# ladies' man



## sam_huff2425

*I*s there an *I*talian equivalent for "ladies' man"? *D*ictionaries have been no help. *T*hankyou in advance*.*


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## effeundici

What does it mean?


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## sam_huff2425

*G*enerally,it means a man well liked by women, and one who socially connects easy to them.


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## pops91710

Not really... a ladies man is one who likes women and does his best to please them for flattering purposes.


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## effeundici

pops91710 said:


> Not really... a ladies man is one who likes women and does his best to please them for flattering purposes.


 
Oh, in that case we have a wonderful dialectal term from Rome which has spreaded all over Italy : *piacione*


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## SpookyT

Hi all,

If the meaning in English is negative, I'd go for *piacione*. It can be used also ironically (as in, addressing a friend), but it's mostly pejorative. Nicer words might be _dongiovanni_ or _cascamorto_.

Ciao 

EDIT: Sorry effeundici! I didn't mean to overlap!


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## Azazel81

I've heard many times the expression "to be a ladies' man" and I think I got the gist. Unfortunately I don't think we have an equivalent in Italian.

Most people would misunderstand it for a "macho" or a "playboy" (as they used to call it), but I think it's something different... It reminds me of the movie "Hitch"... remember Will Smith? or also "What women want" (Mel Gibson). Still, I can't think of an equivalent in Italian.


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## sam_huff2425

*M*ille grazie       pops,*I *have no idea what you are talking about*.*


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## london calling

sam_huff2425 said:


> Generally,it means a man well liked by women,one who socially connects easy to them.


I must say I agree with pops - he is indeed, as you say Sam, a man well-liked by women, but one I would associate with your classic Latin lover....whose connections with the ladies are slightly more than social! Like the character in the film The Ladies Man.  

I'd say "donnaiolo" (_Latrin Lover_, F11, as us ladies would say!.


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## SpookyT

sam_huff2425 said:


> mille grazie  pops,i have no idea what you are talking about


 
Wait. _Piacione_ and the others are good translations for the "one who likes women and does his best to please them for flattering purposes". As a woman, I won't say it in a positive way.

Right now I can't think of an Italian word to convey the meaning you hinted at in your first post. Uhm.


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## Odysseus54

Anche per me 'donnaiolo' e' la traduzione piu' vicina.


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## sam_huff2425

*E*xamples *I* was thinking of were actors *C*lark *G*able,*C*ary *G*rant....those that didn' t really seek the attention,it came to them*.*

*M*ille grazie odysseus


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## stella_maris_74

sam_huff2425 said:


> *E*xamples *I* was thinking of were actors *C*lark *G*able,*C*ary *G*rant....those that didn' t really seek the attention,it came to them*.*



With this nuance, I'd maybe go for the allocution "Uno che piace (alle donne)". 

PS: Sam, please, do your best to write properly with standard capitalization and punctuatiion (see my edits to your posts). This is a language forum, after all, and writing properly is an explicit requirement. Thanks.


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## SpookyT

sam_huff2425 said:


> *E*xamples *I* was thinking of were actors *C*lark *G*able,*C*ary *G*rant....those that didn' t really seek the attention,it came to them*.*
> 
> *M*ille grazie odysseus


 
If that's the meaning, I'd just say "_un uomo che piace_ (alle donne)".

The other terms all imply an active role in seeking women's attention... and often also in, ahem, satisfying certain needs. 

PS: Sorry stella_maris, we wrote at the same time! Let me know if I need to remove the post since we said similar things!


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## london calling

To be honest, it usually means a man who takes advantage of women .

However, having said that, I think I'd refer to actors like Gable etc. as "seduttori" in Italian. What do you natives think?


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## stella_maris_74

SpookyT said:


> PS: Sorry stella_maris, we wrote at the same time! Let me know if I need to remove the post since we said similar things!



Not at all, SpookyT, in fact it's nice to see I'm not the only one who thought about that 



london calling said:


> However, having said that, I think I'd refer to actors like Gable etc. as "seduttori" in Italian. What do you natives think?



Well, if I caught the nuance correctly, a "ladies' man" is someone who has an _effortless _appeal on women that makes women just fall for him, whether he actually does something to make that happen or not.
A "seduttore" is one who _actively _chases his "victims", in my opinion.

What about "rubacuori"?


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## federicoft

You can also say _sciupafemmine_ (sciupare: to spoil ).


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## london calling

stella_maris_74 said:


> Well, if I caught the nuance correctly, a "ladies' man" is someone who has an _effortless _appeal on women that mekes women just fall for him, whether he actually does something to make that happen or not. I'm not the slightest bit convinced that that is the meaning, but anyway, let's say that this is what is meant by Sam and we therefore have to find a way to say it.....
> A "seduttore" is one who _actively _chases his "victims", in my opinion. True, true...
> 
> What about "rubacuori"?


