# Qualsiasi



## Alxmrphi

The dictionary entry for this word is 
*
* Whatsoever
* Any*

These aren't interchangeable at all so what is the most common translation and can someone give me a few sentences in which it is used.
Thank you!

- Alex.


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## JasonNPato

Alex_Murphy said:


> The dictionary entry for this word is
> 
> ** Whatsoever*
> ** Any*
> 
> These aren't interchangeable at all so what is the most common translation and can someone give me a few sentences in which it is used.
> Thank you!
> 
> - Alex.


 
Whichever, Whatever, Any...etc.

The word just means something that is not specific whatsoever.

"Qualsiasi cosa..." means...well, I actually can't think of a good (commonly used english word) translation...but it just means whatever thing...it could be anything...the speaker simply wishes to be general.

I hope this helps...
Jason


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## lsp

Examples for you, Alex...

Vuole trovare una via di scampo a qualsiasi prezzo.
He wants to find a way out at any cost.

Il treno dovrebbe arrivare in qualsiasi momento.
The train should be here any minute now.


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## Necsus

lsp said:
			
		

> Il treno dovrebbe arrivare in qualsiasi momento.
> The train should be here any minute now.


Lsp - Sorry, but this sentence sounds odd to me... I'd say:
"Il treno dovrebbe arrivare *da un momento all'altro*", oppure
"Il treno *potrebbe* arrivare in qualsiasi momento".

Alex - Qualsiasi: 
*any* [viaggia con qualsiasi tempo = he travels in any weather; qualsiasi altro = any other];
*every *(ogni) [da qualsiasi parte = anywhere; (dappertutto) everywhere];
*whatever* (rif. a un numero limitato di cose o persone), *whichever* [qualsiasi decisione tu prenda = whatever decision you take; qualsiasi cosa = whatever; anything; (tutto quello che) everything];
*ordinary *(ordinario, comune) [un uomo qualsiasi = an ordinary man].


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## lsp

OK, then, I need some practice. How about...

L'ispirazione per scrivere poesia può venire in qualsiasi momento, è molto imprevedibile.
The inspiration to write poetry can come at any moment, it is very unpredictable.

Sia negli Stati Uniti che in qualsiasi altro paese, si può fare ricerche internet tramite Google.
In the USA as in any other country, you can do Internet searches with Google.


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## Jana337

lsp said:


> Sia negli Stati Uniti che in qualsiasi altro paese, si può fare ricerche internet tramite Google.


Eliminerei il comma e metterei "si può" nel plurale.

Vediamo che ne diranno i madrelingua. 

Jana


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## Paulfromitaly

lsp said:


> OK, then, I need some practice. How about...
> 
> L'ispirazione per scrivere* una* poesia può venire in qualsiasi momento, è molto imprevedibile.
> The inspiration to write poetry can come at any moment, it is very unpredictable.
> 
> Sia negli Stati Uniti che in qualsiasi altro paese, si può *possono* fare ricerche *su* internet tramite Google.
> In the USA as in any other country, you can do Internet searches with Google.


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## moodywop

Alex

I'm sure "qualunque/qualsiasi" vs "any" must have been discussed before.

Quite frankly I find that it's Italians who have most trouble with the multiple meanings of "any". I've noticed several members here are not aware of _any_'s "qualunque" meaning (most common in statements"). Like my pupils, they confuse "anything"/"anyone"/"anywhere" with "everything"/"everyone"/"everywhere".

That's why I find Necsus's inclusion of "every" under the meanings of "qualsiasi" misleading. It would be interesting to know which dictionary the translations were culled from (as requested in Elaine's oft-ignored sticky).

I've done everything 
I would do anything

I've been everywhere in Italy
I'd follow you anywhere

She's a slut. She goes to bed with everyone
She's desperate. She would jump into bed with anyone.

In some cases, but not all, "whatever" is used for "qualsiasi/qualsiasi cosa":

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you tell me first
(Qualunque cosa tu decida di fare...)

Can native speakers tell us where there are cases where "any" and its derivatives cabn indeed be substituted by "every" and its derivatives without any changes in meaning? I can't think of any offhand.

A plea: instead of quoting unacknowledged dictionary entries it would be much more useful to give plenty of comparative examples for learners to study.

