# Ma va' là (Ma valà, Mavalà)



## Daumis

I want to ask what means "ma va"
for example:

- sono lituano
- ma va


----------



## SimoneSimone

"ma va" means about "it's not possible, what are you saying?". Literally means "bat go on, go away!".

Ciao,
Simone.


----------



## SimoneSimone

excuse me!!


I wrote "bat" instead of "but".

Ciao,
Simone.


----------



## Babiz

the literal translation of this sentence is meaningless in this case, I would translate it as "really?" or "I do not believe it". 
In any case it means that you are surprised of something, the meaning is most in the intonation that in the words themselves.


----------



## uinni

Hi!


			
				Daumis said:
			
		

> I want to ask what means "ma va"
> for example:
> 
> - sono lituano
> - ma va


 
I suppose you are reporting a spoken dialogue, for it should be written like this:

- "son lituano".
- "ma va'!"

"Va'" (note the apostrophe!) stands for "vai", the imperative of andare.

"Ma va'!" is a colloquial expression that expresses "surprise" for the received information. It expresses also a little bit of incredulity for the received information seems to be a little strange, unexpected

- "Mi son sposato 20 volte!" (I married 20 times!)
- "Ma va'!" (gosh!)

Uinni


----------



## Daumis

Thanks to all of you !!


----------



## carrickp

Sound like the colloquial AE translation would be "Get outta here!"


----------



## uinni

carrickp said:
			
		

> Sound like the colloquial AE translation would be "Get outta here!"


 
If you add an extra "là" to the phrase, it expresses that the listener does not believe what he heard:

- "mi son sposato 20 volte!" (got married 20 times!)
- "Ma va'!" (i.e. gosh! are you serious?)
- "Ma va' là!" (i.e. cannot believe it; it is not possible!)

Is the phrase you cited closer to this or to the sentence without "là"?

Uinni


----------



## Ratona

Hi,

Other English translations of ma va' (if anyone ever needs them) would be:
No way!
Honestly?
You're having me on!
(But) come on...
You're having a laugh!

and the list goes on!
Really? seems to cover it's meaning in most cases... correct me if I'm wrong!


----------



## Silvia

Besides what's been said so far, I would like to point out that the expression often refers to a dialectal use of the language that in time turned into a new expression.
Ma guarda = ma varda (Northern dialects) = Ma va

In Daumis's example, I think the best translation would be "oh yeah?" or "oh really?" (ma guarda, ma davvero). Also, as an option to "ma va" (which is a colloquialism anyway), you can often hear "ma dai" (even more informal) with the same meaning.


----------



## Anuki

Hi All,

Can you please translate for me "ma va la te"

Many thanks in advance


----------



## PTK

"ma va' la' (literally: "there, in that place") te (instead of "tu", you)"
"I can't believe you"

A variant is:

"ma vattene (from "andarsene" - "to go away"), va'" - same meaning, a bit stronger thanks to the duplication of the verb vattene - va'...

Ciao!


----------



## flrain

Hello everyone,

What does this phrase 'ma và' mean? I see this in a interview:
"Ma và...". Così il presidente ha risposto a chi gli chiedeva...

Thanks!


----------



## Necsus

"A chi gli chiedeva..." what? Since that is an answer, the meaning depends on the question.


----------



## urizon9

Ciao! I was wondering if this word exists in Italian.I was told *valla* means _mica molto_,_i.e. poco_,but I can't find it in the dictionary.Forse mi hanno preso in giro? Grazie! _Hai molto denaro?-Ma valla!_

Very sorry,but what does *ma va là* mean?


----------



## Benzene

Hi *urizon9!*

My suggestion is as follows:  

"ma va là" = "get away!".  

Bye,  

Benzene


----------



## jackdiroma

"Ma va là" is like saying "ma cosa dici? Stai forse scherzando?", "quello che hai detto è completamente falso" :
- Mi hanno detto che hai vinto al lotto!
- Ma va là! (what you're saying is impossible!)


----------



## ectropion

Anche "ma non dire/fare stupidaggini!"


----------



## danalto

jackdiroma said:


> "Ma va là" is like saying "ma cosa dici? Stai forse scherzando?", "quello che hai detto è completamente falso" :
> - Mi hanno detto che hai vinto al lotto!
> - Ma va là! (what you're saying is impossible!)


