# Nerd



## MarKMarK

Ciao 

Come tradureste il sostantivo 'nerd' all'italiano?

Per ricordare e definire chiaramente, la definizione e' posta di sotto 

*nerd*
   n.  [mainstream slang] Pejorative applied to anyone
with an above-average IQ and few gifts at small talk and ordinary
social rituals.


Grazie


----------



## Elisa68

Forse:
_Secchione._
Ma ci saranno altri suggerimenti più validi!


----------



## Idioteque

MarKMarK said:
			
		

> Ciao
> 
> Come tradurreste il sostantivo 'nerd' in italiano?
> 
> Per ricordare e definire chiaramente, la definizione e' posta di sotto
> 
> *nerd*
> n.  [mainstream slang] Pejorative applied to anyone
> with an above-average IQ and few gifts at small talk and ordinary
> social rituals.
> 
> 
> Grazie



 

Ciao MarKMarK,
purtroppo non mi viene in mente niente di più appropriato di secchione... 
Anche se non so se al secchione possa essere attribuita un'intelligenza al di sopra della media... :/

Laura


----------



## danalto

One of the most difficult word to translate! 

I'll suggest: *imbranato*, *allocco*, *sfigato*.
It depends on the context.


----------



## Silvia

I'm afraid you should explain in Italian using several words... either that or simply say "nerd". Most young people should understand what you're talking about...


----------



## sundroplets

Can anyone tell me some ways to say nerd.

Sometimes I call myself a nerd, to say that I study too much, but in jest....

But then there are real nerds... that they are only good for reading books and never get out to do anything. 

Can someone give me examples?

Grazie


----------



## You little ripper!

sundroplets said:
			
		

> Can anyone tell me some ways to say nerd.
> 
> Sometimes I call myself a nerd, to say that I study too much, but in jest....
> 
> But then there are real nerds... that they are only good for reading books and never get out to do anything.
> 
> Can someone give me examples?
> 
> Grazie


I found this explanation of "Nerd" on the internet.


A computer expert by aptitude and not mere training. Usually male, under the age of 35 and socially inept; a person whose tremendous skill with operating or designing computer hardware or software is exceeded only by his, rarely her, passionate love of the technology. See also hacker.
teladesign.com/ma-thesis/glossary.html
Someone who is socially inept and unstylish; especially one with an unnatural devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits.
www.cem.uvm.edu/util/html/definitions.php
A nerd is very similar to a geek, but with more RAM and a faster modem. Nerds often find geeks dull because geeks don't spend enough time talking about computers.
www.scotsmist.co.uk/glossary_n.html
A person with limited social, but advanced technological skills and interests.
www.vvm.com/~jhunt/compupedia/comp_glos/l_n.htm
1. A creature in a Dr.Seuss children's book, If I Ran the Zoo. 2. A socially inept or unattractive person. 3. A person who is more interested in pursuing intellectual interests than in keeping up with trends in fashion. Since the Internet revolution, "nerd" has become a less pejorative term, and "computer nerd" is even used with admiration.
the-write-words.net/lexiques/lexique_n.html
swot: an insignificant student who is ridiculed as being affected or studying excessively 
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
Traditionally, the designation nerd (occasionally in the form nurd) applies to an intellectually gifted (probably > 120 or so IQ) but lonely and socially awkward person, one fascinated by knowledge, especially science and mathematics, and less interested in physical and social activities. Visual impairment (hence the glasses) and some form of High-Functioning Autism are also common characteristics, and the social impairment can often be explained by the latter. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerd


----------



## sundroplets

_under the age of 35 and socially inept; _

You can definitely be older and still a nerd in my opinion. haha

_Someone who is socially inept and unstylish; especially one with an unnatural devoted to intellectual or academic pursuits._

"unnatural" too funny_

"computer nerd" is even used with admiration._

haha only by nerds!

_High-Functioning Autism are also common characteristics, and the social impairment can often be explained by the latter. ._

That is interesting, because I do think that many geniuses are afflicted by this malady.

Sooooo is there one word that encompasses all of this in Italian or several?


----------



## sundroplets

danalto said:
			
		

> One of the most difficult word to translate!
> 
> I'll suggest: *imbranato*, *allocco*, *sfigato*.
> It depends on the context.