Of course I've left out the use of "any" and its derivatives in sentences like "I don't know anything" or "Is there anything I can do", since most Italians are familiar with this use of "any" in statements and negative sentences (instead of "some"). It's covered in the early lessons in all the textbooks I have examined, whereas the "qualsiasi" meaning of "any" is - for some odd reason - overlooked


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## Necsus

moodywop said:
			
		

> That's why I find Necsus's inclusion of "every" under the meanings of "qualsiasi" misleading. It would be interesting to know which dictionary the translations were culled from.


Ops! The translation were culled from 'Ragazzini Biagi Concise' (CD-rom version from 'Dizionario Inglese-Italiano Italiano-Inglese' di Giuseppe Ragazzini - Zanichelli), I'm sorry I forgotten to report it, but around midnight these things happen..!  
_"*3* (ogni) every; each *-* da qualsiasi parte, anywhere; (dappertutto) everywhere"_
Am I to understand that this dictionary is _unacknowledged_, not reliable, or outdated? In this case I'll change it immediately! Or maybe I've misunderstood the example...


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## moodywop

_Unacknowledged _means the source was not indicated.

As to whether _any = qualsiasi _is interchangeable with _every = ogni _I asked native speakers for clarification on this matter.

If "any" and its derivatives are indeed interchangeable with _every _and its derivatives, then it should be possible to substitute "anywhere" for "everywhere" in _I've looked everywhere. I've looked anywhere _sounds odd to me but, once again, I defer to native speakers. I'm only too willing to aplogize if I'm wrong.

I give up. My mental health is beginning to suffer. See you around.


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## GavinW

moodywop said:


> _Unacknowledged _means the source was not indicated.
> 
> As to whether _any = qualsiasi _is interchangeable with _every = ogni _I asked native speakers for clarification on this matter.


 
Interchangeable? No. The distinction between qualsiasi and ogni, as Moodywop described it above, is matched in English by a parallel distinction between any and every. 
Which all makes Necsus' poor Ragazzini-Biagi look badly... unreliable. That's one of the dangers with concise dictionaries per se, you might argue.
One of these days someone will turn round and tell us all which dictionary we _ought _to have!


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## Necsus

I've also checked on 'F.Picchi - Grande dizionario di inglese - Hoepli' and I've found:
*qualsiasi*
*2* (=ogni) each, every, any, all - [...] _q. particolare è importante,_ every detail is important.
But English is not absolutely my language, I'm just trying to learn it, so any/every (?) help is welcome!  

Anyway, Gavin, this is the meaning of 'concise' that I read when I purchased the dictionary (some years ago, yes...):
"Il dizionario è basato sulla terza edizione del Dizionario Inglese-Italiano Italiano-Inglese di Giuseppe Ragazzini, rispetto al quale ha il taglio da *concise edition*. Nelle grandi dinastie di vocabolari anglosassoni, concise, più che richiamare misure fisiche minori o meccanicamente e banalmente compresse e raccorciate, indica e privilegia una tecnica ben precisa e meditata di compilazione “dall'interno” che mira, e riesce, a dare all'utente molte informazioni con poche parole, condensando le voci in formule brevi e compatte, emancipate da ogni superfluità o dettaglio troppo minuto."


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## GavinW

Necsus said:


> *2* (=ogni) each, every, any, all - [...] _q. particolare è importante,_ every detail is important.
> But English is not absolutely my language, I'm just trying to learn it, so any/every (?) help is welcome!


 
Thanks for copying out the gloss on "concise". Some concise dictionaries are very good, and actually manage to contain a lot of information. And the "mission statement" of your concise dic. is certainly noble. But the proof of the pudding's in the eating, as they say, and in this case that means wanting, and not having, all those tons of example sentences we users like to find in dictionary entries, and we lexicographers find curiously helpful as a check on the rigorous reflection of usage within entries, and between senses (OK I'm not one now, but I used to be!). 

In the case of Messers Ragazzini and Hoepli, I fear their full edition probably also had "every". The example sentence (quoted above) is fine in Italian, and in English, but doesn't mean the same thing! The English is a translation of "Ogni (singolo) particolare è importante". In context, the end result in terms of meaning will very often be the same ("Tutti i particolari che ci sono/che ci puoi dare [ecc] sono importanti", or "Ogni singolo particolare è importante"). But the two words cannot be substituted for the other. In any given comparison between the 2 words, there's a difference in emphasis, at least, if not in actual meaning.  

Hope that's clear!


