# ho pensato bene di - pensare bene di



## francescaf

hello everyone! can "the party was boring and i thought well to go home" translate "la festa era noiosa e ho pensato bene di andarmene a casa?"
thanks!


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## TimLA

francescaf said:


> Hello everyone!
> Can "The party was boring and I thought well to go home" translate
> "La festa era noiosa e ho pensato bene di andarmene a casa?"
> Thanks!


 
It certainly could..."well" looks a little funny, so maybe

The party was boring so I thought I would go home.
The party was boring so I thought about going home.
The party was boring so I thought I'd better go home.


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## billioon

francescaf said:


> hello everyone! can "the party was boring and i thought well to go home" translate "la festa era noiosa e ho pensato bene di andarmene a casa?"
> thanks!


 
Ciao, voglio provare a fare la mia traduzione, credo che come l'hai fatta tu sia troppo letterale, e sono curioso di vedere i posts dei nativi.

"the party was boring and I'd rather have thought to go home"


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## SweetSoulSister

What do you mean by "ho pensato bene"?  I am thinking "the thought was correct" or "it was the right thing to have thought".
Maybe:
The party was boring so it was only right that I went home.


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## francescaf

mmh, I see what you mean. "well" looks funny, hey? 
would "fit" be just as funny? 
is it ever used in this way, quite apart from my sentence? 
thank you!


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## billioon

TimLA said:


> It certainly could..."well" looks a little funny, so maybe
> 
> The party was boring so I thought I would go home.
> The party was boring so I thought about going home.
> The party was boring so I thought I'd better go home.


 

Hi, as soon I said it, TimLa has come.
I like the third one

Bye


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## TimLA

francescaf said:


> mmh, I see what you mean. "well" looks funny, hey?
> would "fit" be just as funny?
> is it ever used in this way, quite apart from my sentence?
> thank you!


 
This is one of those situations where a native speaker in one language will translate something from their language into a target language, and assume that it has the same meaning. I know this, because I do it ALL THE TIME into Italian!  

So I know what you are saying in the sentence, but I'm not sure that the "bene" really needs translation here.

But to answer your question, yes:

It would do you well to think about...
You would do well to think about leaving the party.
It would have to be well thought out...
He thought well of it...

But these are *old* forms, or more formal than you need in your sentence.


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## francescaf

SweetSoulSister said:


> What do you mean by "ho pensato bene"? I am thinking "the thought was correct" or "it was the right thing to have thought".
> Maybe:
> The party was boring so it was only right that I went home.


 
the sentence can work very well like you made it, in fact "bene" is only there to "strengthen" the verb. 
if you say ho pensato di andare a casa doesn't imply anything, but if you say ho pensato bene di andare a casa you are definately turning up your nose at the party. at least I think that's it...



TimLA said:


> This is one of those situations where a native speaker in one language will translate something from their language into a target language, and assume that it has the same meaning. I know this, because I do it ALL THE TIME into Italian!
> 
> So I know what you are saying in the sentence, but I'm not sure that the "bene" really needs translation here.
> 
> But to answer your question, yes:
> 
> It would do you well to thing about...
> You would do well to think about leaving the party.
> It would have to be well thought out...
> He thought well of it...
> 
> But these are *old* forms, or more formal than you need in your sentence.


 
thank you! i understand now. you see, I needed to check if it was ever used, but my sample sentence has too low a register for the use of it, I guess. thank you again!


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## Paulfromitaly

Ho pensato bene di...
I thought it better to..


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## theartichoke

This is a question, not a suggestion: could "ho pensato bene di andarmene a casa" mean "I thought seriously about going home"?


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## Paulfromitaly

theartichoke said:


> This is a question, not a suggestion: could "ho pensato bene di andarmene a casa" mean "I thought seriously about going home"?



It's an inaccurately written statement, the question mark has nothing to do with it.


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## Pequod

Per intendere meglio "pensare bene": spesso viene usato ironicamente:
"C'era benzina ovunque ed io pensai bene di accendermi una sigaretta".

