why can't you be quiet

why are you laughing? — ¿por qué te ríes?

why not? — ¿por qué no?

why don't you apply for the post? — ¿por qué no solicitas el puesto?

there's no reason why you shouldn't do it — no hay ningún motivo para que no lo hagas

because he lied to me, that's why! — porque me mintió! por eso!

the reason why he couldn't attend — la razón por la cual no pudo asistir

why, of course! — por supuesto que sí!

why not? — ¿por qué no?

why on earth didn't you tell me? — ¿por qué demonios no me lo dijiste?

I know why you did it — sé por qué lo hiciste

why he did it we shall never know — no sabremos nunca por qué razón lo hizo

that's why I couldn't come — por eso no pude venir

which is why I am here — que es por lo que estoy aquí

why, it's you! — ¡toma, eres tú!, ¡anda, eres tú!

why, what's the matter? — bueno, ¿qué pasa?

why, there are 8 of us! — ¡si somos 8!

why, it's easy! — ¡vamos, es muy fácil!

the whys and (the) wherefores — el porqué

why are you laughing? — ¿por qué te ríes?

why not? — ¿por qué no?

why don't you apply for the post? — ¿por qué no solicitas el puesto?

there's no reason why you shouldn't do it — no hay ningún motivo para que no lo hagas

because he lied to me, that's why! — porque me mintió! por eso!

the reason why he couldn't attend — la razón por la cual no pudo asistir

why, of course! — por supuesto que sí!

that hat's not you — ese sombrero no te favorece

poor you! — pobrecito!

you liar! — mentiroso!

I saw you, Pete — te vi, Pete

I told you — te dije/le dije

I gave it to you — te lo di/se lo di

with you — contigo/con usted

she's taller than you — es más alta que tú

come on, you guys! — vamos, chicos

people stop you in the street and ask for money — la gente te para en la calle y te pide dinero, la gente lo para a uno en la calle y le pide dinero

they never tell you the truth — nunca te dicen la verdad, nunca le dicen la verdad a uno

what do you think about it? — ¿y tú que piensas?

you and I will go — iremos tú y yo

you're very strong — eres muy fuerte

you don't understand me — no me entiendes

I know you — te conozco

I'll send you a postcard — te mandaré una postal

I gave the letter to you yesterday — te di la carta ayer

I gave it to you — te lo di

I told you to do it — te dije a ti que lo hicieras, es a ti a quien dije que lo hicieras

you're very kind — es usted muy amable

I saw you, Mrs Jones — la vi, señora Jones

I gave you the keys — le di las llaves

I gave it to you — se lo di

I gave them to you — se las di

you've got kids but we haven't — vosotros tenéis hijos pero nosotros no

you're sisters, aren't you? — vosotras sois hermanas, ¿no?

you have all been here before — todos (vosotros) habéis estado aquí antes

you all know why we are here — todos sabéis por qué estamos aquí

you stay here, and I'll go and get the key — (vosotros) quedaos aquí, que yo iré a por la llave

I know you both — yo os conozco a los dos

I gave it to you — os lo di

I gave them to you — os los di

I'd like to speak to you — quiero hablar con vosotros

you are very kind — son ustedes muy amables

are you brothers? — ¿son (ustedes) hermanos?

may I help you? — ¿puedo ayudarlos?

I gave you the keys — les di las llaves

I gave it to you — se lo di

I gave them to you — se las di

you can't do that — no se puede hacer eso, eso no se hace, eso no se permite

you can't smoke here — no se puede fumar aquí, no se permite fumar aquí, se prohíbe fumar aquí

when you need one it's not here — cuando se necesita uno no está aquí

you never know, you never can tell — nunca se sabe

you never know whether... — uno nunca sabe si...

you need to check it every day — hay que comprobarlo cada día, conviene comprobarlo cada día

you must paint it — hace falta pintarlo

fresh air does you good — el aire puro (te) hace bien

you Spaniards — vosotros los españoles

you doctors! — ¡vosotros, los médicos!

there's a pretty girl for you! — ¡mira que chica más guapa!

that hat's not you — ese sombrero no te favorece

poor you! — pobrecito!

you liar! — mentiroso!

