# Ma che hai capito?



## willow78

Ciao, rieccomi...

dunque, la frase del titolo:

_Ma che hai capito?_

Contesto: per esempio, io sono gentile con te e tu dai per scontato che ci stia provando, quindi io ti dico "ma che hai capito?" nel senso di "intendevo tutt'altro".

La versione letterale "_But what have you understood_?" mi suona molto pesante. Sapete se esiste una frase idiomatica un po' più "sciolta", per così dire, per veicolare lo stesso concetto?

Grazie mille!


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## theartichoke

Hi Willow,

The phrase that comes to mind is "what are you _thinking_?" (said with that emphasis and a tone of surprise and probably irritation as well). But it doesn't quite get across the idea of "that's not what I meant at all!" that seems implicit in "ma che hai capito?". 

A politer version (though said in a tone of ironic understatement, it wouldn't be all that polite) might be "Um....there seems to have been a misunderstanding here."


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## rrose17

willow78 said:


> "_But what have you understood_?" mi suona molto pesante.


Questo vuol dire fino ad ora. C'é anche 
Did you get what I just said?
What did you understand?


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## Lula0310

Direi... "What did you think I meant?"


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## Jasmyn

willow78 said:


> Sapete se esiste una frase idiomatica un po' più "sciolta", per così dire, per veicolare lo stesso concetto?


In riferimento a questa tua domanda avevo inserito altre 7 frasi idiomatiche inglesi, chiedendo ai nativi se fossero in linea con l'argomento, ma forse ho posto male la domanda e sono stata fraintesa. Se non si può discutere sui vari modi di tradurre le frasi, che cosa si dovrebbe discutere? 
Sono queste. "Ma che cosa hai capito?" può essere detto anche in questi modi, vero?
1. You and me are not in the same page! (Io e te non siamo sulla stessa lunghezza d'onda!)
2. You didn't smell what I was stepping in! 
3. You're not picking up what I'm laying down! 
4. You got your wires crossed!
5. Sorry, I think you're out in left field! ( Mi dispiace ma penso tu sia fuori strada! )
6. Sorry, maybe I wasn't very clear! ( Scusa, forse non sono stato molto chiaro! )
7. I fear that you have misunderstood me (Temo che tu mi abbia frainteso!)


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## AlabamaBoy

Jasmyn, your phrases are similar but not interchangeable. A discussion of all these sentences is off-topic. Several of your sentences are not very polite and could only be used among close friends, probably fairly young.

I'd stick with something not idiomatic, because otherwise it is easy to offend someone:
_(I'm sorry,) what did you think I said?
(Perhaps I didn't say what I thought I said.) What did you hear?
_
To be really polite, you could say: _Excuse me, maybe I didn't say what I meant to say. What did I actually say? _(Clearly accepting all of the blame for the misunderstanding to avoid any offense.)

*Not recommended because they might be a bit insulting:*


Jasmyn said:


> 1. You and me I are not in on the same page!  _(We also say the same wavelength)_
> 2. You didn't smell weren't smelling what I was stepping in!
> (and the rest of the list)


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## Jasmyn

AlabamaBoy said:


> Not recommended because they might be a bit insulting:


 (and the rest of the list) 


Jasmyn said:


> 6. Sorry, maybe I wasn't very clear!


 Is this neither polite? 
Thank you Alabama for clarifying! 
In any case "Ma che hai capito?" is actually a bit insulting and in fact used among close friends or relatives.


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## AlabamaBoy

Maybe I wasn't clear! This sounds polite but it often isn't. It could be offensive with the exclamation point and the tone of voice. 


The closest to the original I think is "What did you think I said?" My issue is that a foreign speaker should be careful with the phrase since by its very nature, it is accusatory.


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## Archilochus

Heh. If you're in the States, you can say, "Capisce?" (pronouned: _Kà-peesh_?)


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## AlabamaBoy

Yes, and just as insulting as in Sicily.


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## Archilochus

Really? I've never used it in an insulting way.


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## Jasmyn

Do you really say "Capisce" in the States?  It's sicilian dialect and stands for "Understand?", or better "Do you understand?" , it's not "what did you understand?".


willow78 said:


> io sono gentile con te e tu dai per scontato che ci stia provando, quindi io ti dico "ma che hai capito?"


In this case "ma che hai capito?" is not _what did you understand about what I've said_, but _what I've done; my kind manners_ _have been misunderstood._ "I'm not so kind with you because I want to seduce you, but because I'm just a very kind person." Then, what can I say? "OhOh! I think there was a misunderstanding!" Is also ok?


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## rrose17

Ciao, in this case I think I'd simply say "(But) what did you think I was doing?" Or closer to yours "I think you misunderstood." Something like
A. But how lovely you look today, and you smell soooo nice!
B. I'm still not sleeping with you.
A. Ma che hai capito?? What did you think I was doing?? I"m just being nice.


