# mind you!



## rupertbrooke

The above is a very common idiom in English speech, used when you want to make what you have just said sound less strong. At the end of a sentence, 'mind' is the usual usage:-
-He's very untidy about the house; mind you, I'm not much better.
-I know I'm lazy - I did go swimming yesterday, mind.
It is similar, but not identical to,"but just so you know" or "just to let you know". 
It is always a parenthetical phrase, normally set off with commas, & very similar to the pragmatic use of 'not that' i.e., it's used to mention and dispense with important topics that are not under discussion but must be kept in mind. Normally it's a sign that the topic being mentioned won't occur again in the discussion, because all presuppose it. Thus it can also be used surreptitiously to commit listeners to presuppositions. 
-If people are to know what’s on your mind you will need to supply examples of what sort of thing you’re thinking of. I don’t mind you updating your question to include them. Mind you, these should come from actual books if possible.
-He wears very expensive shoes but, mind you, he's got plenty of money to buy anything he wants.
-Nilüfer is unfriendly to me, but, mind you, she's never very nice to anyone.
Is there an all-purpose Turkish phrase similar to the above or would the colloquialism vary from case to case?


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## Rallino

I think you can use _gerçi_ in all those sentences.

Other than that, you will hear _h__a_. Sometimes _ha (gerçi) zaten_, and other times _ha ama zaten_ as conjunctions. Or I can also add an _o ayrı_ _mesele_ (that's a different matter) in the end.

_Ev konusunda hiç titiz değil; ben de gerçi çok iyi değilim de o ayrı mesele._
_Nilüfer beni pek sevmiyor; ha o zaten kimseyi sevmez, (o ayrı mesele)._

This is ok for the sentences where you start with a specific thing and then give general information. Not the other way around. So it doesn't work with your "I know I'm lazy - I did go swimming, mind." for instance, because you gave some general information first and then gave a specific detail about one-time action. We'd just use an _ama_ or _gerçi_ there.


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## rupertbrooke

Pardon for not answering before, Rallino but I've not been well for a day or two. This is just the sort of answer I need since many alternatives are too ponderous or not colloquial enough, like: dikkatini çekerim or perhaps unutma. One friend has suggested şu da bir gerçek ki...which I like but it probably is similar to the English 'I must admit/to be honest' &c. The two idioms can, of course, overlap. Thanks!


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## themadprogramer

Doğrusu is a pretty good choice.
It's more close to "To be honest", but it should get the job done


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## kalamazoo

Just as an addendum, 'mind you' is not used in American English in this way.  A all-purpose substitute would probably be "of course" in the middle of a sentence. At the end, instead of 'mind' we would probably use "though."


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## rupertbrooke

Thanks, both! I feel I'm making some progress on the subject of sentence fillers; it's much more difficult in Turkish, though.


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## Asr

kalamazoo said:


> Just as an addendum, 'mind you' is not used in American English in this way.  A all-purpose substitute would probably be "of course" in the middle of a sentence. At the end, instead of 'mind' we would probably use "though."


Thank you for that clarification Kalamazoo. I was quite perpelexed till I read your post.


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