I saw you, Pete — te vi, Pete

I told you — te dije/le dije

I gave it to you — te lo di/se lo di

with you — contigo/con usted

she's taller than you — es más alta que tú

come on, you guys! — vamos, chicos

people stop you in the street and ask for money — la gente te para en la calle y te pide dinero, la gente lo para a uno en la calle y le pide dinero

they never tell you the truth — nunca te dicen la verdad, nunca le dicen la verdad a uno

have a lot/not much to say for oneself — viel reden/nicht viel von sich geben

that is to say — das heißt

when all is said and done — letzten Endes

what have you got to say for yourself? — was haben Sie zu Ihren Gunsten zu sagen?

I can't say fairer than that — ein besseres Angebot kann ich nicht machen

and so say all of us — der Meinung sind wir auch

what does it say here? — was steht hier?

have no say — nichts zu sagen haben

I never thought I'd hear him say that — ich hätte nie gedacht, dass er das sagen würde

that's not for him to say — es steht ihm nicht zu, sich darüber zu äußern

he looks very smart, I'll say that for him —

though I say it myself — wenn ich das mal selbst sagen darf

never let it be said that I didn't try — es soll keiner sagen können or mir soll keiner nachsagen, ich hätte es nicht versucht

it tastes, shall we say, interesting — das schmeckt aber, na, sagen wir mal interessant

well, what can I say? — na ja, was kann man da sagen?

what does it mean? – I wouldn't like to say — was bedeutet das? – das kann ich auch nicht sagen

having said that, I must point out... — ich muss allerdings darauf hinweisen...

so saying, he sat down — und mit den Worten setzte er sich

what have you got to say for yourself? — was haben Sie zu Ihrer Verteidigung zu sagen?

if you don't like it, say so —

why didn't you say so? — warum haben Sie das denn nicht gesagt?

giving instructions he said to wait here — er hat gesagt, ich soll/wir sollen etc hier warten

say after me... — sprechen Sie mir nach...

he can't say his r's — er kann kein R aussprechen

it says in the papers that... — in den Zeitungen steht, dass...

what does the paper/this book/your horoscope etc say? — was steht in der Zeitung/diesem Buch/deinem Horoskop etc?

the rules say that... — in den Regeln heißt es, dass...

the weather forecast said that... —

did the news say anything about the strike? — kam in den Nachrichten etwas über den Streik?

they weren't allowed to say anything about it in the papers — sie durften in den Zeitungen nichts darüber schreiben

it's hard to say what's wrong what does that say about his intentions/the main character? — es ist schwer zu sagen, was nicht stimmt was sagt das über seine Absichten/die Hauptperson aus?

that says a lot about his character/state of mind — das lässt tief auf seinen Charakter/Gemütszustand schließen

these figures say a lot about recent trends — diese Zahlen sind in Bezug auf neuere Tendenzen sehr aufschlussreich

and that's saying a lot — und das will schon etwas heißen

that's not saying much — das will nicht viel heißen

that doesn't say much for him —

that says a lot for him — das spricht für ihn

there's no saying — das weiß keiner

there's no saying what might happen — was (dann) passiert, das kann keiner vorhersagen

= suppose say it takes three men to... — angenommen, man braucht drei Leute, um zu...

in suggestions what would you say to a whisky/game of tennis? — wie wärs mit einem Whisky/mit einer Partie Tennis?

shall we say Tuesday/£50? —

what did he say to your plan? — was hat er zu Ihrem Plan gesagt?

I'll offer £500, what do you say to that? —

what do you say? — was meinen Sie?

