. е. такого человека не перевоспитаешь; см. тж. make a silk purse out of a sow's ear‘y' see, after all I want to be a reputable citizen, like y' said.’ ‘To look like one at least.’ ‘That's right,’ Paddy agreed. ‘Maybe, y' can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. I'm not wantin' to be a silk purse. But I'm after learnin' to behave so as Frisco and the mob he gets round with, won't sling off at me.’ (K. S. Prichard, ‘Golden Miles’, ch. 4) — - Ну вот, я таки решил заделаться добропорядочным человеком, как вы мне когда-то советовали. - Хотя бы с виду? - Может, и так. Да я и не лезу куда не след. Мне бы только пообтереться малость, чтобы Фриско и вся его бражка, все это дерьмо, не слишком заносились передо мной.
Norah (beside herself): "I said I could teach you manners. I made a mistake. I couldn't teach you manners. One can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear." (W. S. Maugham, ‘The Land of Promise’, act 4) — Нора (вне себя): "Я сказала, что могла бы обучить тебя хорошим манерам. Нет, я ошиблась, не смогла бы! Горбатого только могила исправит."
Large English-Russian phrasebook > one cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear
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9 can
Ⅰ.can1 [kən, stressed kæn](pt could [kəd, stressed kʊd], negative forms cannot ['kænət, stressed 'kænɒt], could not, frequently shortened to can't [kɑ:nt], couldn't ['kʊdənt])ⓘ GRAM Le verbe can n'a ni infinitif, ni gérondif ni participe. Pour exprimer l'infinitif ou le participe, on aura recours à la forme correspondante de be able to ( he wanted to be able to speak English; she has always been able to swim).(a) (be able to) pouvoir;∎ can you come to the party? peux-tu venir à la fête?;∎ I'll come if I can je viendrai si je (le) peux;∎ I'll come as soon as I can je viendrai aussitôt que possible ou aussitôt que je pourrai;∎ we'll do everything we can to help nous ferons tout ce que nous pourrons ou tout notre possible pour aider;∎ she has everything money can buy elle a tout ce qu'elle veut;∎ she can no longer walk elle ne peut plus marcher;∎ five years ago I could run a mile in four minutes but I can't anymore il y a cinq ans, je courais un mile en quatre minutes mais je ne peux plus maintenant;∎ can you help me? pouvez-vous m'aider?;∎ can you tell me when the train leaves? pouvez-vous me dire à quelle heure part le train?;∎ I can't very well accept il m'est difficile d'accepter;∎ can it be true? serait-ce vrai?;∎ (it) could be c'est possible;∎ familiar no can do! impossible!;∎ can you feel it? tu le sens?;∎ we can hear everything our neighbours say nous entendons tout ce que disent nos voisins;∎ I can't understand you when you mumble je ne te comprends pas ou je ne comprends pas ce que tu dis quand tu marmonnes;∎ I can see his point of view je comprends son point de vue;∎ there can be no doubt about his guilt sa culpabilité ne fait aucun doute(c) (indicating ability or skill) savoir;∎ can you drive/sew? savez-vous conduire/coudre?;∎ many people can't read or write beaucoup de gens ne savent ni lire ni écrire;∎ she can speak three languages elle parle trois langues(d) (giving or asking for permission) pouvoir;∎ I've already said you can't go je t'ai déjà dit que tu ne peux pas y aller;∎ can I borrow your sweater? - yes, you can puis-je emprunter ton pull? - (mais oui,) bien sûr;∎ can I sit with you? puis-je m'asseoir avec vous?(e) (used to interrupt, intervene) pouvoir;∎ can I just say something here? est-ce que je peux dire quelque chose?(f) (in offers of help) pouvoir;∎ can I be of any assistance? puis-je vous aider?;∎ what can I do for you? que puis-je (faire) pour vous?(g) (indicating reluctance) pouvoir;∎ we can't leave the children alone nous ne pouvons pas laisser ou il nous est impossible de laisser les enfants seuls; (indicating refusal) pouvoir;∎ we cannot tolerate such behaviour nous ne pouvons pas tolérer ce genre de comportement∎ you can't let him speak to you like that! tu ne peux pas ou tu ne devrais pas lui permettre de te parler comme ça!;∎ you can't blame her for leaving him! tu ne peux pas lui reprocher de l'avoir quitté!;∎ you'll have to leave, it can't be helped il faudra que tu partes, il n'y a rien à faire∎ can't we at least talk about it? est-ce que nous pouvons au moins en discuter?∎ they can back out of it at any time ils peuvent se rétracter à n'importe quel moment;∎ the contract can still be cancelled il est toujours possible d'annuler ou on peut encore annuler le contrat;∎ the job can't be finished in one day il est impossible de finir le travail ou le travail ne peut pas se faire en un jour;∎ the cottage can sleep six people on peut loger six personnes dans ce cottage;∎ you can always try again later tu peux toujours réessayer plus tard;∎ he can be very stubborn il lui arrive d'être ou il peut être très têtu;∎ he could have done it il aurait pu le faire;∎ what can I have done with the keys? qu'est-ce que j'ai bien pu faire des clés?;∎ I'm as happy as can be je suis on ne peut plus heureux;∎ she was as kind as can be elle était on ne peut plus gentille∎ you can't be serious! (ce n'est pas possible!) vous ne parlez pas sérieusement!;∎ he can't possibly have finished already! ce n'est pas possible qu'il ait déjà fini!;∎ the house can't have been that expensive la maison n'a pas dû coûter si cher que ça;∎ how can you say that? comment pouvez-vous ou osez-vous dire ça?;∎ how COULD you! comment avez-vous pu faire une chose pareille?;∎ you can't mean it! tu ne penses pas ce que tu dis!;∎ what can they want now? qu'est-ce qu'ils peuvent bien vouloir maintenant?;∎ who on earth can that be? qui diable cela peut-il bien être?∎ I could have wept j'avais envie de pleurer;∎ I could have smacked his face! je l'aurais giflé!;∎ you could have warned me! tu aurais pu me prévenir!∎ his resignation cannot but confirm such suspicions sa démission ne fait que confirmer de tels soupçonsⅡ.1 noun(a) (container → for liquid) bidon m; (→ for tinned food) boîte f (de conserve); American (→ for rubbish) poubelle f, boîte f à ordures;∎ a can of tuna une boîte de thon (en conserve);∎ a can of beer/soda une boîte de bière/de soda;∎ a (real) can of worms un vrai casse-tête;∎ to open a can of worms mettre à jour toutes sortes d'histoires désagréables;∎ the film's in the can le film est dans la boîte;∎ familiar the deal's in the can l'affaire est conclue∎ in the can en taule, au placard, à l'ombre∎ to kick sb in the can botter les fesses à qn∎ to carry the can payer les pots cassés∎ can it! ferme-la!, la ferme!►► can opener ouvre-boîtes m inv -
10 the
ðə, ði(The form ðə is used before words beginning with a consonant eg the house or consonant sound eg the union ðə'ju:njən; the form ði is used before words beginning with a vowel eg the apple or vowel sound eg the honour ði 'onə)1) (used to refer to a person, thing etc mentioned previously, described in a following phrase, or already known: Where is the book I put on the table?; Who was the man you were talking to?; My mug is the tall blue one; Switch the light off!)2) (used with a singular noun or an adjective to refer to all members of a group etc or to a general type of object, group of objects etc: The horse is running fast.; I spoke to him on the telephone; He plays the piano/violin very well.)3) (used to refer to unique objects etc, especially in titles and names: the Duke of Edinburgh; the Atlantic (Ocean).)4) (used after a preposition with words referring to a unit of quantity, time etc: In this job we are paid by the hour.)5) (used with superlative adjectives and adverbs to denote a person, thing etc which is or shows more of something than any other: He is the kindest man I know; We like him (the) best of all.)6) ((often with all) used with comparative adjectives to show that a person, thing etc is better, worse etc: He has had a week's holiday and looks (all) the better for it.)•- the...- the...den--------det--------joIdeterm. foran konsonant, ubetont: \/ħə\/, \/ħ\/, vokallyd, betont: \/ħɪ\/, i betydning 10: \/ħiː\/1) ( svarer til bestemt form) -en (hankjønn), -a (hunkjønn), -et (intetkjønn), -ene (flertall)2) ( med bestemt form av substantiv) den, det, de• can you see the old man?3) ( med substantivert adjektiv) den, det, dede holdt en gudstjeneste til minne om den\/de døde• which river is the deepest?4) ( som eiendomspronomen) min5) ( i of-setninger)6) ( i retningsuttrykk)7) (the foran egennavn)8) en, et• he bought a car to the amount of £20009) per• they cost £10 the piecede koster £10 per stykk \/ de koster £10 stykket• are you the Mary Lewis?er du den kjente\/berømte Mary Lewis?han forklarete årsaken, men ikke den virkelige årsaken• the wretch!• the idiots!IIadv. foraonsonantlyd: \/ħə\/ eller \/ħ\/, foran vokallyd: \/ħɪ\/1) jo..., desto, jo..., jojo før du går til sengs, jo bedre vil du føle deg2) destoall the better desto bedrenone the wiser ikke (stort) klokerethe sooner the better jo før, jo bedre -
11 pull a raw one
амер.; жарг.рассказать неприличный анекдот, пикантную историюIt was often and admiringly said of Vergil Gunch ‘Gee, that fellow can get away with murder. Why, he can pull a raw one in mixed company and all the ladies'll laugh their heads off, but me... if I crack anything that's just the least bit off colour I get the razz for fair!’ (S. Lewis, ‘Babbitt’, ch. VIII) — Вначале часто и с восторгом говорили о Верджиле Ганче: "Ну, этому все на свете сходит с рук! Он может отмочить такую штуку при дамах, что небу станет жарко, и все будут только хохотать, а если я скажу что-нибудь хоть чуточку рискованное, с меня голову снимут!"
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12 at least
1) Общая лексика: во всяком (в крайнем) случае, минимально, по крайней мере, хоть, как минимум, хотя бы (ты можешь хотя бы помолчать? - can you at least be quiet?), минимум2) Математика: по меньшей мере (Given F find at least one solution of (1).)3) Юридический термин: (X days prior to the date) не позднее чем (за Х дней до даты), не реже4) Вычислительная техника: не менее5) Пословица: по крайней мере (often with spec. num.), по меньшей мере, самое меньшее (usu. with spec.)6) Научный термин: не хуже (напр., о точности измерений)7) Макаров: в крайнем случае, во всяком случае -
13 find in one's heart to
(find (it) in one's heart to (be или do smth.))убедить, заставить себя (сделать что-л.), решиться (на что-л.) (обыкн. употр. в отрицательных предложениях)At least you seem so well prepared to hear a tale of silliness that I cannot find it in my heart to disappoint you. (R. L. Stevenson, ‘New Arabian Nights’, ‘The Suicide Club’, ‘Story of the Young Man with the Cream Tarts’) — Вам так хочется послушать какую-нибудь нелепую историю, что я не решаюсь разочаровать вас.
But as I went on my way to the city, I felt so lost and lonesome, that I could have found it in my heart to sit down by the dyke and cry and weep like a baby. (R. L. Stevenson, ‘Kidnapped’, ch. XXI) — Но по пути в город я почувствовал себя таким одиноким, что мне захотелось сесть около рва и заплакать как ребенку.
She had no head for cards... and she always made mistakes, but when her husband upbraided her she said: ‘You can't expect everyone to be as clever as you are.’ And because she so obviously meant what she said he could not find it in his heart to be angry with her. (W. S. Maugham, ‘On a Chinese Screen’, ch. XXXII) — Миссис Фэннинг совсем не умела играть в карты... и все время делала ошибки. Когда муж ругал ее за них, она говорила: "Разве могут все люди быть такими умными, как ты!" И она говорила это с такой чистосердечной убежденностью, что он не мог на нее сердиться.
