# essere simpatico



## sarahflower

Come si può dire in inglese "sei simpatico"?
How can I say in english "sei simpatico?

Thanks


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## DDT

"you're nice", "that's (really) nice of you"

DDT


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## cecil

sarahflower said:
			
		

> Come si può dire in inglese "sei simpatico"?
> How can I say in english "sei simpatico?
> 
> Thanks


 
DDT has given you one phrase we use a lot in the US: "That's really nice of you." "That's very nice of you" is also used less frequently.  "You're nice" would be very unusual.  It makes sense; we just don't say it.

cecil


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## sarahflower

cecil said:
			
		

> DDT has given you one phrase we use a lot in the US: "That's really nice of you." "That's very nice of you" is also used less frequently. "You're nice" would be very unusual. It makes sense; we just don't say it.
> 
> cecil


 

Thanks both of you


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## Silvia

cecil said:
			
		

> DDT has given you one phrase we use a lot in the US: "That's really nice of you." "That's very nice of you" is also used less frequently.  "You're nice" would be very unusual.  It makes sense; we just don't say it.


 I don't question your being right... but the two phrases mean two different things.


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## cecil

Silvia said:
			
		

> I don't question your being right... but the two phrases mean two different things.


 
Silvia,

You're correct. "Sei simpatico" is probably closer to "You're a nice guy" and "sei simpatica" would be "You're a nice girl/lady." It's curious; we use the "nice guy/girl" in the third person quite often, but rarely, if ever, in the second. "He's a nice guy/she's a nice girl" is common. In the second person, feminine, "You're a nice girl" would mean almost "you're not a slut." Weird. Maybe "sei simpatico" should be translated "I like you" or "you're a very friendly person," but both are still a little awkward. Somehow, embarrassing.  

cecil


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## Silvia

There's little we can do if someone is making a compliment and in another language compliments are something weird/uncommon... I think the compliment should be translated for what it's meant to be, regardless of culture, unless it is offending.

The trick with nice is that in English it can be related to someone's looks, while the word simpatico has nothing to do with looks. You are simpatico/simpatica if you can tell jokes, make everyone smile, pleasant to be with or to talk to. That's it.


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## cecil

>>You are simpatico/simpatica if you can tell joke, make everyone smile, pleasant to be with or to talk to. That's it.[/QUOTE]

Silvia,

Then, we'd probably say "You're fun to be with."  I can't think of any negative nuance to that phrase, and it seems to fit the meaning of "simpatico." 

cecil


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## morgana

That would be "Sei divertente". 
Is "you're nice" so awkward?


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## Silvia

We're getting somewhere... I feel it 

"fun to be with" is good, but morgana is right, too. Simpatico è chi suscita simpatia negli altri, è spesso una cosa soggettiva...

General brainstorming


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## Panpan

Silvia said:
			
		

> The trick with nice is that in English it can be related to someone's looks, while the word simpatico has nothing to do with looks. You are simpatico/simpatica if you can tell jokes, make everyone smile, pleasant to be with or to talk to. That's it.


 
If you want to use a translation unrelated to looks, I have heard people say 'sei simpatica' in situations where I would say 'You are very kind' or 'that's kind of you', or 'how very kind of you'.

Does that help?

Panpan


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## lsp

cecil said:
			
		

> Silvia,
> 
> You're correct. "Sei simpatico" is probably closer to "You're a nice guy" and "sei simpatica" would be "You're a nice girl/lady." It's curious; we use the "nice guy/girl" in the third person quite often, but rarely, if ever, in the second. "He's a nice guy/she's a nice girl" is common. In the second person, feminine, "You're a nice girl" would mean almost "you're not a slut." Weird. Maybe "sei simpatico" should be translated "I like you" or "you're a very friendly person," but both are still a little awkward. Somehow, embarrassing.
> 
> cecil


I can't really agree with this generalization, cecil. It's just too broad. It's awkward because we don't offer our kind opinions to each other in this society. But, that said, IMHO you've taken one example of "You're a nice girl" and applied it to too many - it's very situational (entirely dependent on context and source). When a child or teen meets adults, friends of parents for example, they might say it.


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## cecil

>> It's awkward because we don't offer our kind opinions to each other in this society. 

Isp,

We do after a certain interpersonal barrier has been crossed, but it is interesting to see how much our language reveals about our subliminal social structures.

>> When a child or teen meets adults, friends of parents for example, they might say it.

"Might" is the operative word. 

cecil


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## lsp

cecil said:
			
		

> >> It's awkward because we don't offer our kind opinions to each other in this society.
> 
> Isp,
> 
> We do after a certain interpersonal barrier has been crossed, but it is interesting to see how much our language reveals about our subliminal social structures.
> 
> >> When a child or teen meets adults, friends of parents for example, they might say it.
> 
> "Might" is the operative word.
> 
> cecil


I said might 'cause the kid could be a brat!   not because it's unusual usage.