I wouldn't say no to a cup of tea — ich hätte nichts gegen eine Tasse Tee

exclamatory well, I must say! —

I should say so! — das möchte ich doch meinen!

well said! — (ganz) richtig!

you('ve) said it! — Sie sagen es!

you can say that again! — das kann man wohl sagen!

say no more! — ich weiß Bescheid!

and so say all of us — und wir stimmen alle zu

set expressions (it's) easier said than done — das ist leichter gesagt als getan

no sooner said than done — gesagt, getan

when all is said and done — letzten Endes

they say..., it is said... — es heißt...

a building said to have been built by... — ein Gebäude, das angeblich von... gebaut wurde or das von... gebaut worden sein soll

it goes without saying that... —

that goes without saying — das ist selbstverständlich

that's not to say that... — das soll nicht heißen, dass...

the plan sounded vague, not to say impractical — der Plan klang vage, um nicht zu sagen unpraktisch

to say nothing of being... — davon, dass ich/er etc... ganz zu schweigen or mal ganz abgesehen

enough said! — genug!

= opportunity to speak let him have his say — lass ihn mal reden or seine Meinung äußern

everyone should be allowed to have his say —

you've had your say — Sie haben Ihre Meinung äußern können

to have no/a say in sth —

I want more say in determining... — ich möchte mehr Mitspracherecht bei der Entscheidung... haben

he said something about going out — er hat etwas von Ausgehen gesagt

what more can I say? — was soll ich da noch [groß] sagen?

have a lot/not much to say for oneself — viel reden/nicht viel von sich geben

that is to say — das heißt

when all is said and done — letzten Endes

[well,] I must say — also, ich muss schon sagen

what have you got to say for yourself? — was haben Sie zu Ihren Gunsten zu sagen?

there's something to be said on both sides/either side — man kann für beide Seiten/jede Seite Argumente anführen

I can't say fairer than that — ein besseres Angebot kann ich nicht machen

and so say all of us — der Meinung sind wir auch

what I'm trying to say is this — was ich sagen will, ist folgendes

a sign saying... — ein Schild mit der Aufschrift...

what does it say here? — was steht hier?

she is said to be clever/have done it — man sagt, sie sei klug/habe es getan

have no say — nichts zu sagen haben

enfin et surtout — last but not least

enfin seuls! — alone at last!

enfin, puisque tu y tiens — oh well, as you insist

mais enfin, cessez de vous disputer! — for heaven's sake, stop arguing!

il pleut tous les jours, enfin presque — it rains every day, well almost

car enfin — after all

(mais) enfin, que signifie toute cette histoire? — what on earth does it all mean?

J'ai enfin réussi à le joindre. — I have at last managed to contact him.

... enfin, une nouvelle édition de notre dictionnaire français-anglais —... finally, a new edition of our French-English dictionary

Enfin, le principal c'est qu'il n'y a pas eu de blessés. — Still, the main thing is that no one was hurt.

Enfin, on verra bien. — Well, we'll see.

... enfin, un belle pagaille —... in a word, a real mess

tu faresti meglio a tacere! — you'd do better to keep quiet!

questo lo dici tu! — that's what you say!

proprio tu lo dici! — you're a right one to talk!

sei tu quello che fa sempre storie — you're the one who always causes a fuss

dare del tu a qn — to address sb as "tu", be on first-name terms with sb

trovarsi a tu per tu con qn — to find o.s. face to face with sb

perché non gli parli a tu per tu? — why don't you have a word with him in private?

tu faresti meglio a tacere! — you'd do better to keep quiet!

questo lo dici tu! — that's what you say!

proprio tu lo dici! — you're a right one to talk!

sei tu quello che fa sempre storie — you're the one who always causes a fuss

dare del tu a qn — to address sb as "tu", be on first-name terms with sb

trovarsi a tu per tu con qn — to find o.s. face to face with sb

perché non gli parli a tu per tu? — why don't you have a word with him in private?

ya sabe decir varias palabras — she can already say several words, she already knows several words

- tengo prisa -dijo — "I'm in a hurry," she said

olvídalo, no he dicho nada — forget I said anything

¿decía usted? — you were saying?

como decía mi abuela — as my grandmother used to say

como iba diciendo... — as I was saying...