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14 menos
adj.1 less.menos aire less airmenos manzanas fewer applesmenos… que… less/fewer… than…tiene menos experiencia que tú she has less experience than youhace menos calor que ayer it's not as hot as it was yesterdayhay dos libros de menos there are two books missingme han dado 10 euros de menos they've given me 10 euros too little2 the least.el que compró menos acciones the one who bought the fewest shareslo que menos tiempo llevó the thing that took the least timela que menos nota sacó en el examen the girl who did (the) worst o got the worst marks in the exam3 fewer.adv.1 less.menos de/que less thanson menos de las diez it's not quite ten o'clock yet2 minus (expresa resta).tres menos dos igual a uno three minus two is one3 to (con las horas). (peninsular Spanish, River Plate)son las dos menos diez it's ten to twoson menos diez it's ten to4 under.prep.1 except (for) (excepto).todo menos eso anything but that2 minus, less.m. s.&pl.minus (sign) (Mat).* * *► adjetivo1 (comparativo - en cantidad) less; (- en número) fewer2 (superlativo - de cantidad) least; (- de número) fewest► adverbio1 (comparativo - de cantidad) less; (- de número) fewer■ hay que conducir a menos de 100km/h one cannot drive over 100 km/h2 (superlativo) least3 (con horas) to4 MATEMÁTICAS minus■ cuatro menos dos, dos four minus two is two1 but, except1 (cantidad) less; (número) fewer■ esperaban a más de mil personas pero vinieron menos they were expecting over a thousand people but fewer came1 MATEMÁTICAS minus sign\a menos que unlessal menos / a lo menos at leastaún menos much lesscada vez menos less and lessdar (dinero) de menos to short-changeen menos de nada in no time at alleso es lo de menos that's the least of my worriesir a menos to go down in the worldlo menos at leastmenos da una piedra something's better than nothing¡menos mal! thank God!¡ni mucho menos! far from it!no ser para menos to be no wonderpara no ser menos so as not to be outdonepor lo menos at leastpor menos de nada for no reason at allqué menos que...... is the least somebody could do/could have donesi al menos... if only...venirse a menos to come down in the world¡ya será menos! come off it!* * *1. noun m. 2. adj.1) less, least2) fewer, fewest3. adv.1) less2) least•- por lo menos 4. prep.1) except2) minus5. pron.less, fewer* * *1. ADV1) [comparativo] less•
menos de — [con sustantivos incontables, medidas, dinero, tiempo] less than; [con sustantivos contables] fewer thanllegamos en menos de diez minutos — we got there in less than o in under ten minutes
2) [superlativo] least3)•
al menos — at least•
de menos, hay siete de menos — we're seven short, there are seven missingme dieron un paquete con medio kilo de menos — they gave me a packet which was half a kilo short o under weight
darse de menos — to underestimate o.s.
•
echar de menos a algn — to miss sb•
ir a menos — to come down in the world•
lo menos diez — at least ten•
eso es lo de menos — that's the least of it•
¡menos mal! — thank goodness!¡menos mal que habéis venido! — thank goodness you've come!
•
era nada menos que un rey — he was a king, no less•
no es para menos — quite right too•
por lo menos — at least•
¡ qué menos!, -le di un euro de propina -¡qué menos! — "I tipped her a euro" - "that was the least you could do!"¿qué menos que darle las gracias? — the least we can do is say thanks!
•
quedarse en menos, no se quedó en menos — he was not to be outdone•
tener a menos hacer algo — to consider it beneath o.s. to do sth•
venir a menos — to come down in the world•
y menos, no quiero verle y menos visitarle — I don't want to see him, let alone visit himcuando 2., 2), poder•
¡ ya será menos! — come off it!2. ADJ1) [comparativo] [con sustantivos incontables, medidas, dinero, tiempo] less; [con sustantivos contables] fewer•
menos... que, A tiene menos ventajas que B — A has fewer advantages than Bno soy menos hombre que él — * I'm as much of a man as he is
este es menos coche que el anterior — * this is not as good a car as the last one
•
ser menos que, ganaremos porque son menos que nosotros — we'll win because there are fewer of them than there are of us2) [superlativo] [con sustantivos incontables, medidas, dinero, tiempo] least; [con sustantivos contables] fewest3. PREP1) (=excepto) except¡todo menos eso! — anything but that!
2) (Mat) [para restar] minus, lesscinco menos dos — five minus o less two
4.CONJ5. SM1) (Mat) minus sign2)3)más 1., 2)* * *I1) ( comparativo) lessahora lo vemos menos — we don't see him so often o we don't see so much of him now
no voy a ir, y menos aún con él — I'm not going, and certainly not with him
menos (...) que: un hallazgo no menos importante que éste a find which is no less important than this one; ella menos que nadie puede criticarte she of all people is in no position to criticize you; menos (...) de less than; pesa menos de 50 kilos it weighs less than o under 50 kilos; no lo haría por menos de cien mil I wouldn't do it for less than a hundred thousand; éramos menos de diez there were fewer than ten of us; los niños de menos de 7 años children under seven; es menos peligroso de lo que tú crees — it's not as dangerous as you think
2) ( superlativo) leastIIcuando menos lo esperábamos — when we were least expecting it; para locs ver menos III 2)
adjetivo invariable1) ( comparativo) ( en cantidad) less; ( en número) feweralimentos con menos fibra/calorías — food with less fiber/fewer calories
ya hace menos frío — it's not as o so cold now
menos (...) que: tengo menos tiempo que tú I haven't as o so much time as you; menos estudiantes que el año pasado fewer students than last year; yo no soy menos que él — he's no better than me
2) ( superlativo) ( en cantidad) least; ( en número) fewestIII1)sírveme menos — don't give me so much, give me less
2) (en locs)IVde menos: me ha dado 100 pesos de menos you've given me 100 pesos too little; me has cobrado de menos you've undercharged me; lo menos (fam) at least; menos mal just as well, thank goodness; menos mal que no me oyó just as well o it's a good thing he didn't hear me; por lo menos at least; ir a menos to go downhill; ser lo de menos: eso es lo de menos, a mí lo que me preocupa es... that's the least of it, what worries me is...; la fecha es lo de menos the date is the least of our/their problems; tener a alguien en menos to feel somebody is beneath one; tener algo a menos to think something is beneath one o beneath one's dignity; venirse a menos — to come down in the world
1) ( excepto)firmaron todos menos Alonso — everybody but Alonso signed, everybody signed except o but Alonso
menos estos dos, todos están en venta — apart from o with the exception of these two, they are all for sale
tres latas de pintura, menos la que usé — three cans of paint, less what I used
2)a) (Mat) (en restas, números negativos) minusb) (Esp, RPl) ( en la hora)Vson las cinco menos diez/cuarto — it's ten to five/(a) quarter to five
masculino minus sign* * *= least, less [lesser -comp., least -sup.], minus, but, less so.Ex. Service to the whole community implies positive discrimination towards those who through social or educational deprivation are least adept at using information tools.Ex. The role of analytical entries in an online catalogue is less clear.Ex. Copies of records created by the libraries, minus local data, are added to the pool of cataloguing information available to users.Ex. Rotundas were widely used for all but the most formal texts in the fifteenth century, but fell out of fashion during the sixteenth century, surviving longest in Spain.Ex. Vellum remained popular on the continent, less so in England; while goatskin (morocco), although well established by this time for fine work, was seldom used in trade binding except for prayer books.----* al menos = at least, at the very least.* a menos que = unless, short of.* aproximadamente, más o menos = ballpark.* area menos favorecida = less favoured area.* cada vez menos = less and less.* cuando menos te lo esperes = on any given Sunday.* cuanto menos = at least, let alone, at best.* dar menos de lo debido = shortchange.* de menos del 10 por ciento = single digit, single figure.* dentro de lo malo lo menos malo = the best of a bad lot.* echar de menos = miss.* echar muchísimo de menos = be sorely missed, be sadly missed.* echar mucho de menos = be sorely missed, be sadly missed.* el último pero no el menos importante = the last but by no means least.* en todos menos en = in all but.* en un futuro más o menos cercano = in the near future, in the near future.* en un período más o menos lejano = in the near future, in the near future.* estrella venida a menos = fallen star.* figura venida a menos = fallen star.* hacerlo todo menos = stop at + nothing short of.* horas de menos aglomeración = off-peak times.* lo menos posible = as little as possible.* más o menos = more or less, of a sort, or so, of sorts, after a fashion, round about, roughly speaking, give or take.* más o menos + Adverbio = relatively + Adverbio.* más o menos cuadrado = squarish.* menos aún = let alone.* menos blandeces y más mano dura = less of the carrot, more of the stick, less of the carrot, more of the stick.* menos conocido = lesser known.* menos cultos, los = less literate, the.* menos de + Cantidad = under + Cantidad, less than + Cantidad.* menos de + Edad = on the right side of + Edad.* menos desarrollado = less developed [less-developed].* menos en = save in.* menos en el caso de que = except when.* menos favorecido = less-advantaged, less favoured [less favored].* menos hecho = rarer.* menos importante, el = least, the.* menos probable = least likely, less likely.* menos... que... = less... than....* menos rápidos, los = less fleet of foot, the.* menos sabido = lesser known.* menos usado = less used.* mucho menos = a great deal less, let alone, far less.* nada más y nada menos = as much as + Expresión Numérica.* nada más y nada menos que = in the order of + Cantidad, nothing less than.* nada más y nada menos que de = to the tune of + Cantidad.* nada más y nada menos que desde + Expresión Temporal = from as far back as + Expresión Temporal.* nada más y nada menos que + Número = as many as + Número.* nada menos que + Nombre + tan + Adjetivo + como = no less + Adjetivo + Nombre + than.* ni más ni menos = nothing more, nothing less, no more, no less.* ni mucho menos = by any stretch (of the imagination), by any means, not by a long shot.* Nombre + más o menos = Nombre + of sorts.* no ser menos que el vecino = keep up with + the Joneses.* no ser menos que los demás = keep up with + the Joneses.* pagar menos de lo que se debería = underpay.* para no ser menos = not to be outdone.* personaje venido a menos = fallen star.* por último pero no menos importante = last but not least.* región menos favorecida = less favoured region (LFR).* salir de donde menos Uno se lo espera = come out of + the woodwork.* ser menos + Adjetivo = be less of a(n) + Nombre.* ser nada más y nada menos que = be nothing less than.* signo menos (-) = minus sign (-), negative sign (-).* todo menos = everything except (for).* todos menos = everyone except, everybody except.* todos menos + Número = all but + Número.* último pero no el menos importante, el = final and not the least important, the.* venir a menos = retrench.* y cuanto mucho menos = much less.* y mucho menos = much less, least of all.* zona menos favorecida = less favoured area.* * *I1) ( comparativo) lessahora lo vemos menos — we don't see him so often o we don't see so much of him now
no voy a ir, y menos aún con él — I'm not going, and certainly not with him
menos (...) que: un hallazgo no menos importante que éste a find which is no less important than this one; ella menos que nadie puede criticarte she of all people is in no position to criticize you; menos (...) de less than; pesa menos de 50 kilos it weighs less than o under 50 kilos; no lo haría por menos de cien mil I wouldn't do it for less than a hundred thousand; éramos menos de diez there were fewer than ten of us; los niños de menos de 7 años children under seven; es menos peligroso de lo que tú crees — it's not as dangerous as you think
2) ( superlativo) leastIIcuando menos lo esperábamos — when we were least expecting it; para locs ver menos III 2)
adjetivo invariable1) ( comparativo) ( en cantidad) less; ( en número) feweralimentos con menos fibra/calorías — food with less fiber/fewer calories
ya hace menos frío — it's not as o so cold now
menos (...) que: tengo menos tiempo que tú I haven't as o so much time as you; menos estudiantes que el año pasado fewer students than last year; yo no soy menos que él — he's no better than me
2) ( superlativo) ( en cantidad) least; ( en número) fewestIII1)sírveme menos — don't give me so much, give me less
2) (en locs)IVde menos: me ha dado 100 pesos de menos you've given me 100 pesos too little; me has cobrado de menos you've undercharged me; lo menos (fam) at least; menos mal just as well, thank goodness; menos mal que no me oyó just as well o it's a good thing he didn't hear me; por lo menos at least; ir a menos to go downhill; ser lo de menos: eso es lo de menos, a mí lo que me preocupa es... that's the least of it, what worries me is...; la fecha es lo de menos the date is the least of our/their problems; tener a alguien en menos to feel somebody is beneath one; tener algo a menos to think something is beneath one o beneath one's dignity; venirse a menos — to come down in the world
1) ( excepto)firmaron todos menos Alonso — everybody but Alonso signed, everybody signed except o but Alonso
menos estos dos, todos están en venta — apart from o with the exception of these two, they are all for sale
tres latas de pintura, menos la que usé — three cans of paint, less what I used
2)a) (Mat) (en restas, números negativos) minusb) (Esp, RPl) ( en la hora)Vson las cinco menos diez/cuarto — it's ten to five/(a) quarter to five
masculino minus sign* * *= least, less [lesser -comp., least -sup.], minus, but, less so.Ex: Service to the whole community implies positive discrimination towards those who through social or educational deprivation are least adept at using information tools.
