# puisque je te le dis !



## av16ar

Bonjour,

Comment puis-je traduire cette réplique que l'on utilise habituellement dans une discussion avec un interlocuteur qui remet en doute à plusieurs reprises la véracité de vos propos ? Je serais bien en peine pour exprimer cette idée si je me trouvais dans une telle situation en anglais. Vous avez des idées?


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## vanagreg

Bonjour,

je pense que "I told you!" marcherait.


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## Franglais1969

vanagreg said:


> Bonjour,
> 
> je pense que "I told you!" marcherait.



I concur.


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## av16ar

I'm not saying you're wrong, but I feel like it doesn't convey the same meaning. I feel like "I told you!" sounds more like our "Je te l'avais dis!" (meaning "Je te l'avais bien dis") that you would use to show to somebody he/she was wrong not to follow the advice you gave him.


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## rocstar

Just like I told you.   _ Non?_

_Rocstar_


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## david314

Perhaps:  _Because I'm telling you!_


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## SwissPete

*puisque je te le dis !* 

I agree with you that "I told you" does not quite convey the meaning.
Would "I told you already" be better?


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## Dr. Baha'i

I think David is closest: "Because I'm telling you!" 
Of course, there are specific instances like, "What part of 'no' don't you understand?'" to emphasize that your answer hasn't changed.

Actually, there's also, "How many times do I have to tell you?" Obviously, the construction/phrasing is different, but it does convey a similar sense to what you're trying to say, and it is colloquial.


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## RWulff-Alonso

je pense que l'equivalent exact dependrait a chaque fois du contexte precis et n etant pas francaise d origine je pourrais pas donner une liste d exemples... mais en general je dirais qu une bonne traduction serait 
''because I'm telling you so!''.  
Il y a l expression courrante 
''because I say so!'' 
mais celle la a l air autoritaire comme dirait un parent a son enfant et encore je sais pas si c est le bon equivalent.


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## Nicomon

The difference is subtle, but to me, expressions like _Because I'm telling you/say so/told you so_ would translate to French as _*Parce que* je te le dis_/_te l'ai dit_. 

Pourquoi dois-je ranger ma chambre? Parce que je te le dis = Because I say so / Because I'm telling you to.

_Puisque/parce que_ are not exact synonyms. See this thread

In my opinion... SwissPete's _I told you already_ and Dr. Baha'i _How many times do I have to tell you_ are closest in meaning. _Puisque_ in that phrase serves as an "intensifier". You can simply say _I'm telling you!_ with emphasis, without adding "because". As confirmed here

C'est bien vrai? Puisque je te le dis = Is that really true? Yes, I'm telling you!


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## david314

Thanks Nico, that is a very helpful explanation -& I had _sort of_ suspected as much.


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## Franglais1969

SwissPete said:


> *puisque je te le dis !*
> 
> I agree with you that "I told you" does not quite convey the meaning.
> Would "I told you already" be better?



Very much an americanism. I have never heard an English person say that.


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## Moon Palace

Just to add a few examples which will support Nicomon's spot-on explanation  :
-_Je n'arrive pas à le croire. 
- Puisque je te le dis (_I told you already / Just as I told you...)

_- ça ne peut pas être vrai quand même? 
- Puisque je te le dis. (_with emphasis and annoyance probably) = How many times do I have to tell you? 

Hope it makes it easier to see how rhetorical this phrase is.


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## Franglais1969

I still maintain, from a BE perspective, that "I told you!" is a perfectly adequate translation.

I would never say "Just as I told you," or "I told you already." 

It is all in the tone of how you say "I told you!"  If I had the facility to make an audio file, I would attach one, so people could hear what I mean.


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## av16ar

What seemed dodgy to me with the "I told you" is that you use the preterit tough it's present in French, but ok why not. I'm pretty ok with the "How many times do I have to tell you?". As for the "because I say so", in relation to what Nicomon suggested, I would more translate it as "parce que c'est un ordre" or "parce que c'est comme ça".


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## Sedulia

I wrote about this expression [in my blog]. It doesn't have an equivalent in English, and the connotation is missing when you translate it directly. 

It is used when Person A doesn't believe Person B (in my experience, often because Person B is not actually telling the truth!). Person B then says, "_Mais puisque je vous le dis_!" It really means, "All the same it's true!"


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## vanagreg

av16ar said:


> What seemed dodgy to me with the "I told you" is that you use the preterit tough it's present in French, but ok why not. I'm pretty ok with the "How many times do I have to tell you?". As for the "because I say so", in relation to what Nicomon suggested, I would more translate it as "parce que c'est un ordre" or "parce que c'est comme ça".


 
I agree with Franglais1969. The tense is not so important here. You yourslef said in your original message "qui remet en doute *à plusieurs reprises*", which implies that you said it before a couple of times, thus in the past.


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## wildan1

Sedulia said:


> It is used when Person A doesn't believe Person B (in my experience, often because Person B is not actually telling the truth!). Person B then says, "_Mais puisque je vous le dis_!" It really means, "All the same it's true!"