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## Azazel81

stella_maris_74 said:


> Well, if I caught the nuance correctly, a "ladies' man" is someone who has an _effortless _appeal on women that makes women just fall for him, whether he actually does something to make that happen or not.
> A "seduttore" is one who _actively _chases his "victims", in my opinion.
> 
> What about "rubacuori"?


 
But a "seduttore/rubacuori" is not someone who takes advantage of women, is he? A seduttore is just one who likes chasing women. Or is it just me seeing the difference?


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## prowlerxpla

stella_maris_74 said:


> With this nuance, I'd maybe go for the allocution "Uno che piace (alle donne)".


I agree , and also "un bel fico", "un gran bel fico", le ragazze adesso usano anche "un bono", "un bono da paura", "uno da stupro", appena incontro una ragazza vi riferisco i complimenti che mi farà.


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## Odysseus54

Azazel81 said:


> But a "seduttore/rubacuori" is not someone who takes advantage of women, is he? A seduttore is just one who likes chasing women. Or is it just me seeing the difference?



It depends - if you consider a man's promiscuity a value, a 'seduttore' is a champion of manly virtues.  And , if he is in his seventies, he is living proof that life may still have something good for you even late in the game.

If you are for monogamy and family relationships, and consider 'seduction' a form of manipulation whereby a man convinces a woman that it is in her best interest to hit the hay with him, without any intention to get into a relationship, a 'seduttore' may not be your favorite character.

A lot of Italians espouse the first position - the Anglo-Saxons tend to see things differently.


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## Odysseus54

prowlerxpla said:


> I agree , and also "un bel fico", "un gran bel fico", le ragazze adesso usano anche "un bono", "un bono da paura", "uno da stupro", appena incontro una ragazza vi riferisco i complimenti che mi farà.



A "ladies' man' e' un'altra cosa - non un bonazzo, ma un marpione, che puo' anche essere piu' brutto di uno scorfano.

Toto', per esempio, non si puo' dire che fosse 'uno bono', eppure era un martello pneumatico.


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## SpookyT

Azazel81 said:


> But a "seduttore/rubacuori" is not someone who takes advantage of women, is he? A seduttore is just one who likes chasing women. Or is it just me seeing the difference?


 
If we're to stress the effortless part, _rubacuori_ is definitely it. Plus, it doesn't convey the negative nuance the others carry. It's similar to _latin lover_ in a sense.

I think it's about defining what a ladies' man is in English! Or, to put it better, to decide what meaning you want to convey, Sam - since it sounds like the expression can have different interpretations.

_Seduttore_ refers to a man who actively pursues women's attention. It doesn't have a pejorative meaning _per se_, I think it has to do with the ways the 'seduction' takes place and how the woman feels about it.

_Cascamorto_ is similar - a little less neutral, maybe. To me, it sounds like there's a bit of "doormat" attitude in it, though not in 100% cases, and always for seduction purposes. It kinda implies the guy's efforts aren't going to do the trick, either because the girl doesn't like him or because she senses he has some agenda for acting that way.

The same goes for _piacione_, which is stronger: the guy definitely has an agenda (probably, _knowing_ the girl better ) and is pretty much failing at hiding it - supposing that he's bothering with that. A _piacione_ is usually a bootlicker and might have a very negative meaning if referred to a much older man, or so I think. (See also the adj. _laido_)
_Marpione_ has a similar meaning - and it's more colloquial, at least over here.

_Donnaiolo_ and _sciupafemmine _are definitely the "worst" ones, from a female POV. The man in question is someone who chases after girls, and in most cases... gets some  often without strings attached - in other words: if you're looking for romance... beware!

Italians and Italian-speakers? Do you think it's accurate?


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## Apina

come sinonimo di _fico_ non dimentichiamoci _gnocco!_


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## SpookyT

Apina said:


> non dimentichiamoci _gnocco!_


 
Direi che _gnocco_ (così come _fico_) ha un significato leggermente diverso; è l'equivalente colloquiale di _good-looking_, ha più a che fare con l'aspetto fisico che con il fascino a cui mi sembrava facessero riferimento gli _English speakers_ qui


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## Apina

Sì, mi ricollegavo ad un post precedente...


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## SpookyT

Apina said:


> Sì, mi ricollegavo ad un post precedente...