Ex: The role of analytical entries in an online catalogue is less clear.Ex: Copies of records created by the libraries, minus local data, are added to the pool of cataloguing information available to users.Ex: Rotundas were widely used for all but the most formal texts in the fifteenth century, but fell out of fashion during the sixteenth century, surviving longest in Spain.Ex: Vellum remained popular on the continent, less so in England; while goatskin (morocco), although well established by this time for fine work, was seldom used in trade binding except for prayer books.* al menos = at least, at the very least.* a menos que = unless, short of.* aproximadamente, más o menos = ballpark.* area menos favorecida = less favoured area.* cada vez menos = less and less.* cuando menos te lo esperes = on any given Sunday.* cuanto menos = at least, let alone, at best.* dar menos de lo debido = shortchange.* de menos del 10 por ciento = single digit, single figure.* dentro de lo malo lo menos malo = the best of a bad lot.* echar de menos = miss.* echar muchísimo de menos = be sorely missed, be sadly missed.* echar mucho de menos = be sorely missed, be sadly missed.* el último pero no el menos importante = the last but by no means least.* en todos menos en = in all but.* en un futuro más o menos cercano = in the near future, in the near future.* en un período más o menos lejano = in the near future, in the near future.* estrella venida a menos = fallen star.* figura venida a menos = fallen star.* hacerlo todo menos = stop at + nothing short of.* horas de menos aglomeración = off-peak times.* lo menos posible = as little as possible.* más o menos = more or less, of a sort, or so, of sorts, after a fashion, round about, roughly speaking, give or take.* más o menos + Adverbio = relatively + Adverbio.* más o menos cuadrado = squarish.* menos aún = let alone.* menos blandeces y más mano dura = less of the carrot, more of the stick, less of the carrot, more of the stick.* menos conocido = lesser known.* menos cultos, los = less literate, the.* menos de + Cantidad = under + Cantidad, less than + Cantidad.* menos de + Edad = on the right side of + Edad.* menos desarrollado = less developed [less-developed].* menos en = save in.* menos en el caso de que = except when.* menos favorecido = less-advantaged, less favoured [less favored].* menos hecho = rarer.* menos importante, el = least, the.* menos probable = least likely, less likely.* menos... que... = less... than....* menos rápidos, los = less fleet of foot, the.* menos sabido = lesser known.* menos usado = less used.* mucho menos = a great deal less, let alone, far less.* nada más y nada menos = as much as + Expresión Numérica.* nada más y nada menos que = in the order of + Cantidad, nothing less than.* nada más y nada menos que de = to the tune of + Cantidad.* nada más y nada menos que desde + Expresión Temporal = from as far back as + Expresión Temporal.* nada más y nada menos que + Número = as many as + Número.* nada menos que + Nombre + tan + Adjetivo + como = no less + Adjetivo + Nombre + than.* ni más ni menos = nothing more, nothing less, no more, no less.* ni mucho menos = by any stretch (of the imagination), by any means, not by a long shot.* Nombre + más o menos = Nombre + of sorts.* no ser menos que el vecino = keep up with + the Joneses.* no ser menos que los demás = keep up with + the Joneses.* pagar menos de lo que se debería = underpay.* para no ser menos = not to be outdone.* personaje venido a menos = fallen star.* por último pero no menos importante = last but not least.* región menos favorecida = less favoured region (LFR).* salir de donde menos Uno se lo espera = come out of + the woodwork.* ser menos + Adjetivo = be less of a(n) + Nombre.* ser nada más y nada menos que = be nothing less than.* signo menos (-) = minus sign (-), negative sign (-).* todo menos = everything except (for).* todos menos = everyone except, everybody except.* todos menos + Número = all but + Número.* último pero no el menos importante, el = final and not the least important, the.* venir a menos = retrench.* y cuanto mucho menos = much less.* y mucho menos = much less, least of all.* zona menos favorecida = less favoured area.* * *A [ Grammar notes (Spanish) ](comparativo): cada vez estudia menos she's studying less and lessquiere trabajar menos y ganar más he wants to work less and earn moreya me duele menos it doesn't hurt so much nowahora que vive en Cádiz lo vemos menos now that he's living in Cadiz we don't see him so often o we don't see so much of himeso es menos importante that's not so importantno voy a permitir que vaya, y menos aún con él I'm not going to let her go, much less with himmenos (…) QUE:un hallazgo no menos importante que éste a find which is no less important than o just as important as this oneella menos que nadie puede criticarte she of all people is in no position to criticize youno pude menos que aceptar I had to accept, it was the least I could domenos (…) DE:los niños de menos de 7 años children under sevenpesa menos de 50 kilos it weighs less than o under 50 kiloséramos menos de diez there were fewer than ten of uslo compraron por menos de nada they bought it for next to nothingno lo haría por menos de cien mil I wouldn't do it for less than a hundred thousandestá a menos de una hora de aquí it's less than an hour from herees menos peligroso de lo que tú crees it's not as dangerous as you thinkB [ Grammar notes (Spanish) ] (superlativo) leastes la menos complicada que he visto it is the least complicated one I have seenéste es el menos pesado de los dos this is the lighter of the twoes el que menos viene por aquí he's the one who comes around least (often)soy el que ha bebido menos de todos I've had less to drink than anyone, I'm the one who's had least to drinkes el que menos me gusta he's the one I like (the) leastse esfuerza lo menos posible he makes as little effort as possiblees lo menos que podía hacer por él it's the least I could do for himsucedió cuando menos lo esperábamos it happened when we were least expecting italimentos con menos fibra/calorías food with less fiber/fewer caloriesya hace menos frío it's not as o so cold nowrecibimos cada vez menos pedidos we are getting fewer and fewer orderscuesta tres veces menos it costs a third of the price o a third as muchmide medio metro menos it's half a meter shortera éste ponle dos cucharadas menos add two tablespoonfuls less to this onemenos (…) QUE:tengo menos tiempo que tú I haven't as o so much time as youmenos estudiantes que el año pasado fewer students than last yearsomos menos que ellos there are fewer of us than themno soy menos hombre que él I'm no less a man than himyo no soy menos que él he's no better than meel rincón donde hay menos luz the corner where there's least lightel partido que obtuvo menos votos the party that got (the) fewest votesesos casos son los menos cases like that are the exceptionAsírveme menos don't give me as o so muchya falta menos it won't be long nowaprobaron menos que el año pasado not so o as many passed as last year, fewer passed than last yearB ( en locs):al menos at leasta menos que unlessa menos que tú nos ayudes unless you help uscuando menos at leastde menos: me ha dado 100 pesos de menos you've given me 100 pesos too littlesiempre te da unos gramos de menos he always gives you a few grams under o too littleme has cobrado de menos you've undercharged me, you haven't charged me enoughles pagaron lo menos un millón they paid them at least a million pesosmenos mal just as wellmenos mal que no me oyó just as well o good thing o thank goodness he didn't hear menos van a dar una prórroga — ¡menos mal! they are going to give us extra time — just as well! o thank goodness for that!por lo menos at leastsi por lo menos me hubieras avisado … if you'd at least told me …había por lo menos diez mil personas there were at least ten thousand people thereir a menos to go downhillser lo de menos: eso es lo de menos, a mí lo que me preocupa es su falta de honradez that's the least of it, what worries me is his lack of integrityla fecha es lo de menos the date is the least of our/their problemstener a algn en menos to feel sb is beneath onetener algo a menos to think sth is beneath one o beneath one's dignityvenirse a menos to come down in the worldun aristócrata venido a menos an aristocrat who has come down in the world o who has fallen on hard timesun hotel/barrio venido a menoss a rundown hotel/neighborhood*A(excepto): firmaron todos menos Alonso everybody but Alonso signed, everybody signed except o but Alonsomenos estos dos, todos están en venta apart from o with the exception of these two, they are all for saletres latas de pintura, menos la que usé para la puerta three cans of paint, less what I used on the doorB8-15=-7 read as: ocho menos quince (es) igual (a) menos siete eight minus fifteen equals o is minus seven2(Esp, RPI) (en la hora) [ Vocabulary notes (Spanish) ] son las ocho menos diez/cuarto it's ten to eight/(a) quarter to eight¿tienes hora? — menos veinte do you have the time? — it's twenty tominus sign* * *
menos adverbio
1 ( comparativo) less;
ya me duele menos it hurts less now;
ahora lo vemos menos we don't see him so often now, we don't see so much of him now;
pesa menos de 50 kilos it weighs less than o under 50 kilos;
éramos menos de diez there were fewer than ten of us;
los niños de menos de 7 años children under seven
2 ( superlativo) least;
el que menos me gusta the one I like (the) least;
se esfuerza lo menos posible he makes as little effort as possible;
cuando menos lo esperaba when I was least expecting it
■ adjetivo invariable
1 ( comparativo) ( en cantidad) less;
( en número) fewer;◊ alimentos con menos fibra/calorías food with less fiber/fewer calories;
hay menos errores there are fewer mistakes;
mide medio metro menos it's half a meter shorter;
menos estudiantes que el año pasado fewer students than last year;
tengo menos tiempo que tú I haven't as o so much time as you
2 ( superlativo) ( en cantidad) least;
( en número) fewest;
el que obtuvo menos votos the one who got (the) fewest votes
■ pronombre
1 ( en cantidad) less;
( en número) fewer;
ya falta menos it won't be long now
2 ( en locs)
a menos que unless;
cuando menos at least;
de menos: me dió 100 pesos de menos he gave me 100 pesos too little;
me cobró de menos he undercharged me;
lo menos the least;
menos mal just as well, thank goodness;
por lo menos at least;
eso es lo de menos that's the least of my (o our etc) problems
■ preposición
1 ( excepto):◊ todos menos Alonso everybody except o but Alonso;
menos estos dos, … apart from o with the exception of these two, …;
tres latas de pintura, menos la que usé para la puerta three cans of paint, less what I used on the door
2
b) (Esp, RPl) ( en la hora):◊ son las cinco menos diez/cuarto it's ten to five/(a) quarter to five;
son menos veinte it's twenty to
menos
I adverbio
1 (en menor cantidad, grado) (con no contable) less: ayer me dolía menos, it hurt less yesterday
había menos de treinta personas, there were less than thirty people
es menos importante de lo que crees, it's less important than you think
tengo menos fuerza que antes, I have less strength than before
(con contable) fewer: mi casa tiene menos habitaciones, my house has fewer rooms
2 (superlativo) least: es el menos indicado para opinar, he's the worst person to judge
3 (sobre todo) no pienso discutir, y menos contigo, I don't want to argue, especially with you
II preposición
1 but, except: vinieron todos menos uno, they all came but one
2 Mat minus: siete menos dos, seven minus two
♦ Locuciones: eso es lo de menos, that's the least of it
a menos que, unless
al o por lo menos, at least
cada vez menos, less and less
¡menos mal!, thank goodness!
nada menos que, no less o no fewer than
no ser para menos, to be the least one could do: me invitó a cenar, ¡y no era para menos!, he invited me to dinner, which was the least he could do!