Non sono sicuro che "better" possa rendere adeguatamente "bene". Il senso è che "pensare bene" è pensare adeguatamente alla situazione, spesso in relazione all'attuazione di un progetto (e spesso si tratta di un'operazione non troppo articolata, quindi "di corto respiro").
Altro esempio, stavolta non ironico:
"La città in quel periodo era davvero invivibile, così pensai bene di farmi una vacanza".

Forse vale la pena di raccogliere qualche esempio dalla Rete e commentarlo assieme in questo thread.


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## Phil9

billioon said:


> Ciao, voglio provare a fare la mia traduzione, credo che come l'hai fatta tu sia troppo letterale, e sono curioso di vedere i posts dei nativi.
> 
> "the party was boring and I'd rather have thought to go home"



Not really, billioon. Tim has the best translations at post No. 2.

Yours would need to be changed to something like:

_"the party was boring and I thought I'd rather go home"_


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## giovannino

Pequod said:


> Per intendere meglio "pensare bene": spesso viene usato ironicamente:
> "C'era benzina ovunque ed io pensai bene di accendermi una sigaretta".



Forse quando viene usato ironicamente, come nel tuo esempio, si potrebbe tradurre con "I had the bright idea of lighting/to light a cigarette".


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## theartichoke

Paulfromitaly said:


> It's an inaccurately written statement, the question mark has nothing to do with it.



I'm sorry, I didn't make myself clear. I myself would like to ask a question, which is whether one could translate "ho pensato bene di andarmene a casa" as "I thought seriously about going home."


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## Odysseus54

Io direi " .. I figured I would/had better/may as well .."

"Volevo fare una passeggiata, ma si e' messo a piovere, e ho pensato bene di rimanere a casa"

" I wanted to go for a walk, but it started raining, and I figured I might as well stay home "



theartichoke said:


> I'm sorry, I didn't make myself clear. I myself would like to ask a question, which is whether one could translate "ho pensato bene di andarmene a casa" as "I thought seriously about going home."



No, that would not work.  You would rather say :

" Ho pensato seriamente di andarmene a casa "

" Pensare bene di.. " is generally a phrasal verb meaning " .. I figured etc ", but not always.

You can say , for instance " Penso bene di Donald Trump " , meaning that you have a good opinion of the man.

Or, in a fixed phrase, " Pensaci bene "  -  " Think carefully about it "


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## Phil9

Odysseus54 said:


> No, that would not work.  You would rather say :
> 
> " Ho pensato seriamente di andarmene a casa "
> 
> " Pensare bene di.. " is generally a phrasal verb meaning " .. I figured etc ", but not always.
> 
> You can say , for instance " Penso bene di Donald Trump " , meaning that you have a good opinion of the man.
> 
> Or, in a fixed phrase, " Pensaci bene "  -  " Think carefully about it "



I'm confused as to the translation of 'pensare bene' . Certainly there's nothing grammatically wrong with _"I thought seriously about going home." _Are you saying that 'pensare bene' in the original sentence means something other than 'to think carefully' as in your last example or 'to think seriously' as suggested by theartichoke?


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## Odysseus54

Phil9 said:


> I'm confused as to the translation of 'pensare bene' . Certainly there's nothing grammatically wrong with _"I thought seriously about going home." _Are you saying that 'pensare bene' in the original sentence means something other than 'to think carefully' as in your last example or 'to think seriously' as suggested by theartichoke?



Absolutely - " Ho pensato bene di andare a casa " means something like " I figured I may as well go home / I had better go home ".

It's a phrasal verb , it's what it is.


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## Alessandrino

Phil9 said:


> I'm confused as to the translation of 'pensare bene' . Certainly there's nothing grammatically wrong with _"I thought seriously about going home." _Are you saying that 'pensare bene' in the original sentence means something other than 'to think carefully' as in your last example or 'to think seriously' as suggested by theartichoke?



