mi raccomando!
- Thread starter F4sT
- Start date
I'm not sure it translates exactly. I would probably use one of the following, depending on the situation;
...please!
... for goodness sake!
..., got it?
..., OK?
Hope that helps
Panpan
...please!
... for goodness sake!
..., got it?
..., OK?
Hope that helps
Panpan
Che ne dite di "Don't forget!"? Questo e' come lo definisce il mio Harper Collins dizionario.
Steven
Steven
F4sT said:
please, tomorrow I don't want you to be sad anymore
OR
please, tomorrow I don't want to see you (be?) sad
(english grammar gets more difficult with each day that I try to learn Italian....I get so confused
)Even if it only makes little sense is there any literal translation to it in English?
Does something like this make sense?
(Watch out, it's important to myself [I recommend it warmly to myself that you watch out].)
For me it's so hard to grasp why it's "Mi raccomando." and not "Ti raccomando.". Does anyone have the same problem?
Does something like this make sense?
(Watch out, it's important to myself [I recommend it warmly to myself that you watch out].)
For me it's so hard to grasp why it's "Mi raccomando." and not "Ti raccomando.". Does anyone have the same problem?
I just take "mi raccomando" as a set phrase, I can't think of any "literal" translation that would make sense of it.
Hi, what does "mira comando" mean?
I often hear it when I'm talking to my italian friends, but I never get what it means?
Is it something along the lines of "I command you" ?
Or have I just misheard
Thanks!
I often hear it when I'm talking to my italian friends, but I never get what it means?
Is it something along the lines of "I command you" ?
Or have I just misheard
Thanks!
Mi raccomando is the correct form (yours was mispelled)!
Sorry, I forgot to explain what it means... well it can mean a whole lot of things cos generally the sentance that should follow is omitted.
For example:
-a girl is going to sit an exam her mother tells her:
Mi raccomando eh! (the impicit sentence here could be "do your best!"
-a girl has been crying all day. when her friend leaves her says:
Mi raccomando eh! (Chin up!)
I don't kow how to renedr it in English...
There are lots of threads regarding it, just type raccomando in the WRDictionary and you'll get them!!!
Sorry, I forgot to explain what it means... well it can mean a whole lot of things cos generally the sentance that should follow is omitted.
For example:
-a girl is going to sit an exam her mother tells her:
Mi raccomando eh! (the impicit sentence here could be "do your best!"
-a girl has been crying all day. when her friend leaves her says:
Mi raccomando eh! (Chin up!)
I don't kow how to renedr it in English...
There are lots of threads regarding it, just type raccomando in the WRDictionary and you'll get them!!!
Mi raccomando is an idiom with several meanings:
to urge (esortare) si raccomandò di non portare animali = she urged us not to bring pets with us
Mi raccomando, arriva in tempo stasera! = please arrive on time this evening! or you’d better arrive on time this evening!
Mi raccomando, finisci i compiti! = do finish your homework! or you’d better finish your homework!
to urge (esortare) si raccomandò di non portare animali = she urged us not to bring pets with us
Mi raccomando, arriva in tempo stasera! = please arrive on time this evening! or you’d better arrive on time this evening!
Mi raccomando, finisci i compiti! = do finish your homework! or you’d better finish your homework!
It really is a tough one especially when you're interpreting and need a fast, correct translation. It seems to me that Italian is full of these although I know that other languages have them too. That's one of the reasons that interpreting is often so difficult. One word or short phrase often takes a definition or long phrase in the language to which you are interpreting and some do not really HAVE an adequate translation as they are so cultural..
I guess this idiom originally was "mi raccomando a te" (be careful: there's only one 'm') where 'raccomandarsi a qualcuno' means 'to entrust oneself to s.o.', because I think the idea was "I entrust all my hopes in you that you are going to be careful/good/to act this or that way/etc." or something like this. Of course it's only a hypothesis, but I think it works, doesn't it?
Bye!
Vespasian,
Your wrote:"For me it's so hard to grasp why it's "Mi raccomando." and not "Ti raccomando.". Does anyone have the same problem?"