venir a menos, to lose rank, fortune or position
' menos' also found in these entries:
Spanish:
aliviar
- añorar
- cachondeo
- cada
- cantar
- contratación
- cuando
- echar
- esquivar
- estar
- extrañar
- gallo
- hipar
- historiada
- historiado
- indicada
- indicado
- infarto
- los
- mal
- más
- mucha
- mucho
- pensar
- piedra
- programa
- recochineo
- salva
- salvo
- signo
- siquiera
- su
- tan
- todavía
- vez
- cinco
- costumbre
- cuanto
- cuarto
- de
- día
- enfado
- enojo
- entre
- esperar
- estofado
- mientras
- mirar
- momento
- nada
English:
about
- absent
- agree
- alone
- anything
- anywhere
- appreciate
- at
- averse
- barring
- besides
- billion
- blind
- blue
- border
- but
- cackle
- chalk
- circuitous
- conscious
- delay
- far
- ferment
- few
- god
- good
- if
- job
- just
- last
- least
- less
- let
- let up
- mind
- minus
- minus sign
- minute
- miss
- more
- nothing
- nowadays
- of
- opposed
- or
- pretty
- put down
- rate
- recollect
- remain
* * *♦ adj inv1. [comparativo] [cantidad] less;[número] fewer;menos aire less air;menos manzanas fewer apples;menos… que… less/fewer… than…;tiene menos experiencia que tú she has less experience than you;vino menos gente que otras veces there were fewer people there than on other occasions;hace menos calor que ayer it's not as hot as it was yesterday;colócate a menos distancia stand closer;eran menos pero mejor preparadas there were fewer of them, but they were better prepared2. [superlativo] [cantidad] the least;[número] the fewest;el que compró menos libros the one who bought the fewest books;lo que menos tiempo llevó the thing that took the least time;la que menos nota sacó en el examen the girl who did (the) worst o got the worst Br marks o US grades in the exames menos hombre que tú he's less of a man than you are♦ adv1. [comparativo] less;a mí échame un poco menos give me a bit less;ahora con el bebé salen menos they go out less now they've got the baby;últimamente trabajo menos I haven't been working as o so much recently;estás menos gordo you're not as o so fat;¿a cien? no, íbamos menos rápido a hundred km/h? no, we weren't going as fast as that;menos de/que less than;Pepe es menos alto (que tú) Pepe isn't as tall (as you);Pepe es menos ambicioso (que tú) Pepe isn't as ambitious (as you), Pepe is less ambitious (than you);este vino me gusta menos (que el otro) I don't like this wine as much (as the other one), I like this wine less (than the other one);son menos de las diez it's not quite ten o'clock yet;es difícil encontrar alquileres de o [m5]por menos de 50.000 it's hard to find a place to rent for less than o under 50,000;tardamos menos de lo esperado we took less time than expected, it didn't take us as long as we expected;es menos complicado de lo que parece it's not as complicated as it seems, it's less complicated than it seems2. [superlativo]el/la/lo menos the least;ella es la menos adecuada para el cargo she's the least suitable person for the job;el menos preparado de todos/de la clase the least well trained of everyone/in the class;el menos preparado de los dos the less well trained of the two;la que menos trabaja the person o one who works (the) least;aquí es donde menos me duele this is where it hurts (the) least;él es el menos indicado para criticar he's the last person who should be criticizing;es lo menos que puedo hacer it's the least I can do;era lo menos que te podía pasar it was the least you could expect;debió costar lo menos un millón it must have cost at least a million;había algunas manzanas podridas, pero eran las menos some of the apples were rotten, but only a very few3. [indica resta] minus;tres menos dos igual a uno three minus two is one4. Esp, RP [con las horas] to;son las dos menos diez it's ten to two;son menos diez it's ten to5. Compir a menos [fiebre, lluvia] to die down;[delincuencia] to drop;¡menos mal! just as well!, thank God!;menos mal que llevo rueda de repuesto/que no te pasó nada thank God I've got a spare wheel/(that) nothing happened to you;nada menos (que) no less (than);le recibió nada menos que el Papa he was received by none other than the Pope;no es para menos not without (good) reason;no pude por menos que reírme I had to laugh;venir a menos [negocio] to go downhill;[persona] to go down in the world;no pienso montar y menos si conduces o Am [m5] manejas tú I've no intention of getting in, much less so if you're driving;hacer de menos a alguien to snub sb♦ pronhabía menos que el año pasado there were fewer than the previous year;ya queda menos it's not so far to go now♦ nm invMat minus (sign)♦ prep[excepto] except (for);todo menos eso anything but that;vinieron todos menos él everyone came except (for) o but him;menos el café, todo está incluido en el precio everything except the coffee is included in the price♦ al menos loc conjat least;costará al menos tres millones it will cost at least three million;dame al menos una hora para prepararme give me at least an hour to get ready♦ a menos que loc conjunless;no iré a menos que me acompañes I won't go unless you come with me♦ de menos loc advhay dos libros de menos there are two books missing;me han dado 80 céntimos de menos they've given me 80 cents too little, they've short-changed me by 80 cents;eso es lo de menos that's the least of it♦ por lo menos loc advat least;por lo menos pide perdón you at least ought to apologize* * *I adj1 en cantidad less;cien dólares de menos 100 dollars short, 100 dollars too little;hay cinco calcetines de menos we are five socks short2 en número fewerII adves menos guapa que Ana she is not as pretty as Ana2 sup: en cantidad least;al menos, por lo menos at least3 MAT minus;tres menos dos three minus twoIV:a menos que unless;todos menos yo everyone but o except me;echar de menos miss;tener a alguien en menos look down on s.o.;eso es lo de menos that’s the least of it;ir a menos come down in the world;ni mucho menos far from it;no es para menos quite right too;son las dos menos diez it’s ten of two, Br it’s ten to two* * *menos adv1) : lessllueve menos en agosto: it rains less in August2) : leastel coche menos caro: the least expensive car3)menos de : less than, fewer thanmenos adj1) : less, fewertengo más trabajo y menos tiempo: I have more work and less time2) : least, fewestla clase que tiene menos estudiantes: the class that has the fewest studentsmenos prep1) salvo, excepto: except2) : minusquince menos cuatro son once: fifteen minus four is elevenmenos pron1) : less, fewerno deberías aceptar menos: you shouldn't accept less2)al menos orpor lo menos : at least3)a menos que : unless* * *menos1 adv1. (comparativo) less2. (con nombres contables) fewer3. (superlativo) least4. (excepto) except5. (con la hora) to6. (en matemáticas) minusmenos2 n minus sign -
15 moins
moins [mwɛ̃]━━━━━━━━━1. adverb2. preposition4. compounds━━━━━━━━━1. <a. (comparatif) less━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► moins... que less... than━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► Les expressions du type moins... que sont souvent traduites par l'équivalent anglais de pas aussi... que.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• j'aime moins la campagne en hiver qu'en été I don't like the countryside as much in winter as in summer► moins de + nom non comptable less• je mange moins de pain qu'avant I eat less bread than I used to► moins de + nom comptable━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• il y aura moins de monde demain there'll be fewer people tomorrow there'll be less people tomorrow► moins de + nombre━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► deux fois moins se traduit souvent par half.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• moins je mange, moins j'ai d'appétit the less I eat, the less hungry I feel• moins il y a de clients, moins j'ai de travail the fewer customers I have, the less work I have to do► moins... plus• moins je fume, plus je mange the less I smoke, the more I eat► moins... mieux• moins je fume, mieux je me porte the less I smoke, the better I feel• moins j'ai de coups de fil, mieux je travaille the fewer phone calls I get, the more work I can do► à moins• à moins d'un accident, ça devrait marcher barring accidents, it should work• il jouera, à moins d'un imprévu he'll be playing unless something unexpected happens• à moins de faire une bêtise, il devrait gagner unless he does something silly he should win► à moins que• vous avez cinq ans de moins qu'elle you're five years younger than her► de moins en moins less and less• ça me fera du travail en moins ! that'll be less work for me!• pas moins de 40 km les sépare de la ville la plus proche they're at least 40km from the nearest town• gravement malade, il n'en continue pas moins d'écrire despite being seriously ill, he still continues to write• il n'en reste pas moins que... the fact remains that...• il n'en est pas moins vrai que... it is no less true that...• c'est le moins qu'on puisse dire ! that's putting it mildly!► le moins possible as little as possible2. <a. (soustraction, nombre négatif) minus• il fait moins 5 it's minus 5°3. <• elle a payé cette robe au moins 3 000 € she paid at least 3,000 euros for that dress• il ne pleuvra pas, du moins c'est ce qu'annonce la radio it's not going to rain, at least that's what it says on the radio• j'arriverai vers 4 heures, du moins si l'avion n'a pas de retard I'll be there around 4 o'clock - if the plane's on time, that is► pour le moins to say the least4. <( = minable) complete loser (inf)• on les traite comme des moins que rien they're treated like scum ► moins-value feminine noun depreciation* * *
I
1. mwɛ̃1) ( dans une soustraction) minus2) ( pour dire l'heure) toil est moins vingt — (colloq) it's twenty to (colloq)
il était moins une (colloq) or moins cinq — (colloq) it was a close shave (colloq)
3) ( dans une température) minus
2.
1) ( modifiant un verbe) ( comparatif) less; ( superlatif)c'est moins une question d'argent qu'une question de principe — it's not so much a question of money as a question of principle
moins je sors, moins j'ai envie de sortir — the less I go out, the less I feel like going out
2) ( modifiant un adjectif) ( comparatif) less; ( superlatif)le moins, la moins, les moins — ( de deux) the less; ( de plus de deux) the least
dans le livre il y a du bon et du moins bon — in the book, there are bits that are good and bits that are not so good
le même en moins gros — the same, only thinner
3) ( modifiant un adverbe) ( comparatif) less; ( superlatif)
3.
moins de déterminant indéfini1) ( avec un nom)moins de sucre/bruit — less sugar/noise
c'est lui qui a le moins d'expérience des trois — of the three he's the one with the least experience
2) ( avec un numéral)les moins de 20 ans — people under 20, the under-twenties
4.
à moins locution adverbiale
5.
à moins de locution prépositiveà moins de partir maintenant — unless we/you etc leave now
6.
à moins que locution conjonctive
7.
à tout le moins locution adverbiale to say the least
8.
au moins locution adverbiale at leasttu l'as remercié, au moins? — you did thank him, didn't you?
9.
de moins locution adverbialele kilo de pêches valait dix centimes de moins que la veille — a kilo of peaches cost 10 cents less than it had the day before
il a obtenu 25% de voix de moins que son adversaire — he got 25% fewer votes than his opponent
10.
du moins locution adverbiale at least
11.
en moins locution adverbialeil est revenu du front avec une jambe en moins/avec un doigt en moins — he came back from the front with only one leg/with a finger missing
c'est tout le portrait de son père, la moustache en moins — he's the spitting image of his father without the moustache GB ou mustache US
12.
pour le moins locution adverbiale to say the least
II mwɛ̃nom masculin invariable1) Mathématique minus2) (colloq) ( inconvénient) minus•Phrasal Verbs:
••
La traduction en anglais de moins est less. Cependant, elle n'est utilisée que dans un nombre de cas assez restreint: en moins de trois jours = in less than three daysTrès souvent, même quand une traduction avec less est possible, l'anglais a recours à d'autres moyens. Certains sont réguliers: ma chambre est moins grande que la tienne = my bedroom isn't as big as yours; j'ai moins d'expérience que toi = I don't have as much experience as you (do), = I have less experience than you (do); c'est moins compliqué que vous ne le croyez = it's not as complicated as you think, = it's less complicated than you thinkD'autres ne le sont pas: j'essaie de moins fumer = I'm trying to cut down on my smoking, = I'm trying to smoke lessLorsque moins de, déterminant indéfini, est suivi d'un nom dénombrable, la règle voudrait que l'on traduise par fewer mais dans la langue parlée on utilise également lessLes expressions le moins possible, le moins du monde sont traitées respectivement sous possible et mondeOn trouvera ci-dessous exemples et exceptions illustrant les différentes fonctions de moinsOn pourra également se reporter aux notes d'usage portant notamment sur la quantité, l'expression de l'âge, etc. Consulter l'index* * *mwɛ̃1. adv1) (comparatif) lessIl a trois ans de moins que moi. — He's three years younger than me.
Nous avons trois jours de vacances de moins que l'an dernier. — We have three days holiday less than last year.
Il est moins intelligent que moi. — He's not as clever as me.
Moins je travaille, mieux je me porte. — The less I work, the better I feel.
2) (superlatif)le moins — least, the least
le moins doué; la moins douée — the least gifted
C'est ce que j'aime le moins. — It's what I like least., It's what I like the least.
C'est l'album que j'aime le moins. — This is the album I like the least., This is the album I least like.
C'est le modèle le moins cher. — It's the least expensive model.
Ce sont les plages qui sont les moins polluées. — These are the least polluted beaches.
3)moins de (livres, gens) — fewer, (sable, eau, sel) less
Ça coûte moins de deux cents euros. — It costs less than 200 euros.
Il y a moins de gens aujourd'hui. — There are fewer people today.
Il est moins de midi. — It's not yet midday.
en moins; de l'argent en moins — less money
Cette année nous avons trois jours de vacances en moins. — We have three days less holiday this year.
le soleil en moins — without the sun, minus the sun
L'endroit ressemble assez à la Côte d'Azur, le soleil en moins. — The place is quite like the Riviera, without the sun.
Ne te plains pas: au moins il ne pleut pas! — Don't complain: at least it's not raining!
à moins de; à moins que — unless
à moins de faire; à moins que tu ne fasses — unless you do
Je te retrouverai à dix heures à moins que le train n'ait du retard. — I'll meet you at 10 o'clock unless the train is late.
Il vient nous voir de moins en moins. — He comes to see us less and less often.
2. prép1) (soustraction) minus2) (température) minusIl fait moins 5. — It's minus 5., It's 5 below., It's 5 degrees below freezing.
Il a fait moins cinq la nuit dernière. — It was minus five last night.
3) (heure)Il est cinq heures moins dix. — It's ten to five.
Il est moins cinq. — It's five to.