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## Odysseus54

Quando nel lontano novembre 2014 Willow ha presentato il quesito, ha incastonato la frase in un contesto molto specifico, ma per nulla necessario, quello di fraintendimento sulle intenzioni diciamo cosi' a sfondo erotico-riproduttivo o meno di avances tra persone di sesso diverso (o magari no).  In realta' la frase puo' essere usata in qualsiasi contesto diciamo cosi' 'difensivo' :

Detto a un carabiniere dopo l'arresto : "Ma cos'ha capito, e' un sacchetto di bicarbonato che sto portando a mia moglie"
Detto alla moglie :  "Ma cos'hai capito - Katya e' una terapista che ho chiamato per via della sciatica".

In sostanza, se vogliamo dare un senso idiomatico specifico, mi pare che sia quello di una specie di contrattacco per distrarre l'altra persona da un teorema accusatorio che sta prendendo forma.

If we want it short and sweet, I can't think of anything more specific that "Now, look/Hey, look -You got it all wrong" or similar expressions.


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## Jasmyn

rrose17 said:


> A. But how lovely you look today, and you smell soooo nice!
> B. I'm still not sleeping with you.
> A. Ma che hai capito?? What did you think I was doing?? I"m just being nice.


Hi Odysseus, "You got it all wrong" doesn't sound so sweet to me.  it might insult my intelligence! Can I rather say: "Maybe I make you get it wrong/misunderstand" ?


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## Archilochus

"Do you really say "Capisce" in the States?"

Yes, we do. The great Italian immigration into the US in the latter part of the 19th century resulted in many Italian words becoming part of the American language. As did many Jewish (Yiddish) words, and now, Spanish words, owing to immigration of those folks. We're equal-opportunity word thieves over here.


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## rrose17

But I don't see how Capisce fits here. I'd think it's more like "I'm coming tomorrow and taking all the furniture and you're not going to say anything. Capeesh?"


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## Jasmyn

Archilochus said:


> many Italian words becoming part of the American language


That's amazing! Is there a section in WR dealing with these italian words "stolen" by American or other people? @Odysseus54


rrose17 said:


> But I don't see how Capisce fits here


 It doesn't fit here.


Jasmyn said:


> It's sicilian dialect and stands for "Understand?", or better "Do you understand?" , it's not "what did you understand?".





rrose17 said:


> "I'm coming tomorrow and taking all the furniture and you're not going to say anything. Capeesh?"


  That's very explanatory!


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## Jasmyn

Several years ago, when I was in a hotel with a group of friends, I asked the receptionist if he was there at night and what was the telephone number to call in case of need. But he was like  and told me : I'm just 17 and I'm virgin! 
I was not able to reply anything, since I wasn't expected that, and moreover my friends started to joke me. But now I would say: _Hey, I think you should do the screenwriter, because you've got a vivid imagination! 
Is it insulting? _


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## MStraf

Archilochus said:


> Heh. If you're in the States, you can say, "Capisce?" (pronouned: _Kà-peesh_?)


Don't say that to an Italian please, especially to an Italian who lived in the States at the time when Italians were marginalized as ignorant and "mafiosi". It is an insulting and derogatory because it was a word used by the local Mafia.


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## Odysseus54

Jasmyn said:


> Several years ago, when I was in a hotel with a group of friends, I asked the receptionist if he was there at night and what was the telephone number to call in case of need. But he was like  and told me : I'm just 17 and I'm virgin!
> I was not able to reply anything, since I wasn't expected that, and moreover my friends started to joke me. But now I would say: _Hey, I think you should do the screenwriter, because you've got a vivid imagination!
> Is it insulting? _



I would say it's a roundabout way to get to the point.  The way attention span works these days, you may lose your customer.  I'd say " Excuse me? ".



Jasmyn said:


> Hi Odysseus, "You got it all wrong" doesn't sound so sweet to me.  it might insult my intelligence! Can I rather say: "Maybe I make you get it wrong/misunderstand" ?



"Short and sweet" does not mean short and sweet as two separate qualifiers.  It's an idiom.  It means "straight to the point".


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## rrose17

Hey Ody! Long time. I think you're right with starting with "Excuse me?!" but quickly followed by "You've got a vivid imagination. You should write screenplays!" would have done the trick.


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## Archilochus

"Don't say that to an Italian please, especially to an Italian who lived in the States at the time when Italians were marginalized as ignorant and "mafiosi". It is an insulting and derogatory because it was a word used by the local Mafia."

Those days are long, long gone. It's now a part of American English, with none of those overtones.


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## Jasmyn

Odysseus54 said:


> I would say it's a roundabout way to get to the point. The way attention span works these days, you may lose your customer. I'd say " Excuse me? ".


 Scusami ma non ho capito cosa hai scritto! 


Odysseus54 said:


> "Short and sweet" does not mean short and sweet as two separate qualifiers. It's an idiom. It means "straight to the point".


Ah sorry!  Thank you very much for enlightening me!



rrose17 said:


> "Excuse me?!" "You've got a vivid imagination. You should write screenplays!" would have done the trick.