Can you put each of these suggestions into context, and how you would use them?  

Thanks a lot!


----------



## luke_77

Nowadays In italy we use to say "nerd" meaning the same of what you mean!
You could translate it easily into "sfigato"!

Luke


----------



## lsp

luke_77 said:
			
		

> Nowadays In italy we use to say "nerd" meaning the same of what you mean!
> You could translate it easily into "sfigato"!
> 
> Luke


_Nowadays_ (currently) contradicts used to say(imperfect). 

You could have said "Nowadays In italy we _usually_ say "nerd," or "Nowadays In italy we _are used to saying_ "nerd...." 

Otherwise you would have said, "When my parents were young they _used to say_..."


----------



## ccvl

sundroplets said:
			
		

> Can you put each of these suggestions into context, and how you would use them?
> 
> Thanks a lot!


 
Imbranato: when my daughter tries to open a bottle or climb up a tree or perform any "physical" actions without success I tell her she's imbranata.
Allocco could be my brother-in-law, who always believe everything, even the most incredible stories. Sfigato is my brother who was stolen his brand-new car the day after he bought it!


----------



## ElaineG

> Imbranato: when my daughter tries to open a bottle or climb up a tree or perform any "physical" action without success I tell her she's imbranata.
> Allocco could be my brother-in-law, who always believes everything, even the most incredible stories. Sfigato is my brother who had his brand-new car stolen the day after he bought it!


 
Great examples!  (Spero che le piccolissime correzioni non ti diano fastidio -- your English is super.).

Sadly, though, none of these words sounds much like a "nerd".

In another thread, someone suggested "secchione"; che ne dite?


----------



## You little ripper!

I agree with Laura (Idioteque) and Elaine that *secchione* sounds the closest to what nerd means in English. Laura, a nerd doesn't have to have above average intelligence. They can just be "socially inept".


----------



## ccvl

ElaineG said:
			
		

> Great examples! (Spero che le piccolissime correzioni non ti diano fastidio -- your English is super.).
> 
> Sadly, though, none of these words sounds much like a "nerd".
> 
> In another thread, someone suggested "secchione"; che ne dite?


 
Thank you for the corrections, I'm indeed happy if someone helps me be more accurate: you know it happens to me in Italian as well, I know the correct form, but I just neglect it! 
As far as the secchione is concerned, what about the alternative "sgobbone"?


----------



## AlxGrim

The problem is that neither "secchione" nor "sgobbone" imply being socially inept. They in fact refer to a person who studies much more than the average, who prefers studying rather than playing or going out with friends. But, once he's forced to go out, he's not necessarily an inept, and may be a brilliant company. I don't think there's one single word translating "nerd", as Silvia pointed out (#5)


----------



## You little ripper!

AlxGrim said:
			
		

> The problem is that neither "secchione" nor "sgobbone" imply being socially inept. They in fact refer to a person who studies much more than the average, who prefers studying rather than playing or going out with friends. But, once he's forced to go out, he's not necessarily an inept, and may be a brilliant company. I don't think there's one single word translating "nerd", as Silvia pointed out (#5)


"Nerd" doesn't have to be someone who is socially inept. It can be just someone who prefers studying to going out. It can be either one or the other, or both.


----------



## AlxGrim

You're right. Charles Costante posted several good definitions, and not all of them implied being socially inept... but as you say, "nerd" is more generic than "secchione", which in fact indentifies only "the first half" - studying rather than going out. I still believe there's no single word to completely catch all "nerd"'s nuances.


----------



## You little ripper!

AlxGrim said:
			
		

> You're right. Charles Costante posted several good definitions, and not all of them implied being socially inept... but as you say, "nerd" is more generic than "secchione", which in fact indentifies only "the first half" - studying rather than going out. I still believe there's no single word to completely catch all "nerd"'s nuances.


Is there a word that means "socially inept" in Italian.  If there is, we could perhaps use part of that word and add it to part of "secchione" and invent our own word.  We could then present it to the publishers of Garzanti....... Well, just a thought, albeit a trivial one.


----------



## AlxGrim

That's a brilliant idea... after all, the best thing of Italian is the easiness you can create new words with... if you want "un secchione inetto" you can create "secchietto"... or maybe a brand new word with no meaning, like "spatùrnio"...   