3. nm(= signe) minus sign* * *I.moins ⇒ Note d'usageA prép1 ( dans une soustraction) minus; 8 moins 3 égale 5 8 minus 3 is ou equals 5; il a retrouvé sa voiture, moins les roues he got his car back without ou minus hum the wheels;2 ( pour dire l'heure) to; il est huit heures moins dix it's ten (minutes) to eight; il est moins vingt○ it's twenty to○, it's twenty minutes to the hour; il était moins une○ or moins cinq○ it was a close shave○;3 ( dans une température) minus; il faisait moins 15 degrés it was minus 15 (degrees).B adv1 ( modifiant un verbe) ( comparatif) less; ( superlatif) le moins the least; je lis moins ces derniers temps I read less these days; ils sortent moins maintenant qu'ils ont un enfant they don't go out as much ou they go out less often now that they have a child; il importe moins de changer le règlement que de le faire appliquer changing the rule is less important than implementing it; je gagne moins qu'elle I earn less than she does, I don't earn as much as she does; c'est moins un artiste qu'un bon artisan he' s not so much an artist as a good craftsman; c'est moins une question d'argent qu'une question de principe it's not so much a question of money as a question of principle; de moins en moins less and less; moins je sors, moins j'ai envie de sortir the less I go out, the less I feel like going out; moins je le vois, mieux je me porte the less I see him, the better I feel; c'est lui qui travaille le moins de tous he's the one who works the least of all; le film qui m'a le moins plu the film I liked the least; ce que j'aime le moins chez lui what I like least about him;2 ( modifiant un adjectif) ( comparatif) less; ( superlatif) le moins, la moins, les moins ( de deux) the less; ( de plus de deux) the least; il est moins grand/doué que son père he's not as tall/gifted as his father; c'est moins facile qu'il n'y paraît it's not as easy as it seems; il est moins menteur que sa sœur he's less of a liar than his sister; c'est moins problématique que je ne croyais it's less problematic ou less of a problem than I thought, it's not as problematic as I thought; les jeunes et les moins jeunes the young and the not so young; dans le livre il y a du bon et du moins bon in the book, there are bits that are good and bits that are not so good; il n'en est pas moins vrai que it's nonetheless true that; il ressemble à son frère en moins gros he looks like his brother, only thinner; ce sont les employés les moins compétents de l'entreprise they're the least competent employees in the company; un individu des moins recommandables a most unsavoury individual;3 ( modifiant un adverbe) ( comparatif) less; ( superlatif) le moins least; tu devrais rester moins longtemps dans le sauna you shouldn't stay so long in the sauna; elle chante moins bien qu'avant she doesn't sing as well as she used to; il fait moins beau que l'an dernier the weather isn't as good as it was last year; c'est le moins bien payé des deux he's the less well-paid of the two; le moins souvent (the) least often.C moins de dét indéf1 ( avec un nom dénombrable) moins de livres/d'assiettes/d'arguments fewer books/plates/arguments; j'ai moins de livres que toi I don't have as many books as you ou I have fewer books than you; mangez moins de graisses eat less fat; il y a moins de candidats there are fewer candidates; ils ont moins de chances d'être élus they are less likely to be elected; les éditeurs publient moins de livres publishers are publishing fewer books; pas moins de no fewer than;2 ( avec un nom non dénombrable) moins de sucre/vin/papier less sugar/wine/paper; moins de bruit/lumière less noise/light; il a parlé avec moins de hargne he spoke less aggressively; il y a moins de monde aujourd'hui qu'hier there are fewer people today than there were yesterday; pas moins de no less than; c'est lui qui a le moins d'expérience des trois of the three he's the one with the least experience;3 ( avec un numéral) en moins de trois heures in less than three hours; dans moins de trois heures in less than three hours; le voyage a duré un peu moins de trois heures the journey took a bit less than ou just under three hours; il est moins de 3 heures it's not quite 3 o'clock; les enfants de moins de 6 ans children under 6; les moins de 20 ans people under 20, the under-twenties; une planche de moins de deux m ètres de long a plank less than two metresGB long; moins de huit candidats fewer than eight candidates; tu ne trouveras rien à moins de 500 euros you won't find anything for less than 500 euros ou for under 500 euros; ça m'a coûté moins de 200 euros it cost me less than 200 euros ou under 200 euros.E à moins de loc prép à moins de partir maintenant, il n'arrivera pas à l'heure unless he leaves now he won't get there on time; à moins d'un miracle il va échouer unless there's a miracle, he's going to fail.G à tout le moins loc adv to say the least.H au moins loc adv at least; tout au moins at least; il y avait au moins 3 000 personnes there were at least 3,000 people; au moins, lui, il a réussi dans la vie he, at least, succeeded in life; tu l'as remercié, au moins? you did thank him, didn't you?I de moins loc adv ça m'a pris deux heures de moins it took me two hours less; le kilo de pêches valait deux euros de moins que la veille a kilo of peaches cost two euros less than it had the day before; j'ai un an de moins que lui I'm a year younger than he is; il a obtenu 25% de voix de moins que son adversaire he got 25% fewer votes than his opponent.J du moins loc adv at least; c'est du moins ce qu'il m'a raconté at least that's what he told me; si du moins tu es d'accord that is if you agree.K en moins loc adv il y avait deux fourchettes en moins dans la boîte there were two forks missing from the box; il est revenu du front avec une jambe en moins/avec un doigt en moins he came back from the front with only one leg/with a finger missing; c'est tout le portrait de son père, la moustache en moins he's/she's the spitting image of his/her father without the moustache GB ou mustache US.L pour le moins loc adv to say the least; ton attitude est pour le moins étrange your attitude is strange to say the least (of it).II.moins nm inv1 Math minus; le signe moins the minus sign;2 ○( inconvénient) minus.moins que rien nmf good-for-nothing, nobody.[mwɛ̃] adverbeA.[COMPARATIF D'INFÉRIORITÉ]1. [avec un adjectif, un adverbe] lessdeux fois moins cher half as expensive, twice as cheapen moins rapide but not so ou as fastc'est le même appartement, en moins bien/grand it's the same flat only not as nice/not as bigbeaucoup/un peu moins a lot/a little lessil n'en est pas moins vrai que... it is nonetheless true that...non moins charmante que... just as charming as..., no less charming than...je souffre moins I'm not in so much ou I'm in less painmoins tu parles, mieux ça vaut the less you speak, the betterB.[SUPERLATIF D'INFÉRIORITÉ]1. [avec un adjectif, un adverbe]c'est lui qui habite le moins loin he lives the least far away ou the nearestje ne suis pas le moins du monde surpris I'm not at all ou not in the least bit surprisedje vous dérange? — mais non, pas le moins du monde am I disturbing you? — of course not ou not in the slightest2. [avec un verbe]le moins qu'on puisse faire, c'est de les inviter the least we could do is invite them————————[mwɛ̃] préposition1. [en soustrayant]dix moins huit font deux ten minus ou less eight makes twoon est seize: moins les enfants, ça fait douze there are sixteen of us, twelve not counting the children2. [indiquant l'heure]3. [introduisant un nombre négatif]moins 50 plus moins 6 égalent moins 56 minus 50 plus minus 6 is ou makes minus 56il fait moins 25 it's 25 below ou minus 25————————[mwɛ̃] nom masculin————————à moins locution adverbiale————————à moins de locution prépositionnelle1. [excepté]à moins d'un miracle short of ou barring a miraclenous n'arriverons pas à temps, à moins de partir demain we won't get there on time unless we leave tomorrow2. [pour moins de] for less than3. [dans le temps, l'espace]il habite à moins de 10 minutes/500 mètres d'ici he lives less than 10 minutes/500 metres from here————————à moins que locution conjonctiveà moins que vous ne vouliez le faire vous-même... unless you wanted to do it yourself...————————au moins locution adverbiale1. [en tout cas] at least2. [au minimum] at least————————de moins locution adverbialede moins en moins locution adverbialede moins en moins de locution déterminante[suivi d'un nom comptable] fewer and fewer[suivi d'un nom non comptable] less and less————————des moins locution adverbiale————————du moins locution adverbialeils devaient venir samedi, c'est du moins ce qu'ils nous avaient dit they were supposed to come on saturday, at least that's what they told us————————en moins locution adverbialeil y a une chaise en moins there's one chair missing, we're one chair short————————en moins de locution prépositionnelle————————moins de locution déterminante1. (comparatif) [avec un nom comptable] fewer[avec un nom non comptable] lessil ne me faudra pas moins de 3 heures pour tout faire I'll need no less than ou at the very least 3 hours to do everything2. (superlatif)a. [avec un nom comptable] the fewestb. [avec un nom non comptable] the least————————moins... moins locution correlativethe less... the lessmoins il travaillera, moins il aura de chances de réussir à son examen the less he works, the less chance he'll have of passing his exam————————moins... plus locution correlativethe less... the more————————moins que rien locution adverbiale————————moins que rien nom masculin et fémininc'est un/une moins que rien he's/she's a nobodyon ne peut moins locution adverbialepour le moins locution adverbiale -
16 dire
dire [diʀ]━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━➭ TABLE 371. <━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━► to say se construit, comme dire, avec un complément d'objet direct et un complément d'objet indirect: to say sth to sb, alors que to tell se construit avec deux compléments d'objet directs: to tell sb sth ; to tell ne peut pas s'employer sans objet.━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━• qu'est-ce que vous avez dit ? what did you say?• comment dit-on ça en anglais ? how do you say that in English?• vous nous dites dans votre lettre que... you say in your letter that...• je vous l'avais bien dit ! I told you so!• fais ce qu'on te dit ! do as you are told!• on dit que... people say that...• il faut bien dire que... ( = admettre) I must say that...• Jean-François ne sait pas ce qu'il dit ( = il déraisonne) Jean-François doesn't know what he's saying• venez bientôt, disons demain come soon, let's say tomorrow• je ne vous le fais pas dire ! you said it!• laisse dire ! let them talk!• qu'est-ce qui me dit que c'est vrai ? how do I know it's the truth?• je me suis laissé dire que... I heard that...• ça suffit, j'ai dit ! I said that's enough!b. ( = penser) to think• qu'est-ce que tu dis de ça ? what do you think about that?• que diriez-vous d'une promenade ? how about a walk?• on dirait qu'il le fait exprès ! you'd almost think he does it on purpose!c. ( = objecter) je n'ai rien à dire sur son travail I can't complain about his work• rien à dire ! you can't argue with that!• c'est pas pour dire, mais il n'est pas très sympathique I don't want to go on about him, but he's not very niced. ( = évoquer) ce nom me dit quelque chose the name rings a bell• Lucien Josse ? ça ne me dit rien du tout Lucien Josse? I've never heard of hime. ( = plaire) ça vous dit de sortir ? do you feel like going out?f. (locutions) dis Papa, quand est-ce qu'on part ? when are we going, daddy?• dites donc ! ( = à propos) by the way ; ( = holà) hey!• ça lui a rapporté 100 000 € -- ben dis donc ! (inf) that earned him 100,000 euros -- goodness me!• que tu dis ! (inf) that's your story!• à qui le dites-vous ! you're telling me! (inf)• qui dit mieux ? any advance?► vouloir dire ( = signifier) to mean• qu'est-ce que ça veut dire ? what does that mean?• que veux-tu dire par là ? what do you mean?• ça veut tout dire ! that says it all!► comment dirais-je ? how shall I put it?2. <► se direa. ( = penser) to think to o.s.• il faut bien se dire que... one has to realize that...b. ( = se prétendre) to claim to be• comment ça se dit en français ? how do you say that in French?3. <* * *
I
1. diʀ1) ( faire entendre) to say [mots, prière]; to tell [histoire, blague]‘entrez’ dit-elle — ‘come in,’ she said
2) ( faire savoir) to tellje me suis laissé dire que... — I heard that...
c'est moi qui vous le dis — (colloq) I'm telling you
permets-moi de te dire que tu vas le regretter! — (colloq) you'll regret this, I can tell you!
je ne te dis que ça — (colloq) I'll say no more
c'est pas pour dire, mais — (colloq) I don't want to make a big deal of it, but... (colloq)
à qui le dites-vous! — (colloq) don't I know it!
je ne vous le fais pas dire! — (colloq) you don't need to tell me!
ne pas se le faire dire deux fois — (colloq) not to need to be told twice
dis, tu me crois? — (colloq) tell me, do you believe me?
dis donc, où tu te crois? — (colloq) hey! where do you think you are?
ne fais pas attention, il ne sait pas ce qu'il dit — don't mind him, he doesn't know what he's talking about
on dit que... — it is said that...
autant dire que — you might as well say that, in other words
disons, demain — let's say tomorrow
tu l'as dit! — (colloq)
comme tu dis! — (colloq) you said it! (colloq)
4) ( formuler)lent, pour ne pas dire ennuyeux — slow, not to say boring
comme dirait l'autre — (colloq) as they say
qu'est-ce que ça veut dire tout ce bruit? — (colloq) what's the meaning of all this noise?
6) ( demander)7) ( objecter)il n'y a pas à dire (colloq), elle est belle — you have to admit, she's beautiful
il n'y a rien à dire, tout est en ordre — I have no complaint, everything's fine
tu n'as rien à dire! — ( ne te plains pas) don't complain!; ( tais-toi) don't say a word!
8) ( penser) to think9) ( inspirer)
2.
se dire verbe pronominalil faut (bien) se dire que... — one must realize that...
il faut te dire que... — you must understand that...
2) ( échanger) to exchange [insultes, mots doux]3) ( se prétendre) to claim to be4) ( se déclarer)il s'est dit favorable à — he says he's in favour [BrE] of
5) ( être exprimé)
3.
se dire verbe impersonnel
II
1. diʀnom masculin
2.
dires nom masculin pluriel statements* * *diʀ1. nm2. vt1) (= exprimer) to say, [secret, mensonge] to tellElle m'a dit la vérité. — She told me the truth.
dire qch à qn — to tell sb sth, to say sth to sb
Qu'est-ce qu'il t'a dit? — What did he tell you?, What did he say to you?