You are not alone. That is precisely my problem with this expression. However, I have just read the message posted by Vikgigio (Thank you, Vik!) and it seems to me to make a lot of sense. Vikgigo's response enables you to 'internalise' the general idea behind this expression rather than associating with it a dozen heterogeneous - and therefore confusing - English expressions.
Many thanks, Vikgigio.
Virgilio
Your wrote:"For me it's so hard to grasp why it's "Mi raccomando." and not "Ti raccomando.". Does anyone have the same problem?"
You are not alone. That is precisely my problem with this expression. However, I have just read the message posted by Vikgigio (Thank you, Vik!) and it seems to me to make a lot of sense. Vikgigo's response enables you to 'internalise' the general idea behind this expression rather than associating with it a dozen heterogeneous - and therefore confusing - English expressions.
Many thanks, Vikgigio.
Virgilio
There are various Italian verbs that are incomprehensibly reflexive for English-speakers. Another example: I congratulate you = mi congratulo con te. There are others that don't come to mind, you just have to learn them.
Actually, "please" sounds a bit wrong in English. I think it's more:
"I don't want to see you(/you're) still sad tomorrow, okay?"
or, changing the punctuation at the end to reflect the tone of voice:
"I don't want to see you(/you're) still sad tomorrow, okay!"
Alternatively, I "wouldn't bother" to translate "mi raccomando". In certain cases, it is defensible to omit words from one language when translating into another. And not out of desperation (ie because there doesn't appear to be any suitable translation), but because the "pragmatics" (linguistics term) are implicit elsewhere in the (translated) sentence.
I agree, Gavin. There are quite a lot of words that I don't always translate, such as "infatti" and "inoltre", because the meaning is clear without them. Your attempt here is a good one.
Thanks. And your example of infatti is perfect. But I'd warn people away from trimming "inoltre": surely, 9 times out of 10, this is translated perfectly comfortably and suitably as one out of the following "also", "in addition", "furthermore", "what is more/what's more" etc. N'est-ce pas?
In my head I’ve always translated mi raccomando in imperative expressions as I beg you (which is stronger than a simple please/per favore) and to me it seems to fit perfectly with the 2 examples on this thread:
Mi raccomando! Domani non voglio più vederti triste I beg you! Tomorrow I do not want to see you still sad.
Fai attenzione, mi raccomando. I beg you to be careful!
Mi raccomando! Domani non voglio più vederti triste I beg you! Tomorrow I do not want to see you still sad.
Fai attenzione, mi raccomando. I beg you to be careful!
OK, but "I beg you" is a bit formal in English. You wouldn't normally say this to people in spoken English. Whereas "Mi raccomando!" is a phrase specifically used in everyday, conversational Italian. So your phrase, while accurately translating the meaning, would not work very well as a functional translation. Sorry!
I agree..I'd always translate "I beg you!" as "Ti prego!" but not as "Mi raccomando!".
Well at least in AE I beg you is quite common in verbal speech as a sort of strong please. Probably not as common as mi raccomando in Italian but still common.
Can some AE speakers confirm this?
I beg you in a traditional sense when you ask someone to do something for you or to give you something (often for nothing) is quite different than when you just want to emphasize the importance for someone to be careful or similar.
Can some AE speakers confirm this?
I beg you in a traditional sense when you ask someone to do something for you or to give you something (often for nothing) is quite different than when you just want to emphasize the importance for someone to be careful or similar.
Gavin, you're right about "inoltre". Forget I said it!
Another suggestion:
Spedisci la lettera stasera, mi raccomando!
Make sure you post the letter this evening! OR Be sure to...
Another suggestion:
Spedisci la lettera stasera, mi raccomando!
Make sure you post the letter this evening! OR Be sure to...
Yes, and I'm sure these "solutions", which are more "traditional" translations of the phrase, must also appear in the other threads on this phrase which I'm aware have been posted in this forum in the past... (Which is another way of saying: I bet we're doubling up suggestions and observations which have already appeared in IE!)