Right.  Ma anche:
Really??? Are you joking?


----------



## You little ripper!

_"Get away with you!"
_


----------



## novizio

Maybe like "get out of here" in AE, which might say in response to some very hard to believe statement?


----------



## danalto

novizio said:


> Maybe like "get out of here" in AE, which might say in response to some very hard to believe statement?


Right! That's what I was looking for!


----------



## brian

*Get outta here! *


----------



## danalto

BTW, the right one is *ma va' là*, the other two are wrong.  So, you better change the title!


----------



## You little ripper!

novizio said:


> Maybe like "get out of here" in AE, which might say in response to some very hard to believe statement?


Definitely a more modern version of "Get away with you!".


----------



## urizon9

Grazie tante per l'aiuto!


----------



## Gemelle

Ho difficoltà con "ma và" in questa frase:

Ma và ti fai capire?

Really do I make you understand?



Gemelle.


----------



## sciroppodiglucosio

Ho difficoltà anch'io, non manca qualcosa? Per esempio la punteggiatura...


----------



## london calling

Gemelle said:


> Ma và ti fai capire?
> 
> Really do I make you understand?


I think there's a comma missing here:

_Ma và, ti fai capire?_

As ratona says, _ma và?_ means "Really?/Honestly?/Are you pulling my leg?"
_Ti fai capire?_ means "do you make yourself understood"?

However, I have a feeling that that question mark shouldn't be in there (gemelle?), as I think it that without it the sentence would make more sense and could therefore be (very loosely) translated along these lines:

_Go on/get along with you, you make yourself understood (perfectly)._


----------



## Azazel81

Where I live (Milan) we have more than two meanings for "ma va".

1) if "ma va" is followed by a question mark, it means "really?" or "are you serious?" (and it's usually meant to show surprise)

E.g.: 

a: l'anno scorso sono andato in vacanza in Giappone... la migliore vacanza della mia vita

b: ma va? In Giappone? anche io!

2) again, if "ma va" is followed by a question mark, and it's meant to be ironic, it means something like "wow, you're a genius... it was obvious and I didn't need you to tell me about it". Which I guess can still be "really?" but ironically meant. 

E.g.:

a: oh l'altro giorno ho fatto una scoperta incredibile... se porto l'acqua a 100 gradi comincia a bollire

b: ma va? wow.. complimenti! (ironic)

3) if you just say "ma va" it means "no". It usually shows that the person who says "ma va" is also annoyed by what was said prior to his answer/statement.

E.g.: 

a: Domenica prossima andrò a caccia con mio zio. Vuoi venire anche tu?

b: ma va!!! lo sai che odio la caccia.


----------



## london calling

Right, Azzie! (noblesse oblige....).

So, getting back to "ma và, ti fai capire?": if it were truly a question,  it could be a very sarcastic one, right? Could it mean something like this?:

Are you serious when you say you can make yourself understood? 

Meaning: _you must be blooming*   joking: no-one can understand what you're going on about!)_

* send me a PM and I'll explain that one to you.


----------



## Azazel81

london calling said:


> Right, Azzie! (noblesse oblige....). Thanks
> 
> So, getting back to "ma và, ti fai capire?": if it were truly a question, it could be a very sarcastic one, right? Could it mean something like this?:
> 
> Are you serious when you say you can make yourself understood? Well, yeah... in this case I think it's 99% meant to be ironic.
> 
> Meaning: _you must be blooming*  joking: no-one can understand what you're going on about!)_
> 
> * send me a PM and I'll explain that one to you.
> 
> I will, although if it's anywhere near the AmE expression I think I got the gist


----------



## Gemelle

london calling said:


> I think there's a comma missing here:
> 
> _Ma và, ti fai capire?_
> 
> As ratona says, _ma và?_ means "Really?/Honestly?/Are you pulling my leg?"
> _Ti fai capire?_ means "do you make yourself understood"?
> 
> However, I have a feeling that that question mark shouldn't be in there (gemelle?), as I think it that without it the sentence would make more sense and could therefore be (very loosely) translated along these lines:
> 
> _Go on/get along with you, you make yourself understood (perfectly)._



Hai ragione, london calling, ho fatto un errore.  Non dovrebbe essere il punto interrogativo.  