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## Necsus

GavinW said:


> The example sentence (quoted above) is fine in Italian, and in English, but doesn't mean the same thing! The English is a translation of "Ogni (singolo) particolare è importante". In context, the end result in terms of meaning will very often be the same ("Tutti i particolari che ci sono/che ci puoi dare [ecc] sono importanti", or "Ogni singolo particolare è importante"). But the two words cannot be substituted for the other. In any given comparison between the 2 words, there's a difference in emphasis, at least, if not in actual meaning.
> Hope that's clear!


Gavin, thank you, you have been very clear. But maybe I don't understand clearly because of my poor English: I didn't say in my posts (nor thought) that 'any' and 'every' mean the same thing or that they are interchangeable! I've simply reported to Alex the translations (or the meanings in Italian, if you prefer) from dictionary for 'qualsiasi'. 
So can I gather that the examples I've found in my dictionaries ("da qualsiasi parte = everywhere [besides 'anywhere']" and "_qualsiasi particolare è importante,_ every detail is important") are not wrong?
Thanks again.


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## Paulfromitaly

Penso che un esempio indicativo di quanto _anything _e _everything_ siano diversi potrebbe essere:

At a party there's a table with a lot of different kinds of food on it;

a) I would eat *everything*!  --> mangerei ogni cosa (tutto ciò che è sul tavolo cioè finirei tutto il cibo sul tavolo)

b) I would eat *anything*! --> mangerei qualunque cosa (assaggerei volentieri ogni tipo di cibo, mi piace tutto quello che c'è).


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## GavinW

Necsus said:


> So can I gather that the examples I've found in my dictionaries ("da qualsiasi parte = everywhere [besides 'anywhere']" and "_qualsiasi particolare è importante,_ every detail is important") are not wrong?


 
Hi Necsus: no, I don't think you can, in a word -- ie I'm saying your dictionary entry/entries is/are wrong. I know that may seem quite a claim to make to some people, but unfortunately even good dictionaries do make upsetting mistakes. That may seem to some to be an arrogant claim to make, but I believe, speaking for myself alone, that I am professionally qualified to make that claim! But whatever ...

What I've been saying is that "da qualsiasi parte" and "everywhere" are not translations of each other. Ever. In no contexts. It was clear to me you understood the difference (in English) between "any" and "every", but I believe you are still resisting the idea of mistakes in your reference sources involving the "assai dubbioso" relationship between "qualsiasi" and "every" (basically, it's a howler, un errore madornale...). I urge you to resist that idea no longer, and to apply the arguments brought to bear by Carlo and myself. But I would never cream of demanding that you take my/our word for it: try out the theory, and test the suggested (competing) translations, before discarding those which do not appear to work. Ask others (informed English speakers) in other situations, on other occasions, so you "control" the experiment. Good luck with your conclusions!

EDIT: Paul's example is also helpful, also because it highlights a potential source of confusion on the Italian side when it comes to translating, I believe: ie the fact that the idea of "ogni" itself is inherently (or potentially) ambiguous in the way it is used in Italian. Is it inclusive (everything, all), or exclusive (each individual thing, to the exclusion of the other individual things, if you see the point)?


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## Paulfromitaly

GavinW said:


> Is it inclusive (everything, all), or exclusive (each individual thing, to the exclusion of the other individual things, if you see the point)?



That's the point:the difference between *any* and *every* is definite in English, but not as much in Italian, at least in the spoken language:

_I'd do anything for you_ could be translated as both _farei tutto per te_ and _farei qualsiasi cosa per te_ and most of the people wouldn't really catch the nuance between *tutto* and *qualsiasi cosa* or they simply wouldn't care too much, whereas you would find odd saying: _I'd do everything for you._


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## Alxmrphi

So "whichever/whatever/whatsoever" are not common translations for qualsiasi, the majority of the time it is translated as "any"..

Also, what is the difference between "Qualuncue" and "Qualsiasi" ?


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## GavinW

Alex_Murphy said:


> So "whichever/whatever/whatsoever" are not common translations for qualsiasi, the majority of the time it is translated as "any"..
> 
> Also, what is the difference between "Qualuncue" and "Qualsiasi" ?


 
You mean "qualunque". No difference, as far as I know, or my dictionary (Hazon-Garzanti). That makes things easier. at least! Except certain _combinations_ go better in Italian with qualsiasi than qualunque. For example: qualsiasi persona is OK, but qualunque persona sounds funny (probably because there exists the similar, but better term: chiunque, to say that same thing (ie "whoever").