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## cecil

Isp,

>>I said might 'cause the kid could be a brat!

So that's why nobody ever said to me, "you're nice"! 

cecil


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## Silvia

Anyway, this is really a new thing for me. Up to this day, I thought Americans were more used to compliments than Italians, because they say: I like you, you're nice, I love you etc., which we do NOT!


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## LV4-26

Silvia said:
			
		

> Anyway, this is really a new thing for me. Up to this day, I thought Americans were more used to compliments than Italians, because they say: I like you, you're nice, I love you etc., which we do NOT!


Well maybe you've found the reason why it's so difficult to translate "sei simpatico" into English. It's because the Italians say it to avoid saying "I like you" which is what they really mean. 
Just an idea....


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## DDT

LV4-26 said:
			
		

> Well maybe you've found the reason why it's so difficult to translate "sei simpatico" into English. It's because the Italians say it to avoid saying "I like you" which is what they really mean.
> Just an idea....



It depends on who is saying that...

DDT


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## cecil

DDT said:
			
		

> It depends on who is saying that...
> 
> DDT


 
So, DDT, what else can "sei simpatico" mean?  

cecil


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## DDT

cecil said:
			
		

> So, DDT, what else can "sei simpatico" mean?
> 
> cecil



I just wanted to say that it doesn't necessarily mean "I like you"

DDT


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## cecil

DDT,

Given these messages, I've decided never to use the word "simpatico" because I have no idea what it means. If I want to say "I like you," I'll say "Mi piaci." Now don't tell me that isn't its meaning.

cecil


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## Silvia

LV4-26 said:
			
		

> Well maybe you've found the reason why it's so difficult to translate "sei simpatico" into English. It's because the Italians say it to avoid saying "I like you" which is what they really mean.
> Just an idea....


 On the contrary... it can be used to make a rejection milder. Sei simpatico, però... non sei il mio tipo.(Look, you're nice, but... you're not my kind.) That is I like you, but not that way. Obviously this is just one of its many uses...


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## DDT

cecil said:
			
		

> DDT,
> 
> Given these messages, I've decided never to use the word "simpatico" because I have no idea what it means. If I want to say "I like you," I'll say "Mi piaci." Now don't tell me that isn't its meaning.
> 
> cecil



It is..."mi piaci" perfectly renders "I like you" and it's more effective   

DDT


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## Silvia B

MMMmmm... these are just different point of views...
It's very common to hear "è simpatico.. ma non mi piace" - means: - "I had a good time with him, he makes me laugh, he's very kind but I don't like him that way"
mi piace: often refers to how a person looks like
è simpatico: refers to "the person" he is, I mean, his mood..

By the way, it is not only used to talk about people we went out with... =)
"una persona simpatica" can be our neighbours (not very often =D), our friends, our collegue, everyone who makes us laugh/smile. Just a person you have a good time with.

bye bye


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## cecil

>>It is..."mi piaci" perfectly renders "I like you" and it's more effective

Grazie tante, DDT.

cecil

>>"è simpatico.. ma non mi piace" - means: - "I had a good time with him, he makes me laugh, he's very kind but I don't like him that way"

Silvia,

I can't imagine having a good time with someone and then not liking them in such a friendly state. I guess my brain is just too American.

cecil


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## Silvia

Cecil, friendship is friendship, but love is a different thing 
The phrase "sei simpatico, però..." is not a good beginning for the latter  The key is in the word "però" or "ma".

It's just like when someone says the nonsense phrase "ho bisogno di tempo per pensare..." or "ho bisogno di stare un po' da sola...", when it really means it's over.

But now we're way off-topic! 

Back to sei simpatico, to me it means something like: you're witty (spiritoso), with sense of humour, though I know simpatico has more nuances to it than just being witty.


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## panjandrum

A lot depends on the context of this conversation.
As a comment to someone very close to you, or to someone whom you hope will become very close to you, something like "you're so easy to get on with" or "you are so understanding" would be coming close.  But of course there really is no equivalent short sentence conveying the same powerful meaning.


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## Jana337

Quando dico "mi piaci" non può la persona fraintendere le mie parole? Per es voglio dire "sei simpatico" ed invece si capisce "mi piaci fisicamente"?