¿cómo ha dicho usted? — pardon?, what did you say?

mi amigo dice que eres muy guapa — my friend says (that) you're very pretty

dicen que... — they say (that)..., people say (that)...

el cartel dice claramente que... — the sign says clearly {o} clearly states that...

decir que sí/no — to say yes/no

-¿viene? -dice que sí — "is she coming?" - "she says she is {o} she says so"

la miré y me dijo que sí/no con la cabeza — I looked at her and she nodded/shook her head

¿quién te lo dijo? — who told you?

se lo dije bien claro, pero no me hizo caso — I told her quite clearly, but she didn't take any notice of me

tengo algo que decirte — there's something I want to tell you, I've got something to tell you

hoy nos dicen las notas — they're telling {o} giving us our results today

me dijo que no vendría — he told me (that) he wouldn't come

ya te dije que no tiene ni idea — I told you he hasn't got a clue

¿no te digo que no puedo ir? — I've already told you I can't go

la profesora me dijo que esperara fuera — the teacher told me to wait outside

le dije que fuera más tarde — I told her to go later

dile que venga a cenar mañana con nosotros — ask him to come and have supper with us tomorrow

te digo que te calles — I said shut up

decir tonterías — to talk nonsense

¿cómo le dicen a esto en Perú? — what do they call this in Peru?

se llama Francisco, pero le dicen Paco — his name is Francisco, but he's known as Paco

le dicen "el torero" — he's known as "el torero"

en México se le dice "recámara" al dormitorio — in Mexico they say "recámara" instead of "dormitorio"

podemos ir a Portugal, ¿tú qué dices? — we could go to Portugal, what do you say?

¿tu familia qué dice de la boda? — what does your family say about the wedding?

había 8, digo 9 — there were 8, I mean 9

dirá usted aquel otro — you must mean that other one

¡qué digo! — what am I saying?

no puedo leer lo que dice — I can't read what it says

no me dice nada este libro — this book leaves me cold

mis súbditos se presentarán ante mí ¡he dicho! — my subjects shall appear before me: I have spoken!

aunque no es el director es, como quien dice, el que manda en la empresa — although he isn't the manager, he's the person in charge, so to speak, of the company

está, como quien dice, aquí al lado — it's just round the corner, as they say

como quien no dice nada — quite casually, as though it wasn't important

- gracias por todo -lo mismo digo — "thank you for everything" - "likewise!" {o} "thanks to you too!"

deberías buscar trabajo, vamos, digo yo — you ought to look for a job, that's what I say, if you ask me, you ought to look for a job

¡si te lo digo yo! — of course it's true!

¡lo digo yo y basta! — you will do it because I say so!

mi prima, es decir, la hija de Ana — my cousin, that is (to say) Ana's daughter

¿qué quiere decir "spatha"? — what does "spatha" mean?

¿qué quiere usted decir con eso? — what do you mean by that?

¿querrás decir un millón, no un billón? — do you mean a million rather than a billion?

les ha costado más cara que mi casa, y eso ya es decir — it cost them more than my house did, and that's saying something

no es que yo lo diga, pero... — it's not because I say so, but...

es, digamos, un comerciante — he's a dealer, for want of a better word, he's a sort of dealer

¡haberlo dicho!, ¡me lo hubieras dicho! — you could have told me {o} said!

y su madre, no digamos — not to mention his mother

no estuvo muy cortés, que digamos — he wasn't what you'd call polite, he wasn't exactly polite

¿cómo (lo) diría yo? — how shall I put it?

¿cómo diríamos? — how shall I put it?