I don't think _pensare bene _here means _to think carefully_ at all. In this context, it conveys the idea that the subject thought he'd have been better off if they had gone home, given that the party was boring. _Bene_ is there to emphasise that "going home" was the natural and only possible action to take in such a situation.

All things considered, and without further ado, I'd just go with a simple _The party was boring, so I just thought about going home_.

EDIT: (partially) cross-posted with Odysseus


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## Phil9

I'm afraid I can't see the subtle difference. 

It may be a phrasal verb meaning 'I figured . ' but, considering Tim's suggestions and those of the artichoke, it seems to be within the limits of a liberal (i.e. not too literal) translation to translate the whole sentence as:

_"The party was boring so I thought seriously about going home".

_What is it precisely that doesn't work?

Edit: didn't see Alessandrino's post. However, all the English translations give the idea that because the party was boring the thought of going home follows logically.


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## Odysseus54

Non credo che 

" I just thought about going home " 

funzioni , perche' questa frase non implica necessariamente che uno e' poi andato effettivamente a casa.  

" Ho pensato bene di andare a casa " 

invece, sottintende l'idea che uno e' andato a casa, non che ci ha solamente pensato.



Phil9 said:


> I'm afraid I can't see the subtle difference.
> 
> It may be a phrasal verb meaning 'I figured . ' but, considering Tim's suggestions and those of the artichoke, it seems to be within the limits of a liberal (i.e. not too literal) translation to translate the whole sentence as:
> 
> _"The party was boring so I thought seriously about going home".
> 
> _What is it precisely that doesn't work?




If you say " I thought seriously about going home " , does the sentence imply that you went home or not ?

" Ho pensato bene di andare a casa " means " I went home "


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## Alessandrino

Odysseus54 said:


> Non credo che
> 
> " I just thought about going home "
> 
> funzioni , perche' questa frase non implica necessariamente che uno e' poi andato effettivamente a casa.
> 
> " Ho pensato bene di andare a casa "
> 
> invece, sottintende l'idea che uno e' andato a casa, non che ci ha solamente pensato.


Hai perfettamente ragione. Non ci avevo pensato.


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## Phil9

Odysseus54 said:


> Non credo che
> 
> " I just thought about going home "
> 
> funzioni , perche' questa frase non implica necessariamente che uno e' poi andato effettivamente a casa.
> 
> " Ho pensato bene di andare a casa "
> 
> invece, sottintende l'idea che uno e' andato a casa, non che ci ha solamente pensato.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you say " I thought seriously about going home " , does the sentence imply that you went home or not ?
> 
> " Ho pensato bene di andare a casa " means " I went home "



OK. Now we're getting to it. You're right. In English, the sentence doesn't imply that you actually went home. You might have gone home or not. You might have thought seriously about going home but suddenly the stripper arrived and you decided to stay!! Sorry, if that's indelicate!

So if you say "La festa era noiosa e ho pensato bene di andare a casa" this leaves no room for doubt that you actually did go home?


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## Alessandrino

Phil9 said:


> this leaves no room for doubt that you actually did go home?


No room whatsoever. He/she definitely went home.


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## Odysseus54

Phil9 said:


> OK. Now we're getting to it. You're right. In English, the sentence doesn't imply that you actually went home. You might have gone home or not. You might have thought seriously about going home but suddenly the stripper arrived and you decided to stay!! Sorry, if that's indelicate!
> 
> So if you say "La festa era noiosa e ho pensato bene di andare a casa" this leaves no room for doubt that you actually did go home?



No it doesn't - and if I say " The party was very boring and I figured I'd go home " , did I go home for sure or not ?