Quindi, la frase è
ma và ti fai capire.

Non c'è un apostrofo ma forse la persona l'ha dimenticato!

Allora, seconda london calling si può dire:
Go on, you make yourself understood (perfectly).

Che ne pensate?

Gemelle.


----------



## Azazel81

Gemelle said:


> Hai ragione, london calling, ho fatto un errore. Non dovrebbe essere il punto interrogativo.
> 
> Quindi, la frase è
> ma và ti fai capire.
> 
> Non c'è un apostrofo ma forse la persona l'ha dimenticato!
> 
> Ok, allora la frase non è affatto ironica... prima probabilmente l'altra persona deve aver detto qualcosa tipo: "scusa il mio pessimo Italiano... " e l'altra risponde "ma va', ti fai capire"
> 
> Allora, seconda london calling si può dire:
> Go on, you make yourself understood (perfectly).
> 
> Che ne pensate?
> 
> Uhm... secondo sarebbe più adatta una forma tipo: "nah, you make yourself perfectly understood". Che ne dite?
> 
> Gemelle.


----------



## queenelisabeth84

Hi, another sentence with "ma va", with a slightly different meaning in this case...

E' il 18 luglio, ed è passato solamente UN giorno da ieri (ma va?) 

Translation: It's the 18th June, just ONE day has gone from yesterday (____________?)

what would you say here? "Really?" and stuff like that don't fit in the situation: we don't have surpise here, it's sarcastic, almost like the sentence of the previous posts, but without any surprise... The sarcasm is in underlining that, OF COURSE just one day has passed from the day before... Well, could it just be translated with "of course"?

Thank you for your help,

Elisa


----------



## Odysseus54

Io direi   " No kidding ! "   " No joke ! "


----------



## TimLA

queenelisabeth84 said:


> Hi, another sentence with "ma va", with a slightly different meaning in this case...
> 
> E' il 18 luglio, ed è passato solamente UN giorno da ieri (ma va?)
> 
> Translation: It's the 18th June, just ONE day has gone from yesterday (____________?)
> 
> what would you say here? "Really?" and stuff like that don't fit in the situation: we don't have surpise here, it's sarcastic, almost like the sentence of the previous posts, but without any surprise... The sarcasm is in underlining that, OF COURSE just one day has passed from the day before... Well, could it just be translated with "of course"?
> 
> Thank you for your help,
> 
> Elisa


 
Much of the irony is transmitted by tone of voice, but these are possibilities:
Oh really?
Reeeaaaalllly?
No kidding?
You wouldn't shit me would you?
and many that other foreros will add.


----------



## Teerex51

I'm surprised this thread does not contain an old standby, often used in a sarcastic manner: _you don't say!_

-_Inglish ees not my mudder tong_
-You don't say!


----------



## queenelisabeth84

Ok, thank you for all your suggestions! (my favourite at the moment is "no kidding" as I remember it in one episod of "The Big Bang Theory")


----------



## Einstein

Teerex51 said:


> I'm surprised this thread does not contain an old standby, often used in a sarcastic manner: _you don't say!_
> 
> -_Inglish ees not my mudder tong_
> -You don't say!


Yes, That's the one I was thinking of as I read the thread


----------



## london calling

Teerex51 said:


> -_Inglish ees not my mudder tong_


_I would never have guessed!_ 

(Dripping sarcasm is my speciality.)


----------



## DavideV

Hurley (character from "Lost") would say

"No way!"


----------



## Yulan

Hello everybody!

I would also include "Come on!" among the different possibilities, meaning "you are joking".

See you soon


----------



## entrapta

I'd like to point out that by all means "ma *và*" is not spelled correctly. I guess it can either be "ma va" or "ma va'" with apostrophe (imperative form), definitely not và.


----------



## DavideV

Sure, you're right.


----------



## zipp404

For our Italian friends who are interested in American slang.

My friends and I say:  

*Get out!*, or
*No way! Get out!*

to express a combination of surprise, disbelief, skepticism, doubt.

Ex.

A:  RuPaul's running as the Democratic represenative for the NYC 8th Congressional District.
B:  Get out!


.


----------



## anglomania1

Charles Costante said:


> Definitely a more modern version of "Get away with you!".


