# pick up on



## Gavril

Heippä,

According to my dictionary, the phrase _pick up on (something) _can be translated _huomata, tajuta _or _ottaa esiin. _Which, if any of these, would you recommend in the sentences below?

”In this work, which depicts the _tunturit_ around Utsjoki, the artist is picking up especially on the jaggedness of the rocks.”
_Tässä Utsjoen alueen tunturia kuvaavassa teoksessa, taiteilija ottaa esiin / huomaa / tajuaa erityisesti kivien rosoisuuden._

”In this review, the writer describes the composition as ’gloomy’. I can only wonder what he/she [= the reviewer] is picking up on.”
_Tässä arvostelussa, kirjoittaja leimaa sävellyksen ”synkäksi”. Voin vain ihmetellä, mitä hän ottaa esiin / huomaa / tajuaa._

Ilontäyteistä lauantaita


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## Hakro

Gavril said:


> Heippa,
> 
> According to my dictionary, the phrase _pick up on (something) _can be translated _huomata, tajuta _or _ottaa esiin. _Which, if any of these, would you recommend in the sentences below?
> 
> ”In this work, which depicts the _tunturit_ around Utsjoki, the artist is picking up especially on the jaggedness of the rocks.”
> _Tässä Utsjoen alueen tuntureita kuvaavassa teoksessa (no comma here) taiteilija ottaa esiin erityisesti kivien rosoisuuden._ I'd say _tuo esiin._
> 
> ”In this review, the writer describes the composition as ’gloomy’. I can only wonder what he/she [= the reviewer] is picking up on.”
> _Tässä arvostelussa__ (no comma here)__ kirjoittaja leimaa sävellyksen ”synkäksi”. Voin vain ihmetellä, mitä hän oikein tarkoittaa._ (My suggestion)


According to my WSOY dictionary, the phrase _pick up on (something) _can be translated also _haukkua (moittia)._ Maybe the meaning in the second example is something like this?

(We usually say _heip*ä* hei_ but _heipp*a*_, don't ask me why.)


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## Gavril

Hakro said:


> According to my WSOY dictionary, the phrase _pick up on (something) _can be translated also _haukkua (moittia)._ Maybe the meaning in the second example is something like this?



If by _moittia _you mean "criticize", I'm pretty sure I've never heard _pick up on _used this way. Maybe this is a case of American vs. British English.

Here is the definition I was thinking of in both sentences:



> *
> pick up on (sth) *definition
> 
> in.
> to become alert to something; to take notice of something; to learn or catch on to something. : _ She's real sharp. She picks up on everything. _


(dictionary.com)


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## Hakro

This is what the WSOY dictionary says:


> *pick up on* (ark)
> a) huomata jtk;
> b) pitää jkta silmällä;
> c) korjata, oikaista _(I'd like to pick him up on what he said about...)_;
> d) _pick a p. up on a th. _haukkua jkta jstk;


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## Gavril

The only definitions of _pick up on _that I use, or remember hearing others use, are the first and (maybe) the second of the ones you listed. I'm going to start a thread on the English-only board to see whether anyone is familiar with meanings b through d.

I also have a WSOY dictionary (though not the same version/edition as yours), and it only offers _huomata / tajuta / ottaa esiin _as translations for _pick up on_.


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## Hakro

Gavril said:


> I'm going to start a thread on the English-only board to see whether anyone is familiar with meanings b through d.


That will be interesting. I tried googling "pick up on me" and it seemed that this phrase is used for countless different meanings, some of which I couldn't really understand.


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## Gavril

Hakro said:


> That will be interesting. I tried googling "pick up on me" and it seemed that this phrase is used for countless different meanings, some of which I couldn't really understand.



As I suspected, the meaning "moittia, haukkua" of _pick up on _seems to be mainly British English (see here).

In many of the Google results, "pick up on me" seems to mean "pick me up", where _pick up = _"ask out on a date, etc." This is another meaning of _pick up on _that I wasn't aware of, or had forgotten about -- I clearly need to read up on English phrasal verbs!


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