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## theartichoke

Odysseus54 said:


> " Ho pensato bene di andare a casa "
> 
> invece, sottintende l'idea che uno e' andato a casa, non che ci ha solamente pensato.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you say " I thought seriously about going home " , does the sentence imply that you went home or not ?
> 
> " Ho pensato bene di andare a casa " means " I went home "



Thanks--I think I now get the difference between "pensare bene" as a phrasal verb and "to think seriously" about something. "I thought seriously about going home" would probably be used, I think, in contexts where you did NOT go home. You usually talk about giving "serious thought" to an option that you then reject. Though I fear someone's going to come up with an exception here....


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## Odysseus54

theartichoke said:


> Thanks--I think I now get the difference between "pensare bene" as a phrasal verb and "to think seriously" about something. "I thought seriously about going home" would probably be used, I think, in contexts where you did NOT go home. You usually talk about giving "serious thought" to an option that you then reject. Though I fear someone's going to come up with an exception here....



I concur - " That year I thought seriously about leaving the Company " means that I stayed, right ?


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## Matrap

Ciao

Una proposta da un non madrelingua.  Tell me whether it makes sense or not: 

"Ho pensato bene di andare a casa" "I made/took the right/wise decision of going home". Visto che comunque in italiano il fatto di pensare è seguito coerentemente dall'azione relativa...


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## Phil9

Odysseus54 said:


> No it doesn't - and if I say " The party was very boring and I figured I'd go home " , did I go home for sure or not ?



Well, almost certainly you did, especially if you said it to your spouse as you came in early from the party!      It's much more likely than if you said 'I thought seriously . .' 



> Originally Posted by *theartichoke* Thanks--I think I now get the difference between "pensare bene" as a phrasal verb and "to think seriously" about something. "I thought seriously about going home" would probably be used, I think, in contexts where you did NOT go home. You usually talk about giving "serious thought" to an option that you then reject. Though I fear someone's going to come up with an exception here....
> I concur - " That year I thought seriously about leaving the Company " means that I stayed, right ?



Again, almost certainly you did, yes. If that is the only sentence. 

However, it's likely that more would follow. Perhaps: "_That year I thought seriously about leaving the Company. I spoke to my manager about how I felt. He gave me a rise so I decided to stay" _


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## rrose17

Matrap said:


> Ciao
> 
> Una proposta da un non madrelingua.  Tell me whether it makes sense or not:
> 
> "Ho pensato bene di andare a casa" "I made/took the right/wise decision of going home". Visto che comunque in italiano il fatto di pensare è seguito coerentemente dall'azione relativa...


Although Anglos in Montreal say "take a decision" all the time, it's not correct English. We are supposed to make decisions, not take them. I probably wouldn't say ...of going home.
_I made the right decision and went home.
I made the wise choice to go home._


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## Phil9

Matrap said:


> Ciao
> 
> Una proposta da un non madrelingua.  Tell me whether it makes sense or not:
> 
> "Ho pensato bene di andare a casa" "I made/took the right/wise decision of going home". Visto che comunque in italiano il fatto di pensare è seguito coerentemente dall'azione relativa...



Yes, this means that you definitely went home.


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## Odysseus54

Per Matrap - non credo proprio che il 'bene' di 'pensare bene' abbia un suo significato indipendente e specifico, il contrario di 'male', per intenderci.  

E' un po' come quando si sente dire " Gli avevo ben detto... " , dove 'bene' e' solo un rafforzativo.


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## Phil9

rrose17 said:


> Although Anglos in Montreal say "take a decision" all the time, it's not correct English. We are supposed to make decisions, not take them. I probably wouldn't say ...of going home.
> _I made the right decision and went home.
> I made the wise choice to go home._



'Make' or 'take' are equally correct, although 'make' is perhaps more common than 'take'.


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## rrose17

Phil9 said:


> 'Make' or 'take' are equally correct, although 'make' is perhaps more common than 'take'.


Who knew? But I see it's not a slam dunk.


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## Odysseus54

It's a lot worse when you read young Italians ( who start frequenting chat rooms of ill repute in English as Lingua Franca before they have solidified the Italian structures and lexicon in their young and impressionable minds ) use " fare una decisione " ..