Hi Charles, 
I'd definitely say "get away with you" and NOT "get outta here" - perhaps it's a BE/AE thing rather than a question of modern or not?
What do you think?
Anglo


----------



## You little ripper!

anglomania1 said:


> Hi Charles,
> I'd definitely say "get away with you" and NOT "get outta here" - perhaps it's a BE/AE thing rather than a question of modern or not?
> What do you think?
> Anglo


Hi Anglo. 

 "Get away with you!" is more likely to be heard by someone over 40 in Australia; "get outta here!" is much more common amongst the younger generation (the only reason it came immediately to mind is because I fit into the former category ). I think we have more American TV programs over here than you do in the UK.


----------



## anglomania1

Charles Costante said:


> Hi Anglo.
> 
> "Get away with you!" is more likely to be heard by someone over 40 in Australia; "get outta here!" is much more common amongst the younger generation (the only reason it came immediately to mind is because I fit into the former category ).*Oh dear - me too!!
> * I think we have more American TV programs over here than you do in the UK. *You could be right! *


By the way, my grandmother use to say "gertcha"!! Must be a London thing!!
Anglo


----------



## TimLA

anglomania1 said:


> Hi Charles,
> I'd definitely say "get away with you" and NOT "get outta here" - perhaps it's a BE/AE thing rather than a question of modern or not?
> What do you think?
> Anglo


 
That sounds like a BE/AE difference - "Get outta here" is very common in AE (but perhaps a little dated).


Just as a side note, in Johnny Stecchino, scene 4, after Dante sings his "Sono uno spermatozoo" song,
he is having fun with one of the students, and the student says "Ma và" just like we might say "Oh Stop! Getta outta here!".
I love Johnny Stecchino...


----------



## johngiovanni

Even "Get away!" without the "with you" does the same trick.  It is when someone "pooh-poohs" something!!!

And another expression which relates is "Pull the other one!"  or "Pull the other one, it's got bells on!"


----------



## You little ripper!

anglomania1 said:


> By the way, my grandmother use to say "gertcha"!! Must be a London thing!!
> Anglo


 I've not heard that one before, Anglo. Interesting. 



> Originally Posted by *johngiovanni.
> *Even "Get away!" without the "with you" does the same trick.


Indeed, John! You'll even hear people under 40 here say that.


----------



## johngiovanni

Come to think of it, my old mum used to say "Gertcha!" and "Gerroff!" (This thread is bringing back fond memories! Thanks!)


----------



## You little ripper!

johngiovanni said:


> Come to think of it, my old mum used to say "Gertcha!"  and "Gerroff!" (This thread is bringing back fond memories!  Thanks!)


I have heard "gerroff!" being used (in old English comedies )

gerroff 

gertcha


----------



## london calling

_Get on with you_! _Give over!_ are another couple of expressions (but  my grandmother would have used them).

Anglo, thanks, I hadn't heard _gertcha_ in years!  Takes me back a long time....


----------



## johngiovanni

And I sometimes say - to my granddaughter - "Be off with you!" which sounds more old-fashioned, as a granddad wants to sound on some occasions.


----------



## anglomania1

Charles Costante said:


> I've not heard that one before, Anglo. Interesting.


Hi Charles, 
if you've never heard it before (I'm not at all surprised!!), you may be even more surprised to know that it was made into a song (by Chas and Dave)!!
Google it and I'm sure you'll have fun!!
Anglo


----------



## furs

I would say "ma va la'" in Italian does not express a wish that the other person should go away.
It's more often something like (in BE especially): "oh come off it".


----------



## You little ripper!

anglomania1 said:


> Hi Charles,
> if you've never heard it before (I'm not at all surprised!!), you may be even more surprised to know that it was made into a song (by Chas and Dave)!!
> Google it and I'm sure you'll have fun!!
> Anglo


Thanks, Anglo; I'll check it out.


----------



## Paulfromitaly

furs said:


> I would say "ma va la'" in Italian does not express a wish that the other person should go away.
> It's more often something like (in BE especially): "oh come off it".


Definitely "come off it" or "give over".


----------



## anglomania1

furs said:


> I would say "ma va la'" in Italian does not express a wish that the other person should go away.
> It's more often something like (in BE especially): "oh come off it".


Hello, 
it's the same for "get away with you", it doesn't actually mean you want the person to go away!
"come off it" is a nice one, though
anglo


----------