Jana


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## DDT

Jana337 said:
			
		

> Quando dico "mi piaci" non può la persona fraintendere le mie parole? Per es voglio dire "sei simpatico" ed invece si capisce "mi piaci fisicamente"?
> 
> Jana



As I already said, it always depends....(on the tone, the context, the moment, the person you're addressing to) 

DDT


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## Silvia

Jana, "I like you" used as in "I like you, man!" or "I love you, man!" (for example, among two men) is not something used in Italian. We do not express our feelings or approval like that. Those phrases are to be handled with care in Italian.

Back to simpatico again.

Suppose a friend is asking you about a guy you're dating: do you like him? did you fall for him?
And you say: è simpatico

I guess I would translate it as "he's nice", "he's nice to be with", that would mean two things:
1. you don't want to tell your friend, therefore you are being diplomatic
2. the relationship didn't click, and your mild statement reflects your feelings


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## cecil

Silvia,

>>friendship is friendship, but love is a different thing 

I did occur to me that you might be heading in that direction. "You're very nice (simpatico), ma non ti amo." Yes, everyone knows that sense, even in English. However, "You're fun to be with (sei simpatico), but I don't like you (non mi piaci) " is unintelligible psychology.

Who would have ever thought "sei simpatico" could have stirred up such a fuss? 

cecil


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## BklynGiovanna

Kind of like when you say, "Sei carino".  It means you are nice and also can mean you are cute (which are two different sentiments), depending on the context.


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## DDT

BklynGiovanna said:
			
		

> Kind of like when you say, "Sei carino".  It means you are nice and also can mean you are cute (which are two different sentiments), depending on the context.



...and it is terribly easy to misunderstand lol...  

DDT


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## [ITA]Shank

Come posso dirlo in inglese?

Su WR ho trovato delle traduzioni possibili:

You are funny = ma la traduzione che gli si addice di più é "sei divertente"
You are cute = che però vuol anche dire "sei grazioso", e se lo dico ad un uomo, non vorrei essere frainteso e quindi scambiato per gay. 
You are pleasing = "sei una persona piacevole", che però mi suona come troppo formale.

Qual'é quindi il miglior modo di dirlo?


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## Arya55

I think it is "you are friendly..."
mi pare che singnifichi simpatico o qualcosa di molto simile


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## [ITA]Shank

Arya55 said:


> I think "you are friendly..."
> mi pare che singnifichi simpatico o qualcosa di molto simile



friendly non ha più il significato di "famigliare"??? mi sbaglio???


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## lsp

How about nice? Likable?


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## Arya55

no l'ho cercato ora cn il dizionario e dice amichevole e robe cosi..credo che possa andar bene...magari aspetta qualche altra risposta per essere sicuro


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## [ITA]Shank

lsp said:


> How about nice? Likable?



Nice... mmmh... how it's used??? "you are nice" and "you are a nice person" have two different meaning???


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## lsp

[ITA]Shank;1419189 said:
			
		

> Nice... mmmh... how it's used??? "you are nice" and "you are a nice person" have two different meaning???



Same meaning, sometimes "you're nice" is too direct and a little awkward (for Americans) and "you're a nice person" is somehow easier.


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## Isapaola

[ITA]Shank;1419189 said:
			
		

> Nice... mmmh... how it's used??? "you are nice" and "you are a nice person" have two different meaning???


 
Just a few corrections:
how is it used?   two different meanings
I hope you don't mind


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## [ITA]Shank

lsp said:


> Same meaning, sometimes "you're nice" is too direct and a little awkward (for Americans) and "you're a nice person" is somehow easier.



Thanks a lot. 
I learned a new word too... awkward, embarrassing... that's right??? 



Isapaola said:


> Just a few corrections:
> how is it used?   two different meanings
> I hope you don't mind



Ecco cosa succede ad imparare l'inglese con le canzoni invece che a scuola. 
Grazie mille.


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## lsp

[ITA]Shank;1419222 said:
			
		

> Thanks a lot.
> I learned a new word too... awkward, embarrassing... that's right???



Una nuova parola... hai vinto il sacro WR fringe-benefit! Sì, embarrassing in questo contesto. Anche goffo.


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## superal

BklynGiovanna said:


> Kind of like when you say, "Sei carino".  It means you are nice and also can mean you are cute (which are two different sentiments), depending on the context.



Actually, if related to a person, "carino" is basically always about the look, the appearance of the person. 

So, I tend to use them this way:

cute = carino (carina)
nice = simpatico (simpatica)


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## CantoDell'Anima

Someone used this phrase to refer to me in the third person and I was a little confused by this construction (though still flattered)
Could someone tell me what the difference is between this and "(lui) è simpatico"?
grazie in anticipo


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## london calling

Hello! 
Lui è simpatico = he's nice
(lui) ti è simpatico = you like him
Tu mi sei simpatico = I like you


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