I'd give "to beg" more weight than merely a "strong please," and therefore say it's less common. Few daily situations come to mind where beg might be used. It's closer to supplicare, scongiurare to me...
I asked for confirmations from AE speakers so I do appreciate your input but I lived 25 years+ in New York and somehow I heard beg used quite often as a strong but polite substitute for ask (or please) in phrases like these:
I beg you to make sure to send the package today.
I beg you to drive slowly.
I beg you to not stay out late/to come home early tonight
I beg you to try to stop smoking
And so on
Main meanings according to Garzanti: Raccomandarsi: v.rifl. to implore (s.o.), to beg (s.o.)
I beg you to make sure to send the package today.
I beg you to drive slowly.
I beg you to not stay out late/to come home early tonight
I beg you to try to stop smoking
And so on
Main meanings according to Garzanti: Raccomandarsi: v.rifl. to implore (s.o.), to beg (s.o.)
I think the main problem is that "mi raccomando" is closer to the idea of encouraging somebody to do something (even if that "something" is a thing which one considers very important for one's own interests), whereas "I beg (you)" is a more direct way of making a (forceful) request.
These days, in NYE/AE "I beg you" would only be used in situations where you are either 1) joking or 2) in dire need of something.
For example, if a cab driver is driving like a lunatic, you might "I beg you, please drive slower or we'll both be killed." Or joking to a loved one, "please, I beg you, no more singing in the shower, I can't take it anymore!"
Real pleading and urgency is communicated by "I beg you", and I don't think it is by "mi raccommando."
For example, if a cab driver is driving like a lunatic, you might "I beg you, please drive slower or we'll both be killed." Or joking to a loved one, "please, I beg you, no more singing in the shower, I can't take it anymore!"
Real pleading and urgency is communicated by "I beg you", and I don't think it is by "mi raccommando."
Mate, I don't know when that 25 years was, in what circles you traveled or in what contexts you heard or remember hearing it. You asked for AE opinions and then discount them. As ElaineG said, oggi come oggi it means a whole lot more than it did as you seem to have experienced it.
Maybe I am getting too old but I do not see I beg you being so corny as becoming an automatic half or full joke when used in what I call the secondary meaning (strong please/ask). Of course it is true virtually any expression can be said as a half joke depending on how it is applied and what tone of voice you use. I do not find it at all funny if a mother tells her son: I beg you to be careful!
And as said Garzanti states one of the main meanings of “racommandarsi “ is beg (s.o). (The secondary meaning I suppose)
Here are some of the first 30 results on a Google exact words search: I beg you to (which yielded 390,000 hits):
I beg you to open your heart now/I Beg You To Stay Away/I beg you to drive below the speed limits around schools, nurseries/I beg you to reaffirm your love for him/I beg you to stop doing that sort of thing/I beg you to please read/I beg you to be so kind as to send me that book of yours/I beg you to inform me of any opinions you hear concerning.
I kindly beg you to be patient. The Italians on this forum have expressed they prefer to call a thread a discussione and this is what I am trying to have. So far you and another AE contributor have given opinions – both of you challenging rather forcefully what I perceive to be a rather common, secondary meaning verbally and in writing of I beg you as a strong (with emphasis) please or ask.
To me this secondary meaning is very close in many contexts to what GavinW described as: “mi raccomando" is closer to the idea of encouraging somebody”.
As to where and when I heard a certain expression it’s hard to pin down. But let’s say my experiences were varied and intense enough for me to start thinking and even dreaming in English very shortly after settling in USA. (12 years of BE in school, fulltime managerial work for NYC companies, 2 marriages to American wives, the first one involving raising 2 stepchildren for 8 years, the 2nd one still ongoing). And after moving back to Europe 5 years ago I am in no danger in forgetting English watching plenty of AE and BE programs on Sky Satellite..