Dites-moi ce que vous pensez. — Tell me what you think.
dire à qn qu'il fasse; dire à qn de faire — to tell sb to do
Il nous a dit de regarder cette émission. — He told us to watch this programme.
dire que — to say, to say that
Il a dit qu'il ne viendrait pas. — He said he wouldn't come.
2) (= prétendre)On le dit malade. — They say he's ill., He's said to be ill.
3) (= plaire)dire à qn [idée, proposition] Si cela lui dit. — If he feels like it.
Cela ne me dit rien. — That doesn't appeal to me.
4) (= penser)que dites-vous de...? — what do you think of...?
on dit que — they say, they say that
On dit que la nourriture y est excellente. — They say that the food there is excellent.
on dirait que (il semble que) — it looks like, it looks as if
On dirait qu'il va pleuvoir. — It looks like it's going to rain., It looks as if it's going to rain.
dis donc!; dites donc! (pour attirer l'attention) — hey!, (= au fait) by the way
Il a drôlement changé, dis donc! — Hey, he's really changed!
et dire que... — and to think that...
ceci dit; cela dit — that being said
Cela dit, je n'aimerais pas être à sa place. — That being said, I wouldn't like to be in his place.
c'est dire si... — that just shows that...
* * *dire verb table: médireA nm au dire de according to; au dire des experts according to the experts; au dire de tous by all accounts.B dires nmpl statements; leurs dires ne concordent pas their statements do not agree; selon les dires de ta sœur according to your sister.C vtr1 ( faire entendre) to say [mots, prière]; to recite [poème]; to read [leçon]; to tell [histoire, blague]; dire non to say no; dites quelque chose de drôle say something funny; ‘entrez’ dit-elle ‘come in,’ she said; j'ai quelque chose à dire là-dessus I've got something to say about that; sans mot dire without saying a word; ce n'est pas une chose à dire you don't say that sort of thing; dire des bêtises or inepties to talk nonsense; dire qch à voix basse to whisper sth; dire qch entre ses dents to mutter sth; ne plus savoir que dire to be at a loss for words; avoir son mot à dire to have one's say; dire ce qu'on a à dire to say one's piece;2 ( faire savoir) to tell; dire des mensonges/la vérité/l'avenir to tell lies/the truth/the future; dire qch à qn to tell sb sth; dites-moi votre nom tell me your name; je le leur dirai I'll tell them; dis-le à ton frère tell your brother; je vous l'avais bien dit! I told you so!; dites-moi, vous aimez l'opéra? tell me, do you like opera?; c'est ce qu'on m'a dit so I've been told; dis-leur que tu es occupé tell them you're busy; je dois vous dire que… I have to tell you that…; faire dire à qn que to let sb know that…; faites dire à ma femme que je serai en retard let my wife know that I will be late; dire ses projets to describe one's plans; dire son opinion/sa satisfaction to express one's opinion/one's satisfaction; je me suis laissé dire que… I heard that…; tenez-vous le pour dit! I don't want to have to tell you again!; c'est moi qui vous le dis○ I'm telling you; permets-moi de te dire que tu vas le regretter○! you'll regret this, I can tell you!; je ne te dis que ça○ I'll say no more; c'est pas pour dire, mais○ I don't want to make a big deal of it, but○…; à qui le dites-vous○! don't I know it!; vous m'en direz tant○! you don't say!; je ne vous le fais pas dire○! you don't need to tell me!; ne pas se le faire dire deux fois○ not to need to be told twice; dis, tu me crois○? tell me, do you believe me?; dis donc, où tu te crois○? hey! where do you think you are?; dites-donc, il n'est pas valable, votre ticket! here-did you know your ticket's not valid?; à vous de dire Jeux your bid; ⇒ vérité;3 ( affirmer) to say (que that); elle dit pouvoir le faire she says she can do it; dire ce qu'on pense to say what one thinks; dire tout haut ce que d'autres pensent tout bas to say out loud what other people are thinking; ne fais pas attention, il ne sait pas ce qu'il dit don't mind him, he doesn't know what he's talking about ou he's talking through his hat; on dit que… it is said that…; on le dit marié/veuf he is said to be married/a widower; j'irai jusqu'à dire que I'd go as far as to say that; c'est le moins qu'on puisse dire that's the least one can say; le moins qu'on puisse dire c'est que… the least one can say is that…; si l'on peut dire if one might say so; si je puis dire if I may put it like that; on peut dire qu'elle a du toupet celle-là! she's really got a nerve○!; on ne peut pas dire qu'il se soit fatigué! he certainly didn't overtax himself; autant dire que you might as well say that, in other words; et que dire de…? to say nothing of…; j'ose dire que… I'm not afraid to say that…; si j'ose dire if I may say so; ce n'est pas à moi de le dire it's not for me to say; cela va sans dire it goes without saying; ce n'est pas peu dire that's saying a lot; il faut dire que one should say that; c'est (tout) dire! need I say more?; cela dit having said that; c'est vous qui le dites! that's what you say!; tu peux le dire○! you can say that again○!; disons, demain let's say tomorrow; c'est difficile à dire it's hard to tell; je sais ce que je dis I know what I'm talking about; à ce qu'il dit according to him; vous dites? pardon?; à vrai dire actually; entre nous soit dit between you and me; soit dit en passant incidentally; pour tout dire all in all; c'est dire si j'ai raison it just goes to show I'm right; c'est beaucoup dire that's going a bit far; c'est peu dire that's an understatement; c'est vite dit that's easy for you to say; ce n'est pas dit I'm not that sure; tout n'est pas dit that's not the end of the story; c'est plus facile à dire qu'à faire it's easier said than done; il est dit que je ne partirai jamais I'm destined never to leave; tu l'as dit○!, comme tu dis○! you said it○!; que tu dis○! says you○!; ⇒ envoyer, fontaine;4 ( formuler) dire qch poliment/effrontément to say sth politely/cheekily; voilà qui est bien dit! well said!; il l'a mal dit, mais j'ai compris he put it badly but I understood; comment dire?, comment dirais-je? how shall I put it?; tu ne crois pas si bien dire you don't know how true that is; pour ainsi dire, comme qui dirait○ so to speak; autrement dit in other words; lent, pour ne pas dire ennuyeux slow, not to say boring; comme dirait l'autre○ as they say; disons que je suis préoccupé let's say I'm worried; un livre, disons un ‘texte’, comme dirait Adam a book, or let's say a ‘text’, as Adam would have it; un lien disons social a link which we could call social;5 ( indiquer) [loi] to state (que that); [appareil de mesure] to show (que that); [sourire] to express (que that); ma calculatrice dit l'heure my calculator shows the time; que dit ta montre? what time is it by your watch?; vouloir dire to mean; qu'est-ce que tu crois qu'il a voulu dire? what do you think he meant?; quelque chose me dit que something tells me that; qu'est-ce que ça veut dire tout ce bruit○? what's the meaning of all this noise?; qu'est-ce que ça veut dire de téléphoner à une heure pareille○? what do you mean by calling me at this time?; qu'est-ce à dire†? what is the meaning of this?; est-ce à dire que…? does this mean that…?; ⇒ doigt;6 ( demander) dire à qn de faire to tell sb to do; dites-leur de venir tell them to come; je vous avais dit d'être prudent I told you to be careful; qui vous a dit de partir? who told you to go?; fais ce qu'on te dit! do as you're told!; faites dire au médecin de venir have somebody call the doctor;7 ( objecter) qu'avez-vous à dire à cela? what have you got to say to that?; j'ai beaucoup à dire sur ton travail I've quite a lot to say about your work; je n'ai rien à dire no comment; il n'y a pas à dire○, elle est belle you have to admit, she's beautiful; il n'y a rien à dire, tout est en ordre nothing to report, everything's fine; tu n'as rien à dire! ( ne te plains pas) don't complain!; ( tais-toi) don't say a word!;8 ( penser) to think; qu'en dites-vous? what do you think?; que dis-tu de mon nouveau sac? what do you think of my new bag?; que diriez- vous d'une promenade/d'aller au marché? how about a walk/going to the market?; on dirait qu'il va pleuvoir/neiger it looks as if it's going to rain/to snow, it looks like rain/snow; on dirait que le vent se lève the wind seems to be picking up; on dirait qu'elle me déteste you'd think she hated me; on dirait un fou you'd think he was mad; on aurait dit qu'elle était déçue you'd have thought she was disappointed; on dirait de l'estragon ( à la vue) it looks like tarragon; ( au goût) it tastes like tarragon; on dirait du Bach it sounds like Bach; dire qu'hier encore il était parmi nous! it's odd to think (that) he was still with us yesterday!; dire que demain à la même heure je serai chez moi it's odd to think that this time tomorrow I'll be home;9 ( inspirer) ça ne me/leur dit rien de faire I /they don't feel like doing; notre nouveau jardinier ne me dit rien (qui vaille) I don't think much of our new gardener;10 Ling il faut dire ‘excusez-moi’ et non ‘je m'excuse’ one should say ‘excusez-moi’, not ‘je m'excuse’; tu dirais ‘une professeur’, toi? would you say ‘une professeur’?; comment dis-tu ça en italien? how do you say that in Italian?D se dire vpr1 ( penser) to tell oneself (que that); je me suis dit qu'il était trop tard I told myself that it was too late; il faut (bien) se dire que… one must realize that…; il faut te dire que… you must understand that…;2 ( échanger des paroles) se dire des insultes/des mots doux to exchange insults/sweet nothings; se dire adieu to say goodbye to each other;3 ( se prétendre) to claim to be, to say one is; il se dit intelligent/innocent/ingénieur he claims to be intelligent/innocent/an engineer; elle se dit incapable de marcher she claims to be unable to walk;4 ( se déclarer) il s'est dit prêt à participer à la conférence he said that he was prepared to take part in the conference; ils se sont dits favorables à cette mesure they said that they were in favourGB of this measure; elle s'est dite persuadée que… she said that she was convinced that…;5 Ling comment se dit ‘voiture’ en espagnol? how do you say ‘car’ in Spanish?; ‘surprise-party’ ne se dit plus people don't say ‘surprise-party’ any more; ça ne se dit pas you can't say that;6 ( être dit) il ne s'est rien dit d'intéressant à la réunion nothing of interest was said during the meeting.bien faire et laisser dire Prov do right and fear no man Prov; dis-moi qui tu hantes, je te dirai qui tu es you're known by the company you keep; dis-moi ce que tu manges, je te dirai qui tu es you are what you eat.I[dir] nom masculin————————dires nom masculin plurield'après ou selon les dires de son père according to his father ou to what his father saidau dire de locution prépositionnelleau dire de son professeur according to his teacher ou to what his teacher saysII[dir] verbe transitifA.[ARTICULER, PRONONCER]1. [énoncer] to sayquel nom dis-tu? Castagnel? what name did you say ou what's the name again? Castagnel?vous avez dit "démocratie"? "democracy", did you say?a. (très familier) [pour porter bonheur] break a leg!b. [pour insulter] get lost!je ne dirais pas qu'il est distant, je dirais plutôt effarouché I wouldn't say he's haughty, rather that he's been frightened offune honte, que dis-je, une infamie!, une honte, pour ne pas dire une infamie! a shame, not to say an infamy!qui dit... dit...: en ce temps-là, qui disait vol disait galère in those days, theft meant the gallowssi (l')on peut dire in a way, so to speakdisons-le, disons le mot let's not mince wordsdire non to say no, to refusea. [généralement] to say yesb. [à une proposition] to acceptc. [au mariage] to say I do2. [réciter - prière, table de multiplication] to say ; [ - texte] to say, to recite, to read ; [ - rôle] to speakdire la/une messe to say mass/a massdire des vers to recite verse, to give a recitationB.[EXPRIMER]1. [oralement] to sayque dis-tu là? what did you say?, what was that you said?j'ai l'habitude de dire ce que je pense I always speak my mind ou say what I thinkbon, bon, je n'ai rien dit! OK, sorry I spoke!pourquoi ne m'as-tu rien dit de tout cela? why didn't you speak to me ou tell me about any of this?je suis un raté? tu sais ce qu'il te dit, le raté? (familier) so I'm a loser, am I? well, do you want to hear what this loser's got to say to you?j'ai failli faire tout rater! — ça, tu peux le dire! I nearly messed everything up — you can say that again!j'ai une surprise — dis vite! I have a surprise — let's hear it ou do tell!comment dire ou dirais-je? how shall I put it ou say?dites donc, pour demain, on y va en voiture? by the way, are we driving there tomorrow?je peux y aller, dis? can I go, please?vous lui parlerez de moi, dites? you will talk to her about me, won't you?tu es bien habillé, ce soir, dis donc! my word, aren't you smart tonight!il nous faut, disons, deux secrétaires we need, (let's) say, two secretariesce disant with these words, so sayingc'est (te/vous) dire s'il est riche! that gives you an idea how wealthy he is!il ne m'a même pas répondu, c'est tout dire he never even answered me, that says it allpour tout dire in fact, to be honestje ne te/vous le fais pas dire how right you are, I couldn't have put it better myselfil va sans dire que... needless to say (that)...ce n'est pas pour dire, mais à sa place j'aurais réussi (familier) though I say it myself, if I'd been him I'd have succeededil en est incapable, enfin (moi), ce que j'en dis... he's not capable of it, at least that's what I'd say...voici une confiture maison, je ne te dis que ça here's some homemade jam that's out of this worldil y avait un monde, je te dis pas! you wouldn't have believed the crowds!vouloir dire [signifier] to meanun haussement d'épaules dans ce cas-là, ça dit bien ce que ça veut dire in a situation like that, a shrug (of the shoulders) speaks volumesvous partez, madame, qu'est-ce à dire? Madam, what mean you by leaving?3. [écrire] to saydans sa lettre, elle dit que... in her letter she says that...4. [annoncer - nom, prix] to givele général vous fait dire qu'il vous attend the general has sent me to tell you he's waiting for youtu vas le regretter, moi je (familier) ou c'est moi qui (familier) te le dis! you'll be sorry for this, let me tell you ou mark my words!6. [ordonner] to tell[conseiller] to telltu me dis d'oublier, mais... you tell me I must forget, but...toi, on ne peut jamais rien te dire! you can't take the slightest criticism!mais, me direz-vous, il n'est pas majeur but, you will object ou I hear you say, he's not of agej'aurais des choses à dire sur l'organisation du service I have a few things to say ou some comments to make about the organization of the departmentPierre n'est pas d'accord — il n'a rien à dire Pierre doesn't agree — he's in no position to make any objectionselle est maligne, il n'y a pas à ou on ne peut pas dire (le contraire) (familier) she's shrewd, there's no denying it ou and no mistakesi c'est vous qui le dites, si vous le dites, du moment que vous le dites if you say sopuisque je vous le dis! I'm telling you!, you can take it from me!c'est le bon train? — je te dis que oui! is it the right train? — yes it is! ou I'm telling you it is!il va neiger — la météo a dit que non it looks like it's going to snow — the weather forecast said it wouldn'ttu étais content, ne me dis pas le contraire! you were pleased, don't deny it ou don't tell me you weren't!on dit qu'il a un autre fils rumour has it that ou it's rumoured that ou it's said that he has another sonloin des yeux, loin du cœur, dit-on out of sight, out of mind, so the saying goes ou so they sayon le disait lâche he was said ou alleged ou reputed to be a cowardelle trouvera bien une place — qu'elle dit (familier) she'll find a job, no problem — that's what she thinks!on dira ce qu'on voudra, mais l'amour ça passe avant tout whatever people say, love comes before everything elseon ne dira jamais assez l'importance d'un régime alimentaire équilibré I cannot emphasize enough the importance of a balanced dietelle disait ne pas savoir qui le lui avait donné she claimed ou alleged that she didn't know who'd given it to her[dans des jeux d'enfants]je dois dire qu'elle est jolie I must say ou admit she's prettyil faut bien dire qu'il n'est plus tout jeune he's not young any more, let's face itil faut dire qu'elle a des excuses (to) give her her due, there are mitigating circumstancesdisons que... let's say (that)...11. [décider]il est dit que... fate has decreed that...il ne sera pas dit que... let it not be said that...a. [décidé] nothing's been decided yetb. [prévisible] nothing's for certain (yet)a. [il n'y a plus à discuter] the matter is closedb. [l'avenir est arrêté] the die is castaussitôt dit, aussitôt fait no sooner said than doneC.