 Heehee!  Thank you so much rrose17!


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## MStraf

Archilochus said:


> "Don't say that to an Italian please, especially to an Italian who lived in the States at the time when Italians were marginalized as ignorant and "mafiosi". It is an insulting and derogatory because it was a word used by the local Mafia."
> 
> Those days are long, long gone. It's now a part of American English, with none of those overtones.


I thought so too. Then I spoke with an Italian American friends of mine, who is in her sixties. The stories she told me, growing up in a poor Italian family of the Middle East, made me change idea.
Sorry, I am not a "paisan" and I don't understand "kapeesh". You maybe watch The Jersey Shore and find it amusing: I find it offensive.
Also the time of slavery is long gone... try to use the 'N' word with an African American. Good luck my friends. Something is just impossible to forget. And we should not forget it.


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## You little ripper!

In a situation where politeness isn't required, one could always use the famous Homer Simpson line, _What the .......?!!! _
__


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## rcrist

theartichoke said:


> Hi Willow,
> 
> The phrase that comes to mind is "what are you _thinking_?" (said with that emphasis and a tone of surprise and probably irritation as well). But it doesn't quite get across the idea of "that's not what I meant at all!" that seems implicit in "ma che hai capito?".
> 
> A politer version (though said in a tone of ironic understatement, it wouldn't be all that polite) might be "Um....there seems to have been a misunderstanding here."



I believe "what are you thinking!?" sounds just right. Mi sembra la traduzione più pulita. "Ma che hai capito?" non è per niente idiomatica, quindi ci sta. Ciao!


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## Fulvia.ser

Archilochus said:


> "Don't say that to an Italian please, especially to an Italian who lived in the States at the time when Italians were marginalized as ignorant and "mafiosi". It is an insulting and derogatory because it was a word used by the local Mafia."
> 
> Those days are long, long gone. It's now a part of American English, with none of those overtones.




Archilochus, forse negli USA, ma se lo dicessero a me sinceramente mi offenderei.
Tra l'altro è un modo di dire tipicamente siciliano, che in gran parte dell'Italia verrebbe probabilmente frainteso.


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## Archilochus

Well, I'm sorry if you would be offended, but it's the American language we're talking about not the Italian. I would not presume to tell you about Italian culture and I would appreciate not being told about American. Google this, "Stevie B presents, "The Italian American Slang Word of the Day:! - Capisce."


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## Fulvia.ser

Archilochus said:


> Well, I'm sorry if you would be offended, but it's the American language we're talking about not the Italian. I would not presume to tell you about Italian culture and I would appreciate not being told about American. Google this, "Stevie B presents, "The Italian American Slang Word of the Day:! - Capisce."



Ok, questo l'ho capito; rimane però il fatto che se vieni in Italia (o parli con un italiano non residente stabilmente negli USA) ti sconsiglio vivamente di usarlo

Edit: ho visto il video, ma riguarda parole di derivazione siciliana, non italiana; un italiano non siciliano avrebbe forti difficoltà a capire.


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## MStraf

The fact that "kapeesh" is part of the American slang does not mean that it is NOT offensive. Italian Americans still get offended by tv shows like Jersey Shore or Sopranos, that still describe the stereotypical image of ignorant Italians and "mafiosi". Racism against immigration in this country is still well alive and kicking, as we can see even from our presidential debates, Italian Americans do not like to be still associated with the Mafia, this is why we (as an immigrant myself) do not like to be addressed with "kapeesh". I speak English, I don't speak Sicilian. I am not a goombah and my name is not Gino.


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## Odysseus54

Archilochus said:


> Well, I'm sorry if you would be offended, but it's the American language we're talking about not the Italian. I would not presume to tell you about Italian culture and I would appreciate not being told about American. Google this, "Stevie B presents, "The Italian American Slang Word of the Day:! - Capisce."



I don't find 'kapeesh' particularly insulting myself, just annoying, like the random hand gestures that my fellow Americans love to do when they want to look and feel Italian.  Trouble with the Italian-American thing is that the people that ended up in Ells Island and then in NY/NJ were not mainstream Center-North Italians, but underprivileged southerners, who didn't even speak the language properly.  When Americans depict Italian Americans the way they do, they are just describing a situation the way it was.  But this situation doesn't mean much to present mainstream Italians.  Specifically, if you want to say 'do you understand' to an Italian, you would say either 'capisci?' , if you are in 'tu' terms, or 'capisce' if you are in 'lei' terms, or, if you want to say 'got it?' , you would say 'capito?'.  'Kapeesh' would sound ignorant.


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## Odysseus54

Jasmyn said:


> Scusami ma non ho capito cosa hai scritto!



What exactly did you not understand ?


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## Jasmyn

Odysseus54 said:


> The way attention span works these days, you may lose your customer


 @Odysseus54


Odysseus54 said:


> I don't find 'kapeesh' particularly insulting myself,


Me neither. I find it amusing.


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