My last post on this subject, I promise mate and others, since the time has come to agree to disagree. My patience has nothing to do with it - since a discussion means you must be accepting of contradictory posts. I consider it curiously stubborn to insist your recollection should negate the contribution of 2 (or more or less) native-born Americans over 25 who are currently living and working and watching (probably 700+ channels of) TV. But you may use "I beg," as you wish. My advice to non-natives is to be cautious about using it casually, and not to use it in any and every place "mi racommando," might have naturally come to mind in Italian.
I have come in late on this discussion, but feel the need to concur with ElaineG and Lsp.
AusE is probably more similar to BE than AmE and in my humble opinion, I beg you / I beg of you is not a common construction in today's language. Yes, it is used but as Elaine G has previously stated:
AusE is probably more similar to BE than AmE and in my humble opinion, I beg you / I beg of you is not a common construction in today's language. Yes, it is used but as Elaine G has previously stated:
I think Lsp gives sound advice here:
I can confirm that all you and Lsp have said also applies to British English as spoken in the UK.
Panpan
I would say "I beg", if ever, on my knees (metaphorically). I would say "mi raccomando" with a wagging finger.
Does that make a clearer distinction?
Does that make a clearer distinction?
I clearly acknowledged that all 2 AE contributors disagreed with my interpretation that often beg is used as a strong please. What was missing in the “discussion” was an acknowledgment of my points: 1. Garzanti says one translation of raccomandarsi = beg (and I assume as translation for more or less a strong please/ask) 2.That a Goggle exact phrase search showed indeed a prevalent usage of I beg you with a secondary meaning as stated by me. It certainly begs the question why seemingly hundreds of thousands English speakers (they cannot all be confused Swedes) are using beg as a casual and polite (non joking) expression for ask but still everybody it seems on this thread claims it is an obscure and outdated way to express oneself these days?
Maybe the explanation has to do with the new generation(s) and the erosion of common courtesy in today’s SMS and Reality TV world?
If you are not used to say please when making a request or suggestion, then there is no need/place for a strong please like I beg you.
Well since at a minimum there is controversy how to use beg you in a causal sense then it is probably better (as suggested) for foreign students not to bother with it.
PS Beg also is used commonly for asking politely in phrases like I beg to differ/disagree and I beg your pardon further reinforcing (I think) the usage of I beg you to being used in the same causal sense.
Maybe the explanation has to do with the new generation(s) and the erosion of common courtesy in today’s SMS and Reality TV world?
If you are not used to say please when making a request or suggestion, then there is no need/place for a strong please like I beg you.
Well since at a minimum there is controversy how to use beg you in a causal sense then it is probably better (as suggested) for foreign students not to bother with it.
PS Beg also is used commonly for asking politely in phrases like I beg to differ/disagree and I beg your pardon further reinforcing (I think) the usage of I beg you to being used in the same causal sense.
I'm not the one who should weigh in about the use of "I beg you" as I'm not an English speaker, but I can provide some more examples of how we use "mi raccomando":
Mum to her child: "mi raccomando, comportati bene a scuola".
Mum is not begging her kid, but strongly asking him to behave.
"Mi raccomando, non dimenticate di prendere l'ombrello!".
The speaker wants to make sure that no one will forget to take the umbrella.
I'd never translate "mi raccomando" as "I beg you" in those examples.
Of your two phrases the first one can in my opinion comfortably be translated as I beg you (especially if the kid is a little older than a preschooler) and if you read my posts I often said I beg you has according to me a secondary meaning as a strong please or a strong ask. Of course in other contexts it can be more like an alternative polite way of saying please (and at the same time stress the importance of something being requested).
Your second phrase I agree I beg you does not fit at all. It would sound more natural to say Make sure to/Don't forget to/You better/It’s best you bring an umbrella (since I heard it might rain later on)
Your second phrase I agree I beg you does not fit at all. It would sound more natural to say Make sure to/Don't forget to/You better/It’s best you bring an umbrella (since I heard it might rain later on)
Perfectly right!
On the question of outdatedness, I certainly do not find "beg" incredibly old-fashioned, but neither is it something I would say every day, or even every year. It does sound very formal to me (and note that I'm not a teenager). The important point, however, is that it can never be a translation of "mi raccomando". This expression is used by someone in command, or from a position of greater wisdom (parent to child) or common sense (friend to irresponsible patient).