 WARNING: ROMAN AHEAD
Of course in Roman we have a word which might fit: I'm thinking of "poràccio" (= "poveraccio"), used in many contexts, for example when talking about someone who doesn't exploit the "good things" in life...


----------



## Juri

Per secchione, trovo "swot" in gergo studentesco.
A proposito di "nerd",si potrebbe addirittura usare "scemo".(Che puo' essere usato anche affettuosamente)


----------



## You little ripper!

AlxGrim said:
			
		

> That's a brilliant idea... after all, the best thing of Italian is the easiness you can create new words with... if you want "un secchione inetto" you can create "secchietto"... or maybe a brand new word with no meaning, like "spatùrnio"...
> 
> WARNING: ROMAN AHEAD
> Of course in Roman we have a word which might fit: I'm thinking of "poràccio" (= "poveraccio"), used in many contexts, for example when talking about someone who doesn't exploit the "good things" in life...


If Garzanti doesn't accept our contribution, we can always create our own dictionary and call it "The AlxCostante/CharlesGrim Dictionary of Neologisms".   We will, of course, have a lot of Romanisms.


----------



## luke_77

lsp said:
			
		

> _Nowadays_ (currently) contradicts used to say(imperfect).
> 
> You could have said "Nowadays In italy we _usually_ say "nerd," or "Nowadays In italy we _are used to saying_ "nerd...."
> 
> Otherwise you would have said, "When my parents were young they _used to say_..."


 
Thank you Lsp. I really appreciate your correction. Do it whenever it is necessary!

Luke


----------



## TimeHP

_Come tradureste il sostantivo 'nerd' all'italiano?_
Ci vogliono due parole: _un secchione sfigato_ rende l'idea.
Non può essere soltantr _secchione_, perchè un secchione non è necessariamente sfigato.
E non può essere solo _sfigato_, perché spesso lo sfigato non é secchione...
 Ciao


----------



## jupa

Cosa vuol dire esatamente sfigato?


----------



## TimeHP

_Cosa vuol dire esatamente sfigato?_
_Sfigato_ letteralmente significa _sfortunato_. 
Per estensione, però, si usa questa parola in contesti diversi.
I giovani usano spesso l'espressione 'Che sfigato!' anche tra amici.
Ti faccio un esempio che riguarda lo sport: 
Due ragazzi giocano a Basket nella stessa squadra. Uno sbaglia canestro, l'altro commenta: 'Che sfigato!' 

Ciao


----------



## moodywop

jupa said:
			
		

> Cosa vuol dire esatamente sfigato?


 
The word comes from _sfiga, _slang for "bad luck", as in _Che sfiga! E' la seconda volta che mi si blocca il computer oggi._

Literally _sfigato _is someone who is jinxed, who suffers from constant bad luck, but it is often used derogatively in the same way as _loser _is in English.

Carlo


----------



## ElaineG

> _Come tradureste il sostantivo 'nerd' all'italiano?
> _Ci vogliono due parole: _un secchione sfigato_ rende l'idea.
> Non può essere soltantr _secchione_, perchè un secchione non è necessariamente sfigato.
> E non può essere solo _sfigato_, perché spesso lo sfigato non é secchione...


 
Mi sembra un buon ragionamento e una buona traduzione. Grazie!


----------



## danalto

...but the problems still exists...
so my answer is: it's impossible to find a real translation of nerd, unfortunately...
I am now working on a very nice sit com, Out of Practice, and my last episode is all about Ben, one of the chief characters, who prefers staying at home watching dvs instead of going out with some girls, and his brother and his sister are very annoyed and try to urge him on...


----------



## uinni

Ciao.


			
				danalto said:
			
		

> ...but the problems still exists...
> so my answer is: it's impossible to find a real translation of nerd, unfortunately...
> I am now working on a very nice sit com, Out of Practice, and my last episode is all about Ben, one of the chief characters, who prefers staying at home watching dvs instead of going out with some girls, and his brother and his sister are very annoyed and try to urge him on...


 
Beh, un tipo del genere è banalmente un citrullo  

Uinni


----------



## danalto

so, let's add *CITRULLO *as possible translation! 
(not bad...but you can use it only in a joking context...)