[PENSER, CROIRE]et comme dessert? — que dirais-tu d'une mousse au chocolat? and to follow? — what would you say to ou how about a chocolate mousse?dire que... to think that...2. [croire]a. [au goût] it tastes like teab. [à l'odeur] it smells like teac. [d'apparence] it looks like teaon dirait de la laine [au toucher] it feels like woolon dirait que je te fais peur you behave as if ou as though you were scared of me[exprime une probabilité]on dirait sa fille, au premier rang it looks like her daughter there in the front rowD.[INDIQUER, DONNER DES SIGNES DE]mon intuition ou quelque chose me dit qu'il reviendra I have a feeling (that) he'll be back2. [stipuler par écrit] to sayque dit la Bible/le dictionnaire à ce sujet? what does the Bible/dictionary say about this?3. [faire penser à]dire quelque chose: son visage me dit quelque chose I've seen her face before, her face seems familiarLambert, cela ne vous dit rien? Lambert, does that mean anything to you?4. [tenter]tu viens? — ça ne me dit rien are you coming? — I'm not in the mood ou I don't feel like it————————se dire verbe pronominal (emploi réciproque)[échanger - secrets, paroles] to tell each other ou one another————————se dire verbe pronominal (emploi passif)1. [être formulé]comment se dit "bonsoir" en japonais? how do you say "goodnight" in Japanese?, what's the Japanese for "goodnight"?il est vraiment hideux — peut-être, mais ça ne se dit pas he's really hideous — maybe, but it's not the sort of thing you sayse dit de [pour définir un terme] (is) said of, (is) used for, describes————————se dire verbe pronominal transitifmaintenant, je me dis que j'aurais dû accepter now I think I should have accepteddis-toi bien que je ne serai pas toujours là pour t'aider you must realize that ou get it into your head that I won't always be here to help you————————se dire verbe pronominal intransitif[estimer être] to sayil se dit flatté de l'intérêt que je lui porte he says he's ou he claims to be flattered by my interest in himils se disent attachés à la démocratie they claim to ou (that) they care about democracy -
17 Самое большее (меньшее)
... with a value at most of order one$x$ differs from $y$ by at most 2The longest edge is at most (at least) 10 times as long as the shortest one$F$ has the most (fewest) points when...What most interests us is whether...The least such constant is called the norm of $A$This is the least useful of the above four theoremsThat is the least one can expectThese elements of $A$ are comparatively big but least in numberThe best estimator is a linear combination $vee$ such that... is smallest possibleThe expected waiting time is smallest if...$L$ is the smallest number such that...$K$ is the largest of the functions which occur in (3)There exists a smallest algebra with this propertyTo find the second largest element in the list $L$This model is at most (at least) a second-order approximation in $x$Русско-английский словарь по прикладной математике и механике > Самое большее (меньшее)
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18 Самое большее (меньшее)
... with a value at most of order one$x$ differs from $y$ by at most 2The longest edge is at most (at least) 10 times as long as the shortest one$F$ has the most (fewest) points when...What most interests us is whether...The least such constant is called the norm of $A$This is the least useful of the above four theoremsThat is the least one can expectThese elements of $A$ are comparatively big but least in numberThe best estimator is a linear combination $vee$ such that... is smallest possibleThe expected waiting time is smallest if...$L$ is the smallest number such that...$K$ is the largest of the functions which occur in (3)There exists a smallest algebra with this propertyTo find the second largest element in the list $L$This model is at most (at least) a second-order approximation in $x$Русско-английский словарь по прикладной математике и механике > Самое большее (меньшее)
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19 geringst
least* * *1) ((something) which is the smallest or the smallest amount that exists, is possible etc: I think the least you can do is apologize!; She wanted to know how to do it with the least amount of bother.) least2) ((often in negative sentences, questions etc) least possible; any at all: I haven't the slightest idea where he is; The slightest difficulty seems to upset her.) slightest* * *nicht im Geringsten not in the least ( oder slightest);das interessiert mich nicht im Geringsten auch that doesn’t interest me one bit; (kümmert mich nicht) I couldn’t care less;nicht das Geringste not a thing;die geringste Kleinigkeit the least little thing;bei der geringsten Kleinigkeit at the drop of a hat;wir haben nicht die geringste Aussicht we haven’t the slightest chance (umg the oder a ghost of a chance);er hat nicht die geringste Ahnung he has no idea, he hasn’t got the faintest (umg foggiest) idea, he hasn’t got a clue umg, oft pej;nicht den geringsten Zweifel not the slightest doubt, not the shadow of a doubt;das ist meine geringste Sorge that’s the least of my worries;beim geringsten Anzeichen (+gen) at the first sign of* * *adj.least adj. -
20 meno
1. adv lesssuperlativo leastmathematics minusil meno possibile as little as possibledi meno at leasta meno che unlessper lo meno at leastsono le sei meno un quarto it's a quarter to sixsempre meno less and lessfare a meno di qualcosa do without somethingvenir meno a qualcuno forze desert someonevenir meno alla parola data not keep one's word2. prep except* * *meno avv.compar.1 (in minor quantità o grado) less; not so... (as); not as... (as): dovresti lavorare (di) meno e riposare di più, you should work less and rest more; il viaggio di ritorno mi è sembrato meno lungo, the journey back didn't seem so long (to me); quest'anno ha piovuto (di) meno, it hasn't rained so much this year; non per questo è meno intelligente, he is no less intelligent for that // più o meno, poco più poco meno, more or less // chi più chi meno, more or less (o some more some less): tutti hanno contribuito, chi più chi meno, al buon esito dell'iniziativa, everyone more or less contributed to the success of the venture (o everyone contributed to the success of the venture, some more some less) // né più né meno, just, exactly: gli ho detto né più né meno come la pensavo, I told him just (o exactly) how I felt about it; le cose sono andate né più né meno così, that's exactly what happened2 (nel compar. di minoranza) less... (than); not so... (as), not as... (as): l'argento è meno prezioso dell'oro, silver is less precious than gold (o silver isn't as precious as gold); lui non è meno studioso di te, he studies just as much as you do (o he studies no less than you do); oggi è meno freddo di ieri, it isn't as cold today as it was yesterday (form. it is less cold than yesterday); il traffico era meno intenso del solito, the traffic wasn't as heavy as usual (o was less heavy than usual); è andata meno bene del previsto, it didn't go as well as expected3 (correl.) (quanto) meno... (tanto) meno: the less... the less: meno si lavora, meno si lavorerebbe, the less you work, the less you feel like working; meno studi, meno impari, the less you study, the less you learn4 (nel superl. di minoranza) the least; (fra due) the less: tra tutte le conferenze, questa è stata la meno interessante, of all the lectures, this was the least interesting; la meno preparata delle due squadre, the less fit of the (two) teams; ho intenzione di scegliere la macchina che costa meno, I'm going to choose the car that costs the least (o the cheapest car); cerca di affaticarti il meno possibile, try to tire yourself as little as possible5 (con valore di no) not: fammi sapere se verrai o meno, let me know whether or not you're coming; mi domando se valga la pena o meno di accettare, I wonder whether or not it's worth accepting; mi hanno accreditato mille euro, meno le spese bancarie, my account was credited with one thousand euros, minus bank charges6 (mat.) minus: sette meno tre è uguale a quattro, seven minus three is four (o three from seven leaves four) // la temperatura è meno due, the temperature is two degrees below zero // ci sono cinque euro in meno, di meno, (mancano cinque euro) there's five euros missing; ho speso dieci euro in meno, I spent ten euros less; uno di meno!, one less!; non eravamo in meno di otto, there were no less than eight of us // se avessi vent'anni di meno!, if only I were twenty years younger! // sono le otto meno cinque, it's five to eight◆ prep. (tranne) but, except: c'erano tutti meno loro, everyone was there except (o but) them; il museo è aperto tutti i giorni meno il lunedì, the museum is open every day but (o except) Monday; ho pensato a tutto meno che a fare i biglietti, I saw to everything except the tickets.◆ FRASEOLOGIA: tanto meno, ancora meno, even less: non ho accettato finora, tanto meno accetterei adesso, I haven't accepted so far, and now I've got even less reason to accept // meno che mai, men che meno, let alone: non sa parlare l'italiano, meno che mai l'inglese, he can't even speak Italian, let alone English // quanto meno, (perlomeno) at least: avresti potuto quanto meno farmi una telefonata, you could at least have phoned me // fare a meno di qlcu., di (fare) qlco., to do without s.o., (doing) sthg.: non potrei fare a meno di lui, I couldn't do without him; non potei fare a meno di ridere, I couldn't help laughing // venire meno, (venire a mancare) to fail; (svenire) to faint; mi venne meno il coraggio, my courage failed me; a quella notizia, mi sentii venire meno, I felt as if I was going to faint when I heard the news // venire meno alla parola data, to break one's word // essere da meno (di qlcu.), to be less than s.o. // senza meno, (region.) certainly, for sure: le telefonerò domani senza meno, I'll phone her tomorrow for sure; a meno che, a meno di, unless: lo spettacolo si terrà all'aperto, a meno che non piova, the performance will take place outdoors, unless it rains; non farei mai una cosa simile, a meno di non esservi costretto, I would never do such a thing, unless I was forced to // niente meno → nientedimeno // per lo meno → perlomeno.meno agg.compar.invar. less; not so much, not as much; (con s. pl.) fewer; not so many, not as many: c'è meno traffico sulle strade rispetto a ieri, there's less traffic on the roads than yesterday (o there isn't as much traffic on the roads as yesterday); oggi c'è meno gente in giro, there are fewer people (o there aren't so many people) about today; se prendi l'autostrada impiegherai meno tempo, it will take you less time (o it won't take you so long) if you use the motorway; c'erano meno italiani e più stranieri, there were fewer Italians and more foreigners; ha meno amici che nemici, he has fewer friends than enemies; loro hanno meno preoccupazioni di noi, they have fewer worries than we have (o they haven't so many worries as we have); questa volta hai fatto meno errori, this time you made fewer mistakes (o you didn't make so many mistakes) // meno storie!, stop making a fuss! // meno male, thank goodness; just as well; it's a good job (o a good thing); not so bad: meno male che non si è fatto niente, thank goodness he wasn't hurt; meno male che siete arrivati in tempo, it's a good job you arrived in time; meno male, poteva andar peggio!, not so bad, things could have been worse!◆ s.m.1 (con valore di compar.) less, not as much: ho fatto meno di quanto avrei voluto, I did less than (o I didn't do as much as) I would have liked; ha mangiato meno del solito, he ate less than usual (o he didn't eat as much as usual); meno di così non si poteva dare, you couldn't give less than that; si accontenterebbe di molto meno, he would be satisfied with much less; oggi ho dovuto aspettare molto meno, today I didn't have nearly so long to wait (o I had much less to wait); ci vorranno non meno di tre ore per arrivare, it will take no less than three hours to get there; finirò il lavoro in meno di un mese, I shall finish the job in less than a month; arriverà tra non meno di due settimane, he won't be here for a fortnight // a meno, per meno, (a minor prezzo) for less (o cheaper): vendere, acquistare per meno, to sell, to purchase for less // in men che non si dica, in less than no time2 (con valore di superl.) the least; as little as: questo è il meno che tu possa fare, that's the least you can do; era il meno che gli potesse capitare, it was the least that could happen to him; vorrei spendere il meno possibile, I'd like to spend as little as possible // parlare del più e del meno, to talk of this and that // quando meno ci si pensa..., when you least expect...3 (mat.) minus: il segno del meno, the minus sign4 pl.: i meno, (la minoranza) the minority; i deputati che votarono a favore della proposta di legge erano i meno, the MP s who voted in favour of the bill were in the minority.* * *['meno]1. avv1) lessè meno alto di suo fratello/di quel che pensavo — he is not as tall as his brother/as I thought, he is less tall than his brother/than I thought
ha due anni meno di me — he's two years younger than me
meno ne discutiamo, meglio è — the less we talk about it, the better
deve avere non meno di trent'anni — he must be at least thirty
andare all'università diventa sempre meno facile — it's getting less and less easy to go to university
2) (con senso superlativo) least3) (sottrazione) Mat minus, less5 meno 2 — 5 minus 2, 5 take away 2
sono le otto meno un quarto — it's a quarter to eight Brit o of eight Am
mi hai dato due carte di meno — you gave me two cards too few
eh, se avessi dieci anni di meno! — oh, if only I were ten years younger!