I say to a taxi-driver, "Mi raccomando, drive carefully!" because I'm the customer and have a right to demand good service. If the driver then turns out to be a maniac and I see that I've lost control of the situation, I implore him: "I beg you to drive carefully!" In fact "implorare" is a good translation of "beg".
On the question of outdatedness, I certainly do not find "beg" incredibly old-fashioned, but neither is it something I would say every day, or even every year. It does sound very formal to me (and note that I'm not a teenager). The important point, however, is that it can never be a translation of "mi raccomando". This expression is used by someone in command, or from a position of greater wisdom (parent to child) or common sense (friend to irresponsible patient).
I say to a taxi-driver, "Mi raccomando, drive carefully!" because I'm the customer and have a right to demand good service. If the driver then turns out to be a maniac and I see that I've lost control of the situation, I implore him: "I beg you to drive carefully!" In fact "implorare" is a good translation of "beg".
"Mi raccomando, comportati bene a scuola".
I beg you: behave at school, please !
It seems to me that mum is on her knees asking the child to behave, but it's not the exact meaning of the Italian sentence.
I warn you: you'd better behave at school!
That's what I'd tell my kid.
I beg you: behave at school, please !
It seems to me that mum is on her knees asking the child to behave, but it's not the exact meaning of the Italian sentence.
I warn you: you'd better behave at school!
That's what I'd tell my kid.
Einstein and Paul,
Reading your two posts it is clear that you either disagree or do not want to understand there is a secondary meaning of beg as sort of polite way of asking strongly. At this point I can only suggest you do your own Google exact phrase search and you will see from the results that quite often I beg you to is just a matter of casual speech and has not the same meaning as the traditional beg.
I beg you: behave at school, please !
Not even I would say it in this way. The please in this phrase is an overkill and makes no sense since I beg you is already a (gentle) command from a parent to a child and thus should not be dilluted further adding please. I beg (stronger than ask and implicitly stresses the importance but in a gentler way than saying warn) you to behave at school. This is an example of the secondary meaning of beg and is something a sweet mother could say and has nothing to do with a mother on her knees begging.
If the driver then turns out to be a maniac and I see that I've lost control of the situation, I implore him: "I beg you to drive carefully!" This instead is an example of the traditional sense of beg (said while fearing injury or even life).
Here are 2 links:
Italian Grammar: Exclamation
says:
Mi raccomando! (Please, I beg you!)With Mi raccomando! : You express a special emphasis in asking for something. An example is Telefonami, mi raccomando! (Don't forget to call me, please)
Italian Verbs: Raccomandarsi
translates:
raccomandarsi: to commend oneself (to); implore, beg
And now I will follow LSP’s path of promising to quit posting on this thread for the sanity of us all.
Reading your two posts it is clear that you either disagree or do not want to understand there is a secondary meaning of beg as sort of polite way of asking strongly. At this point I can only suggest you do your own Google exact phrase search and you will see from the results that quite often I beg you to is just a matter of casual speech and has not the same meaning as the traditional beg.
I beg you: behave at school, please !
Not even I would say it in this way. The please in this phrase is an overkill and makes no sense since I beg you is already a (gentle) command from a parent to a child and thus should not be dilluted further adding please. I beg (stronger than ask and implicitly stresses the importance but in a gentler way than saying warn) you to behave at school. This is an example of the secondary meaning of beg and is something a sweet mother could say and has nothing to do with a mother on her knees begging.
If the driver then turns out to be a maniac and I see that I've lost control of the situation, I implore him: "I beg you to drive carefully!" This instead is an example of the traditional sense of beg (said while fearing injury or even life).
Here are 2 links:
Italian Grammar: Exclamation
says:
Mi raccomando! (Please, I beg you!)With Mi raccomando! : You express a special emphasis in asking for something. An example is Telefonami, mi raccomando! (Don't forget to call me, please)
Italian Verbs: Raccomandarsi
translates:
raccomandarsi: to commend oneself (to); implore, beg
And now I will follow LSP’s path of promising to quit posting on this thread for the sanity of us all.