¡quién lo diría! — would you believe it!, who would have thought it!

pero no quiso por el qué dirán — but she didn't want to because of what people might say

se preocupa mucho por el qué dirán — she's always worried about what people will say {o} think

-¿te puedo pedir un favor? -dime — "can I ask you a favour?" - "go ahead"

-¿te gustaría cambiar de coche? -¡hombre, ya me dirás! — "would you like a new car?" - "you bet I would!"

su nombre no me dice nada — her name doesn't mean anything to me

su mirada lo dice todo — her expression says it all {o} speaks volumes

una situación que tan mal dice de nuestro gobierno — a situation which shows our government in such a bad light

¿cientos de personas? - bueno, es un decir — hundreds of people? - well, figuratively speaking

ya dice `mamá' — he says `mama' now

no digas esas cosas, por favor — please don't say things like that

no digas estupideces — don't talk nonsense!

¿cómo pudiste decir eso? — how could you say that?

¿eso lo dices por mí? — are you referring to me?

no lo dirás en serio! — you can't be serious!

dijo que sí con la cabeza — he nodded

no se dice `andé', se dice `anduve' — it isn't `andé', it's `anduve'

eso no se dice! — you mustn't say that!

¿cómo se dice `amor' en ruso? — how do you say `love' in Russian?

bonita, lo que se dice bonita, no es — she's not what you would call pretty

es el sábado; ni que decir tiene que estás invitado — it's on Saturday; you're invited, but that goes without saying

haberlo dicho antes — why didn't you say so before?

¿tendrá tiempo de hacerlo? - dice que sí — will he have time to do it? - he says he will

¿no lo encontró? - dice que no — didn't he find it? - no, he says he didn't

digan lo que digan — whatever people say

decirle algo a alguien — to tell somebody something

eso no es lo que me dijo a mí — that's not what he told me

¿sabes qué me dijo? — do you know what he told me?; (expresando sorpresa, indignación, etc) do you know what he said to me?

se lo voy a decir a papá — I'm going to tell Dad

hoy nos dicen el resultado — they're going to give us the result today

Andrés me dijo lo de tu hermano — Andrés told me about your brother

a mí me lo vas a decir! — you're telling me!

ya te lo decía yo! — I told you so!

fue algo espantoso, todo lo que te diga es poco — it was terrible, I can't begin to tell you how terrible

no me digas que no es precioso! — isn't it beautiful?

dime con quién andas y te diré quién eres — you can judge a man by the company he keeps

porque lo digo yo! — because I say so!

harás lo que yo diga — you'll do as I say

papá dice que vayas — Dad wants you

dice que llames cuando llegues — she says (you are) to phone when you get there

dijo que tuviéramos cuidado — she said to be careful

decirle a alguien que + subj — to tell somebody to + inf

diles que empiecen — tell them to start

le dije que no lo hiciera — I told him not to do it

decir adiós — to say goodbye

decirle adiós a alguien — to say goodbye to somebody

di adiós a tu vida de estudiante — you'd better say goodbye to your student days

¿qué dice aquí? — what does it say here?

el diario no dice nada sobre el asunto — there's nothing in the paper about it

se llama Rosario pero le dicen Charo — her name is Rosario but people call her Charo

la forma de vestir dice mucho de una persona — the way someone dresses says a lot/tells you a lot about them

el tiempo lo dirá — time will tell

algo me decía que no iba a ser fácil — something told me it wasn't going to be easy

¿te dice algo ese nombre? — does that name mean anything to you?

decir misa — to say mass

querer decir — to mean

¿qué quiere decir esta palabra? — what does this word mean?

¿qué quieres decir con eso? — what do you mean by that?

¿quieres decir que ya no te interesa? — do you mean (to say) that you're no longer interested?

¿y los padres qué dicen? — what do her parents think of it?, how do her parents feel about it?

habría que regalarle algo, no sé, digo yo — we ought to buy her a present, well, I think so anyway

es muy fácil - si tú lo dices... — it's very easy - if you say so...

a decir verdad — to tell you the truth, to be honest

como quien dice — so to speak

papá - dime, hijo — dad - yes, son?

quería pedirle un favor - usted dirá — I wanted to ask you a favor - certainly, go ahead

se decían secretos al oído — they were whispering secrets to each other

se dijeron de todo — they called each other every name under the sun

yo sé lo que me digo — I know what I'm talking about

tú te lo dices todo — you seem to have all the answers