 
For this I would most likely just say _"Trust me!"_ (More nuance about it would come from my intonation, not more words)


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## Teafrog

My two cents:
I would say "as I've already told you!"; you could also add "several times before" for good measure.
This shows the other person that although they keep doubting what you say, your response has been, and will be, the same. It also implies you are getting fed up at repeating yourself and that they should take on board your viewpoint…


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## RWulff-Alonso

Teafrog said:


> My two cents:
> I would say "as I've already told you!"; you could also add "several times before" for good measure.
> This shows the other person that although they keep doubting what you say, your response has been, and will be, the same. It also implies you are getting fed up at repeating yourself and that they should take on board your viewpoint…


 
I agree this is a good equivalent in the context. I had openly misunderstood the specific context of the expression but this is a good one I concur.



av16ar said:


> What seemed dodgy to me with the "I told you" is that you use the preterit tough it's present in French, but ok why not. I'm pretty ok with the "How many times do I have to tell you?". As for the "because I say so", in relation to what Nicomon suggested, I would more translate it as "parce que c'est un ordre" or "parce que c'est comme ça".


 
Yes 'because i say so' is unsuitable for 'puisque je te le dis' and sounds best translated as you have done 'parce que c est un ordre / comme ca'.

_Puisque/parce que_ are not exact synonyms. 
In my opinion... SwissPete's _I told you already_ and Dr. Baha'i _How many times do I have to tell you_ are closest in meaning. _Puisque_ in that phrase serves as an "intensifier". You can simply say _I'm telling you!_ with emphasis, without adding "because". 

C'est bien vrai? Puisque je te le dis = Is that really true? Yes, I'm telling you![/quote]

The above very good summation, agreed no exact equivalent
'(It _is_ true/It's the truth,) I've already told you several times' may also convey the meaning, and yes the way it is said is needed to express the frustration in the phrase.
'How many times do I have to tell you?' is also a good one, the rhetorical nature of it is good for 'puisque je te le dis' too as already remarked somewhere above.



Moon Palace said:


> Just to add a few examples which will support Nicomon's spot-on explanation  :
> -_Je n'arrive pas à le croire. _
> _- Puisque je te le dis (_I told you already / Just as I told you...)
> 
> _- ça ne peut pas être vrai quand même? _
> _- Puisque je te le dis. (_with emphasis and annoyance probably) = How many times do I have to tell you?
> 
> Hope it makes it easier to see how rhetorical this phrase is.


 

Also very helpful clarification.


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## av16ar

Franglais1969 said:


> It is all in the tone of how you say "I told you!"  If I had the facility to make an audio file, I would attach one, so people could hear what I mean.


Within a specific situation, the tone of voice is often the same across many different languages. So I assume the tone you're talking about is the same than the one I use in this context to say "puisque je te le dis!", isn't it?


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## Franglais1969

I would say so, yes.


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## OtterPlay

Collins / Robert unabridged dictionary has, under "quoi":

Puisque je te le dis, quoi!
I'm telling you it's true!


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## Arrius

To state emphatically that what you are saying is indeed a fact, when the person you are addressing shows he doesn't believe, you say: *I'm telling you he did/it is/they won't *etc*. ,*without _because_*,* which is used with defiant children*.*


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## akaAJ

Nicomon is right.  "Because I say so !! " is the most common USE form.  "I told you already" sounds like a weak attempt to mimic colloquial Yiddish Newyorkese.  Not quite apropos, but there is Ring Lardner's great line: "Shut up ! ", he explained.


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## DaiSmallcoal

"I STILL don't believe that you got that house for £150 k ,   the land alone must be...  and Look where it is ... right in the middle of ......

"Listen,  I'm TELLING You !... I paid...........

Entendu au bar 'the Albion'  , Penarth S.Wales  hier ....


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## clopac

I agree, "*I'm TELLING you !!*" sounds the most natural to me...


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## Ontario Teacher

Si je remettais en question quelque chose que ma mère m'avais demandé de faire en lui demandant pourquoi,

_Why should I?_

 elle me dirait:

_Because I said so!_


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## Xavier11222

Please see Nicomon's earlier post on the difference between "Parce que je te le dis" (_Because I say so_) and "Puisque je te le dis" (_That's what I'm telling you_) lest this thread becomes really confusing.


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## Nicomon

Ontario Teacher said:


> Si je remettais en question quelque chose que ma mère m'avait demandé de faire en lui demandant pourquoi,
> _Why should I?_
> elle me dirait:
> _Because I said so!_


 Et en français, comme je l'ai mis au # 10, ce serait... _parce que je te le dis._ 
Ou comme avi16ar l'a suggéré au #15: _parce que c'est un ordre/c'est comme ça._ 

I'm happy to see that several natives approve of... _I'm *telling* you! _to translate _puisque je te le dis! _


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## Icetrance

Why couldn't you just say "Just believe me!", or perhaps "Listen, I'm telling you"! 

The "just" or the "listen" carries over nicely the idea of "puisque", imho.


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## olohoyo

Pardonnez moi de déterrer ce sujet, mais il me semble être l'endroit approprié pour poser une question sur une expression française très proche de « Puisque je vous dit » à laquelle ne je connais pas d'équivalent en anglais, c'est « Quand on vous dit ... ! ». Par exemple « Quand on vous dit de faire attention ! » expression qui peut être vue comme un raccourci pour « Quand on vous dit de faire attention, ce n'est pas juste pour parler, c'est pour vous mettre en garde. Vous voilà bien dans le pétrin maintenant ! ». Existe-t-il une expression anglaise qui porte tout l'implicite de cette expression tel que je l'ai développé ici ?


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## Itisi

Didn't I tell you/warn you...


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