I clearly acknowledged that all 2 AE contributors disagreed with my interpretation that often beg is used as a strong please. Plus an AusE and a BE.
"all 2 AE" sounds rather sarcastic. Have you counted the number of people who have suggested that "mi raccomando" should be translated as "I beg you"? (to save time, the answer is 1) It is interesting that you asked the question,
Well at least in AE I beg you is quite common in verbal speech as a sort of strong please. Probably not as common as mi raccomando in Italian but still common.
Can some AE speakers confirm this?
and when AE, AusE and BE argue against its use as a translation for mi raccomando, you are extremely reluctant to accept that perhaps it is best not to use it to translate "mi raccomando"
What was missing in the “discussion” was an acknowledgment of my points: 1. Garzanti says one translation of raccomandarsi = beg (and I assume as translation for more or less a strong please/ask) 2.That a Goggle exact phrase search showed indeed a prevalent usage of I beg you with a secondary meaning as stated by me. Google Searches don't necessarily give you the true picture. It's not enough to count the number of hits. One needs to check the context it is being used in - is it everyday speech or an extract from a novel (which century was it written in / when was the novel set / what class does the character come from) or perhaps an essay or perhaps from someone for whom English is a second language. (Sorry, Google proofs are a pet hate of mine. They are like statistics - you can make the numbers say anything you want) No one here is saying that "I beg you" is not used, we are simply saying that it is not as commonly used by native English speakers as might be thought. It certainly begs the question why seemingly hundreds of thousands English speakers (they cannot all be confused Swedes) are using beg as a casual and polite (non joking) expression for ask but still everybody it seems on this thread claims it is an obscure and outdated way to express oneself these days?
begs the question - a perfectly good idiom (but nothing to do with mi raccamando) which is the issue at hand, vero?
[...]
If you are not used to say please when making a request or suggestion, then there is no need/place for a strong please like I beg you.
This sounds a little like an aspersion.What is wrong with just "Please"? Sincerity in the tone of voice has the same effect.
Well since at a minimum there is controversy how to use beg you in a causal sense then it is probably better (as suggested) for foreign students not to bother with it.
PS Beg also is used commonly for asking politely in phrases like I beg to differ/disagree and I beg your pardon further reinforcing (I think) the usage of I beg you to being used in the same causal sense.
I beg to differ/disagree and I beg your pardon : Again, perfectly good phrases (but again nothing to do with mi raccomando) and the use of beg in other phrases does not reinforce the use of it to translate mi raccomando
As a side note, " Pardon", is infinitely more common than "I beg your pardon"
I have just heard someone in my office say on the telephone to a person who was calling with a question about how to fill in a form;
- 'I would urge you to pay particular attention to that section'.
As I understand it, this is one context where you could use 'mi raccomando' in an Italian translation.
Panpan
- 'I would urge you to pay particular attention to that section'.
As I understand it, this is one context where you could use 'mi raccomando' in an Italian translation.
Panpan
Yes, I think this is a good translation of "mi raccomando":
Mi raccomando di prestare particolare attenzione a quella parte del modulo.
Hello,
A friend of mine wrote 'mi raccomando' to end his email, but I'm not sure what it means in this context (see below). I've read through discussion thread on this subject, but I can't seem to locate the appropriate meaning in my context. Appreciate any clarification you can give. Grazie.
un bacione,
mi raccomando,
sempre,
A friend of mine wrote 'mi raccomando' to end his email, but I'm not sure what it means in this context (see below). I've read through discussion thread on this subject, but I can't seem to locate the appropriate meaning in my context. Appreciate any clarification you can give. Grazie.
un bacione,
mi raccomando,
sempre,
I absolutely agree with Miri.. I would also interpret it as "Take care." Generally speaking I would say that "mi raccomando" often means "Take care". It also can mean "Be careful" ( for example: on the TV show "La Squadra" when the police chief is sending an officer out on an assignment) or even at times something to the effect of "Watch out".