----------



## MarKMarK

Interesting.

Thanks for all the options posted 

It seems I'd have to go there to Italy and check all the possibilities myself to choose the right one at last 

Thanks

Yo!


----------



## TheFalcon

Wait a minute... Sfigato can have a meaning of "unlucky" in very few circumstances.

Also, "secchione" is one that studies hard, doesn't go out with friends (because he hasn't, obviously), etc., but the word refers to people without particular brain abilities. A "secchione" is not clever.

I don't know a good translation for nerd, neither I think these expressions can be useful, but check them: "scienziato pazzo" and "mago dei computer".


----------



## naillirt

jupa said:


> Cosa vuol dire esatamente sfigato?


 
sfigato suona come il negativo di figa:
Il termine _figa _e il suo accrescitivo _strafiga_ o _figona_ sono spesso usati per indicare una _donna sessualmente attraente_.
Con analogo significato è usata anche la forma maschile, _figo_ o _fico_, ovvero _ragazzo/uomo attraente_
Altro termine derivato è _sfiga_, col significato di sfortuna 
La parola _figa_ in lingua portoghese ha esattamente il significato di _fortuna_.


----------



## Hermocrates

TheFalcon said:


> Also, "secchione" is one that studies hard, doesn't go out with friends (because he hasn't, obviously), etc., but the word refers to people without particular brain abilities. A "secchione" is not clever.



The English equivalent of "secchione" is "swot", i.e. an individual who studies hard.

In the term "nerd", instead, the stress is typically on his/her "social ineptitude", rather than "studying habits". 


Rye


----------



## latikaa

Ciao Nerd si può tradurre anche con il termine Sfigato )


----------



## Azazel81

Actually I have to disagree a little with those who say "sfigato" = "nerd".

Mainly because "sfigato" doesn't imply the same things as "nerd". You don't need to be a "secchione" to be considered "sfigato", whereas infact usually a "nerd" is a "secchione". Fine examples of nerds who have become important are the owners of two famous software companies (I'm obviously not allowed to tell names here). But who would dare to call them "sfigati"???

"Secchione" would be something closer, but again, it doesn't imply the same things as "nerd".

Plus, recently here in Italy we've become familiar with the use of the English word "nerd" and we use it very often. Ok, not as much as we use "sfigato" or "secchione" maybe... still, probably 90% of the Italian population would understand the meaning of "nerd".

So, how about using the English expression?

After all we use other English expressions, like "jogging", "brunch", "fast-food"... at least it's not something we mistakingly use like "footing" (every time I hear someone say "vado a fare footing" somehow my intestines start twisting and turning and god knows what else...


----------



## prowlerxpla

May be you can use "soggetto" or "soggettone" or more offensive "coglione" or "coglionotto".


----------



## maluje

Ciao ragazzi,
anche io mi sono imattuta in questa parola "nerd" ed ho trovato questa frase alla quale non riesco a dare il giusto significato:  "I like Charlie! She is really cool in a nerd way". Un aiuto anche dai madrelingua? Grazie e buona giornata


----------



## Emma Neve

What about 
"secchione goffo e sgradevole"
"secchione sfigato"
"secchione imbranato"
"secchione amorfo"
"secchione senza speranza"
"secchione socialmente incompetente"
"secchione intrombabile"
It goes without saying we're talking about "a male" all the time, right?
What about the female version...?
Emma


----------



## infinite sadness

Boh... in realtà la domanda era: _She is really cool in a nerd way_

È veramente simpatica allo stesso modo in cui lo sono i secchioni?


----------



## maluje

Emma Neve said:


> What about
> "secchione goffo e sgradevole"
> "secchione sfigato"
> "secchione imbranato"
> "secchione amorfo"
> "secchione senza speranza"
> "secchione socialmente incompetente"
> "secchione intrombabile"
> It goes without saying we're talking about "a male" all the time, right?
> What about the female version...?
> Emma



Beh in quel caso "Charlie" e' una ragazza appassionata di pc, quindi forse il ragazzo che la commenta la vede come una ragazza "figa" ma un po' imbranata? Puo' essere la giusta interpretazione?


----------