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## Connie Eyeland

Discussione gemella (nel forum Solo Italiano) dove ci sono ulteriori spunti sull'interpretazione di questo verbo:  http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1691624&langid=14


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## berlinboy

TimLA said:


> It certainly could..."well" looks a little funny, so maybe
> 
> The party was boring so I thought I would go home.
> The party was boring so I thought about going home.
> The party was boring so I thought I'd better go home.


Il miglior esempio che possa rendere l'idea e che abbia trovato:
Expecting dangerous releases of poisonous gases from the cavern into the nearby towns, the engineers saw it as best to burn the gas off.


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## sorry66

"la festa era noiosa e ho pensato bene di andarmene a casa"

_The party was boring so I *thought it best* to go home.

The party was boring so I figured it best to go home._

The person thought about the situation and judged it the best decision to go home and so he did.

To berlinboy: I would say 'saw fit/thought it best/ to burn the gas..'

Re: my post above #38

'*thought it best to do..*.' means thinking followed by action so there is no doubt that that the person went home and so, I think, it accurately reflects '*ho pensato bene*' in this context (given what everyone here in the forum has explained).


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## frugnaglio

Paulfromitaly said:


> Ho pensato bene di...
> I thought it better to..



Really? To me, _pensar bene (di fare qualcosa)_ does not have the meaning of “pensare + bene”. It's like another verb altogether. It really describes an action, rather than a thought. One could even say: _Stavo piantando un chiodo, e siccome già mi ero fatto male, ho pensato bene di darmi un'altra martellata sul pollice._ It doesn't mean “I thought it better/best to...”


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## sorry66

To frugnalio

Isn't that what I've said in post #38? !! It's about action!

It was raining heavily so we *thought it best *to cancel the picnic.

I didn't look good with the new hairstyle so I *thought it best* to wear a hat to the party.

The party was boring so I *thought it best* to go home 

(all these actions (cancelling, wearing a hat, going home), of course, might get interrupted or revised later but at the time, action was taken)


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## frugnaglio

sorry66 said:


> To frugnalio
> 
> Isn't that what I've said in post #38 and #39? !! It's about action!



I was replying to Paul, since I was surprised by his comment coming from a native speaker.

However, am I wrong in construing 'I thought it best to do X' as 'I thought the best course of action, among all the possible ones, was to do X (and I did it)'? I'm asking because, to me and to some other Italian posters in this thread, this is not the meaning of the Italian expression (though in some cases it is compatible with this meaning). It has nothing to do with what is best, or even with what is good.


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## sorry66

To frugnalio:

After a long discussion, people in this forum decided that (in this context) the person follows the best course of action - he doesn't just think about it and do nothing, he acts. (post # 38 )

"la festa era noiosa e *ho pensato bene* di andarmene a casa" = The party was boring so I *thought it best* to go home


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## frugnaglio

I think we know too little of the context to decide what is the best translation. So I took the OP as meaning “how can I translate this particular turn of phrase into English” and not specifically referring to that scenario.
(I can easily imagine boundary conditions for that scenario that would make 'thought it best' completely wrong as a translation.)


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## sorry66

*'thought it best' *works corresponds well here (of course, there are other variations like 'saw fit/thought fit' etc.)

The party was boring so I *thought it best* to go home

It can be used for other situations as I've illustrated in post# 40. (and I've explained my reasons in post # 38 (it takes into account what everyone has said in this thread - Paul's post was an old post and the discussion had moved on))

I don't really think we should prolong the thread further (over 40 posts!) unless you've actually found a better (all-encompassing) translation! 

(Sorry , but I think this is getting repetitive so I'm bowing out!)


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## Paulfromitaly

"la festa era noiosa e ho pensato bene di andarmene a casa" = "la festa era noiosa e ho pensato che la scelta migliore/più intelligente fosse quella di andare a casa"


sorry66 said:


> The party was boring so I *thought it best* to go home


I'm quite happy with this translation.


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