 
No problem  Era solo per evitare che i non italiani si confondessero. Scusa se suonava brusco, non era mia intenzione


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## prowlerxpla

SpookyT said:


> Direi che _gnocco_ (così come _fico_) ha un significato leggermente diverso; è l'equivalente colloquiale di _good-looking_, ha più a che fare con l'aspetto fisico che con il fascino a cui mi sembrava facessero riferimento gli _English speakers_ qui


Ma allora perchè non "affascinante"???
Un uomo affascinante.


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## Alekc

I would say also "farfallone", its a kind of seductor, constantly chasing women..


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## boriszcat

How about "a Don Juan"? or even "Berlusconi"? (-;


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## Alekc

Yeah, "dongiovanni" is also good!
As for Berlusconi.. I'd never write that word in your translation lol


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## Azazel81

Alekc said:


> I would say also "farfallone", its a kind of seductor, constantly chasing women..



This one's good...  

As for "Don Juan" if you say it in Italian, 99% of the people would start looking at you as if you were some kind of a weird creature and say: "what?" like: 

We call it "Don Giovanni" and sometimes we do call people "Don Giovanni" but I think it's old fashioned. Most youngsters don't even know what/who Don Giovanni was.

As for "Berlusconi" I would never use this to mean "ladies' man". He was accused of having an affair with a very young lady, ok... and he was also accused of inviting women who know nothing about verginity into Palazzo Grazioli... but what's it got to do with this? Plus if you call someone a "berlusconi" he wouldn't understand why you're saying it, what you imply in that definition, but most of all, if he is an anti-berlusconi person, he'd probably kick your ass.


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## sam_huff2425

I think many here are confusing "womanizer", a man who uses tricks to get women. To me "ladies man"  never seduces, he is naturally admired by women and never has to force things to happen.


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## boriszcat

I do see the difference between a ladies' man and a womanizer, but I think there are just many more idioms for womanizers.

If Italians don't know what a Don Juan is, then I'm stuck. I can't think of anything else, unless you just want to say "popular and attractive" or a Cary Grant type.


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## Einstein

sam_huff2425 said:


> I think many here are confusing "womanizer", a man who uses tricks to get women. To me "ladies man" never seduces, he is naturally admired by women and never has to force things to happen.


I agree entirely, there's a distinction that's being lost. Maybe for the Italians a man's success with women must be due to talent and not only good luck! Maybe that's why it's difficult to translate and I can't think of a good word... 
What it doesn't mean is _sciupafemmine_, suggested earlier, which translates as _lady-killer_. I think a _lady's man_ may be envied by others, but not seen in a negative way. We might say: "He likes to see himself as a ladies' man".


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## franz rod

> If Italians don't know what a Don Juan is, then I'm stuck.



Ma hai letto i messaggi precedenti? In Italia usiamo dire Don Giovanni e non Don Juan.  Non dimentichiamoci difatti che la famosa opera di Mozart, grazie alla quale è ai più nota la figura di questo proverbiale seduttore, è scritta in italiano (dopotutto il libretto è di un autore italiano) e il nome del protagonista è proprio Don Giovanni.


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## boriszcat

franz rod said:


> Ma hai letto i messaggi precedenti? In Italia usiamo dire Don Giovanni e non Don Juan.  Non dimentichiamoci difatti che la famosa opera di Mozart, grazie alla quale è ai più nota la figura di questo proverbiale seduttore, è scritta in italiano (dopotutto il libretto è di un autore italiano) e il nome del protagonista è proprio Don Giovanni.



I meant no offense. I only meant that if Italians don't use the term Don Juan, then I don't know, because that seems to fit best what the OP wanted.


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## franz rod

> I meant no offense. I only meant that if Italians don't use the term Don Juan, then I don't know, because that seems to fit best what the OP wanted.


Scusa ma non ho ben capito: hai compreso che Don Juan e Don Giovanni vogliono dire esattamente la stessa cosa? Sembrerebbe di no.


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## janhk

Don Juan is Spanish and Don Giovanni is italian -- they are the same actually


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## Einstein

janhk said:


> Don Juan is Spanish and Don Giovanni is italian -- they are the same actually


We're all aware of that. It's just that someone here didn't realise that "Don Giovanni" is not only the literal equivalent of "Don Juan", but is used in exactly the same way (see the context of the thread).

Anyway, welcome to the forum!


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## janhk

So does Don Giovanni has any negative connotations to it in native italians' eyes?


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## Einstein

It means a "seducer", so judge for yourself!


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## maxper

A mio parere non esiste una traduzione con un solo termine, ma è meglio appunto usare un'allocuzione (peraltro in senso stretto è un'allocuzione anche in inglese no?)
Voto per " uno che piace (alle donne)" oppure anche "un uomo di fascino"


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