ho una sterlina in meno — I am one pound short
ci sono meno 25° — it's minus 25°, it is 25° below (zero)
4)non è da meno di lui — she is (every bit) as good as he isnon voglio essere da meno di lui — I don't want to be outdone by him
meno di — to do o manage withoutse non c'è zucchero ne faremo a meno — if there isn't any sugar we'll do without
non ho potuto fare a meno di ridere — I couldn't help laughing
in
men che non si dica — in less than no time, quick as a flashmeno gli inglesi — least of all the Englishfammi sapere se verrai o meno — let me know if you are coming or not
meno poteva avvertire — he could at least have let us knownon mi piace come scrive e tanto meno come parla — I don't like the way he writes let alone the way he talks
2. agg inv(acqua, lavoro, soldi) less, (persone, libri, errori) fewermeno bambini ci sono, meglio è — the fewer children there are the better
3. sm inv1)il meno — the leastera il meno che ti potesse capitare — (rimprovero) you were asking for it
parlare del più e del meno — to talk about this and that
i
meno — (la minoranza) the minority2) Mat minus (sign)4. prep(fuorché, eccetto che) except (for)meno uno — all but one* * *['meno] 1.1) (in un comparativo di minoranza) less2) (con un avverbio) less3) (con un verbo) lessguadagno meno di lei — I earn less than she does, I don't earn as much as she does
meno se ne parla, meglio è — the less said about that, the better
meno esco, meno ho voglia di uscire — the less I go out, the less I feel like going out
4) (con un numerale) lessmeno di due ore — under o less than two hours
non troverai niente a meno di 200 euro — you won't find anything for less than o for under 200 euros
(il) meno, (la) meno, (i) meno, (le) meno — the least
6) (in correlazione con "più")né più, né meno — neither more, nor less
centimetro più, centimetro meno — give or take an inch (or two)
7) (con valore di negazione) not8) da menoho fatto una torta anche io per non essere da meno — I made a cake as well, just to keep up
10) a meno di short of11) a meno che unless12) sempre meno less and less13) meno male thank goodness14) quanto meno, per lo meno at least15) tanto menonon l'ho mai visto, tanto meno gli ho parlato — I've never seen him, much less spoken to him
era troppo malata per stare in piedi, tanto meno per camminare — she was too ill to stand let alone walk
16) più o meno more or less, about, roughly, round about2."ti è piaciuto il film?" - "più o meno" — "did you enjoy the film?" - "sort of"
aggettivo invariabile1) (in un comparativo di minoranza) less, fewer2) (con valore pronominale) less, fewer3.1) (in una sottrazione) from, minus20 meno 5 fa 15 — 5 from 20 leaves 15, 20 minus 5 is 15, 20 take away 5 is 15
2) (tranne, eccetto) but, besides, except4.sostantivo maschile invariabile1) (la cosa, quantità minore) least2) mat. minus (sign)••parlare del più e del meno — to talk about this and that, to shoot the breeze AE
in men che non si dica — before you could say knife, in the bat o wink of an eye, in (less than) no time
••fare a meno di — to manage o do without, to dispense with [auto, servizi]
Note:Meno è usato principalmente come avverbio e come aggettivo, anche con valore pronominale. - Come avverbio, si rende con less quando introduce un comparativo di minoranza e con (the) least quando introduce un superlativo di minoranza: less è seguito da than, the least è seguito da of oppure in (se ci si riferisce a un luogo o un gruppo). Gli esempi nella voce mostrano anche che il comparativo di minoranza è spesso sostituito in inglese dalla variante negativa di un comparativo di uguaglianza: ho meno esperienza di te = I have less experience than you, oppure: I don't have as much experience as you; la mia stanza è meno grande della tua = my bedroom isn't as big as yours. - Come aggettivo, in inglese standard meno si traduce con less davanti e al posto di sostantivi non numerabili ( meno denaro = less money; ne ho meno di ieri = I have less than yesterday), mentre davanti e al posto di sostantivi plurali si usa fewer con valore comparativo ( meno studenti = fewer students; non meno di = no fewer than) e (the) fewest con valore superlativo ( ho fatto meno errori di tutti = I made the fewest mistakes; ne ha dati meno di tutti = he gave the fewest); tuttavia, nel linguaggio parlato less tende a sostituire fewer anche con riferimento plurale: meno persone = less people. - Per altri esempi e per l'uso di meno come preposizione e sostantivo, si veda la voce qui sotto* * *meno/'meno/Meno è usato principalmente come avverbio e come aggettivo, anche con valore pronominale. - Come avverbio, si rende con less quando introduce un comparativo di minoranza e con (the) least quando introduce un superlativo di minoranza: less è seguito da than, the least è seguito da of oppure in (se ci si riferisce a un luogo o un gruppo). Gli esempi nella voce mostrano anche che il comparativo di minoranza è spesso sostituito in inglese dalla variante negativa di un comparativo di uguaglianza: ho meno esperienza di te = I have less experience than you, oppure: I don't have as much experience as you; la mia stanza è meno grande della tua = my bedroom isn't as big as yours. - Come aggettivo, in inglese standard meno si traduce con less davanti e al posto di sostantivi non numerabili ( meno denaro = less money; ne ho meno di ieri = I have less than yesterday), mentre davanti e al posto di sostantivi plurali si usa fewer con valore comparativo ( meno studenti = fewer students; non meno di = no fewer than) e (the) fewest con valore superlativo ( ho fatto meno errori di tutti = I made the fewest mistakes; ne ha dati meno di tutti = he gave the fewest); tuttavia, nel linguaggio parlato less tende a sostituire fewer anche con riferimento plurale: meno persone = less people. - Per altri esempi e per l'uso di meno come preposizione e sostantivo, si veda la voce qui sotto.I avverbio1 (in un comparativo di minoranza) less; un po' meno a little less; è meno alto di Tim he is not as tall as Tim; è meno complicato di quanto pensi it's less complicated than you think2 (con un avverbio) less; meno spesso less often; meno del solito less than usual; canta meno bene di prima she doesn't sing as well as she used to3 (con un verbo) less; l'argento costa meno dell'oro silver costs less than gold; costa meno prendere il treno it works out cheaper to take the train; dovresti lavorare (di) meno you should work less; guadagno meno di lei I earn less than she does, I don't earn as much as she does; meno se ne parla, meglio è the less said about that, the better; meno esco, meno ho voglia di uscire the less I go out, the less I feel like going out; è lui quello che lavora meno di tutti he's the one who works the least of all4 (con un numerale) less; meno di 50 less than 50; meno di due ore under o less than two hours; un po' meno di 15 cm just under 15 cm; i bambini con meno di sei anni children under six; non troverai niente a meno di 200 euro you won't find anything for less than o for under 200 euros5 (in un superlativo relativo) (il) meno, (la) meno, (i) meno, (le) meno the least; le famiglie meno ricche the least wealthy families; era la meno soddisfatta di tutti she was the least satisfied of all; è quello pagato meno bene fra i due he's the least well-paid of the two; quello mi piace meno di tutti I like that one (the) least; sono quelli che ne hanno meno bisogno they are the ones who need it (the) least; proprio quando meno me l'aspettavo just when I least expected it6 (in correlazione con "più") né più, né meno neither more, nor less; centimetro più, centimetro meno give or take an inch (or two); né più né meno che nothing less than7 (con valore di negazione) not; che lo voglia o meno whether he's willing or not; non ha deciso se firmare o meno he hasn't decided whether to sign (or not)8 da meno è un gran bugiardo e suo fratello non è da meno he's a liar and his brother isn't any better; ho fatto una torta anche io per non essere da meno I made a cake as well, just to keep up9 di meno, in meno se avessi 20 anni di meno! I wish I were 20 years younger! ho preso 30 euro in meno di stipendio my wages are 30 euros short10 a meno di short of11 a meno che unless12 sempre meno less and less13 meno male thank goodness; meno male che it's a good thing that; meno male che è impermeabile! it's just as well it's waterproof! meno male che ci sono andato! it was lucky for me that I went!14 quanto meno, per lo meno at least15 tanto meno non l'ho mai visto, tanto meno gli ho parlato I've never seen him, much less spoken to him; era troppo malata per stare in piedi, tanto meno per camminare she was too ill to stand let alone walk16 più o meno more or less, about, roughly, round about; più o meno alto come te about your height; è successo più o meno qui it happened round about here; "ti è piaciuto il film?" - "più o meno" "did you enjoy the film?" - "sort of"; più o meno nello stesso modo in much the same way; la canzone fa più o meno così the song goes something like this1 (in un comparativo di minoranza) less, fewer; ho meno libri di te I have fewer books than you; ho meno caldo adesso I feel cooler now; ci è voluto meno tempo di quanto pensassimo it took less time than we expected2 (con valore pronominale) less, fewer; non meno di no fewer than; ne ho meno di te I have less than you; ha venduto meno di tutti he sold the fewestIII preposizione1 (in una sottrazione) from, minus; quanto fa 20 meno 8? what is 20 minus 8? 20 meno 5 fa 15 5 from 20 leaves 15, 20 minus 5 is 15, 20 take away 5 is 152 (tranne, eccetto) but, besides, except3 (per indicare l'ora) le sei meno dieci ten to six4 (per indicare una temperatura) meno 10 minus 10IV m.inv.1 (la cosa, quantità minore) least; questo è il meno that's the least of it; fare il meno possibile to do as little as possible2 mat. minus (sign)parlare del più e del meno to talk about this and that, to shoot the breeze AE; in men che non si dica before you could say knife, in the bat o wink of an eye, in (less than) no time; fare a meno di to manage o do without, to dispense with [auto, servizi]; non posso farne a meno I can't help it.
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