# You are cute when you are angry (and other phrases)



## vivonivo

I would like to know how do you say the following in Dutch:

I am going to ignore you ;
I only want you to be here ;
Is she beautiful ;
I miss you;
You are cute when you are angry.

Thank you so much !


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## Suehil

Ik ga je negeren.
Ik wil alleen maar dat je er bent.
Is ze mooi?
Ik mis je.
Je bent schattig als je boos bent.


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## vivonivo

Thank you !


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## MaxJ

I would like to add 2 other ways of saying it:

I only want you to be here= Ik wil alleen maar dat je hier bent.
You are cute when you are angry= Jij bent lief als je boos bent.


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## Grytolle

"zoet" misschien?


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## krolden

MaxJ said:


> You are cute when you are angry= Jij bent lief als je boos bent.



Personally I find "schattig" to best match the English word "cute".

"cute" and "sweet" (the translation that best befits the Dutch word "lief") have a different meaning.




			
				Grytolle said:
			
		

> "zoet" misschien?



"Zoet" refers more to the taste of something than to the personality of a person.

e.g.
"This cake is sweet." - "Dit gebak is zoet."
"My girlfriend is sweet" - "Mijn vriendin is lief"


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## MaxJ

krolden said:


> Personally I find "schattig" to best match the English word "cute".
> 
> "cute" and "sweet" (the translation that best befits the Dutch word "lief") have a different meaning.


True but I think the word "lief" is more used as "schattig" in this context.


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## Frank06

Hoi,


krolden said:


> "Zoet" refers more to the taste of something than to the personality of a person.


That's indeed the primary meaning of "zoet". But there are quite a few other, secundary meanings, a.o.:
1. aangenaam (bijv. voor de zintuigen);
2. zacht, stil (bijv. spreken);
3. gehoorzaam, volgzaam (said of children and pets);
4. (_gew._) aardig, fraai.



			
				Grytolle said:
			
		

> "zoet" misschien?


I would never use the word 'zoet' in a translation of 'You are cute when you're angry'. It strikes me as a bit odd, but maybe that's because I'd  associate 'zoet', when refering to people, with 'volgzaam'...
But that's my 2 cents.

Groetjes,

Frank


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## Grytolle

Thank you.


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## Suehil

'Cute' in this sentence is used with a certain irony, which I think is better echoed by the translation 'schattig'.  

'Lief' is rarely (if ever) used ironically.


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## Lopes

Suehil said:


> 'Cute' in this sentence is used with a certain irony, which I think is better echoed by the translation 'schattig'.
> 
> 'Lief' is rarely (if ever) used ironically.



What makes you say that 'schattig' is but that 'lief' isn't? I don't think I can agree with that.


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## Suehil

Lopes said:


> What makes you say that 'schattig' is but that 'lief' isn't? I don't think I can agree with that.


 
I can't justify it   It is purely a personal impression - I have heard it used ironically and it is the word I would choose if I wanted to say something like, "Schattig, hoor, alle koekjes opeten"

I may even have absorbed a personal quirk from someone.


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## Lopes

Suehil said:


> I can't justify it   It is purely a personal impression - I have heard it used ironically and it is the word I would choose if I wanted to say something like, "Schattig, hoor, alle koekjes opeten"
> 
> I may even have absorbed a personal quirk from someone.



But why wouldn't 'lief' be used in a similar way?


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## Suehil

No reason that I can think of.  I just usually hear 'lief' used in a 'liever' way.


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## Joannes

Suehil said:


> 'Cute' in this sentence is used with a certain irony


Yes, I think this is the key. And to be honest, I think the most common sentence to convey this idea in Dutch would be *wat ben je mooi als je kwaad bent* 'you are so pretty when you are angry'. The teasing is in the (ironical) focusing on outer appearance, obviously against the will of someone that is angry (and it is typically said to women, so I'd say there's a certain degree of sexism!). - That's why I think cute in this sentence should be translated either *mooi* or *schattig*, because they rather focus on outer appearance while *lief* doesn't.

So I agree with Suehil. I think that if you say *lief*, it would change the meaning. It would be more like saying someone is still sweet even when she (he) is angry, rather than disregarding someone's anger altogether and tease her (him) by making remarks about their looks.


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## George French

None of the Dutch translations of cute eems to be right. Take a look at the definition of cute in the WR dico. (US-EN)

cute, precious:- obviously contrived to charm; "an insufferably precious performance"; "a child with intolerably cute mannerisms"
cunning, cute:- attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness; "a cute kid with pigtails"; "a cute little apartment"; "cunning kittens"; "a cunning baby"
I don't think that any of the suggestions, so far, match either of the above definitions.

GF..


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## Frank06

Hi,



George French said:


> None of the Dutch translations of cute seems to be right. Take a look at the definition of cute in the WR dico. (US-EN)
> 
> cute, precious:- obviously contrived to charm; "an insufferably precious performance"; "a child with intolerably cute mannerisms"
> cunning, cute:- attractive especially by means of smallness or prettiness or quaintness; "a cute kid with pigtails"; "a cute little apartment"; "cunning kittens"; "a cunning baby"
> I don't think that any of the suggestions, so far, match either of the above definitions.



Maybe I misunderstood, but I don't understand the objection. I think we don't have to match definitions. I am not  a translator, but I don't think we have to start looking for one single Dutch word which completely covers all the possible meanings of the English word 'cute'. Again, I am not a translator, but that looks pretty impossible to me.

I think that we have to find (and that we did find) a translation of a word in a context. We're not translating one single word, or a word in a vacuum, we're translating a word in a sentence. The sentence provides us with a (very limited) context and helps us choose to pick out the most appropriate word in Dutch, a word which sufficiently covers the meaning of the English word 'cute' in the sentence.

When we look at an English-Dutch dictionary (and I took Van Dale English-Dutch, still one of the best in the field) we find the following:
*
cute*:
1. *schattig* => snoezig, geinig, grappig, leuk, koddig;
2. *pienter* => schrander, bijdehand, link, uitgekookt, gewiekst, leep;
3. *geraffineerd* => gekunsteld.

Though I am the first to admit that there isn't enough context to be a 100% sure (we only have "You look cute when you're angry" and the other phrases by Vivonivo)*, I do think that the most obvious (_and_ correct) translation in this particular case is either 'schattig' or 'lief', or another word that comes close to the meaning of these words (in my dictionary quote above, number 1).

By the way, as far as I know, any instance of cute / cunning in the examples you gave above can be translated by 'lief' or schattig' (in some cases 'koddig', 'snoezig'), but that depends on the broader context.

Now, if not, if I'd be wrong, which Dutch word would you suggest? Or which Dutch word does your dictionary suggest?

Groetjes,

Frank, poster

*
* which should not have been left in the thread (one thread, one topic), but I was too late to remove them. My apologies.
Frank, moderator*


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