Hope that's clear (and agreed with by all...)


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## claudine2006

Jana337 said:


> Eliminerei la virgola e metterei "si può" al plurale.
> 
> Vediamo che ne diranno i madrelingua.
> 
> Jana


Qualche piccola correzione...


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## GavinW

Paulfromitaly said:


> you would find *it* odd saying (*to say*): _I'd do everything for you._


 
Hmm. Lord knows, I hate to confuse things at this stage, but...
The general principle you extrapolate is valid, and you've put it in a nutshell.
But you go on to cite an example which, unfortunately, doesn't prove the particular point, because, _in context_, "I'd do everything for you" is fine (!), meaning as it does the same thing (for practial purposes) as "I'd do anything for you." 

So what's this, the Italian disease of logical ambiguity now contaminating the English, which seemed more clear-cut? Hm. Maybe not, maybe it's just a product of the fact that, in the sentence "I'd do everything for you", the "everything" is understood to be circumscribed/delimited by the implied idea of "everything you want", or "everything you need", rather than "everything that can be done in this world"or "everything that it is possible for one person to do". Therefore, it is logically exclusive in intent, although for practical purposes the message conveyed is a highly inclusive one! 

Note: in English, in situations in which we want to specify the all-inclusive nature of a reference, we say _each and every_ (action/thing/person etc): "He ate each and every slice of pizza on the tray", "I'm such a jealous man, Daphne, that I swear I'll beat up each and every man who dares so much as even look at you" (!).

Hmm. Let's look at these.

1) "Hey, there's a party at Cinda's place Saturday. Anyone can go! Coming?"
2) "Hey, there's a party at Cinda's place Saturday. Everyone can go! Coming?"

1) Anyone = any individual (ie any individual who exists [sc. in the whole world? Probably not. Maybe within a larger or smaller circle of friends and acquaintances etc]), whoever they are. Which, at the end of the day, means "everyone", surely, to all intents and purposes, because one takes for granted the practical limitations of the size of Cinda's place, and the logistics of organizing a private party which is not open to the whole world (all 64 billion people, or whatever...)

2) "Everyone": to all intents and purposes, means the same as "anyone" (see above), with the rider that a logical distinction is arguable, and may potentially be intended -- ie, "everyone" within a particular group which is understood.

Hope I haven't made things even more complicated, but I fear I may have done...


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## Alxmrphi

What a brian post!
I am more confused than when I first opened the thread lol!

Thanks for all help, I might print it off and read over it.


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## ElaineG

Dictionary discussion consolidated here:  http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=220762 (the addirittura thread).


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## Necsus

Alex_Murphy said:


> Also, what is the difference between "Qualunque" and "Qualsiasi" ?


This is a question about Italian, so I can answer you with less problem (apart from writing in English..!): there are not substantial differences between 'qualunque' e 'qualsiasi', except for the fact that some grammarians recommend (rightly, in my opinion) to not use 'qualsiasi' when in the sentence there is the subjunctive of verb 'essere' (to be). This because 'qualsiasi' is equivalent to 'quale *sia*', so the verb 'essere' is already present, it's preferable to say 'qualunque sia' or 'qualunque fosse (stato)' instead of 'qualsiasi sia' or 'qualsiasi fosse (stato)'.


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## Victoria32

Paulfromitaly said:


> That's the point:the difference between *any* and *every* is definite in English, but not as much in Italian, at least in the spoken language:
> 
> _I'd do anything for you_ could be translated as both _farei tutto per te_ and _farei qualsiasi cosa per te_ and most of the people wouldn't really catch the nuance between *tutto* and *qualsiasi cosa* or they simply wouldn't care too much, whereas you would find odd saying: _I'd do everything for you._


You could say "I'd do everything for you", but you wouldn't unless you were being very extravagant in wooing,  or reassuring your child that you were "there for her": if she was facing health problems for instance..



GavinW said:


> Note: in English, in situations in which we want to specify the all-inclusive nature of a reference, we say _each and every_ (action/thing/person etc): "He ate each and every slice of pizza on the tray", "I'm such a jealous man, Daphne, that I swear I'll beat up each and every man who dares so much as even look at you" (!).
> 
> Hmm. Let's look at these.
> 
> 1) "Hey, there's a party at Cinda's place Saturday. Anyone can go! Coming?"
> 2) "Hey, there's a party at Cinda's place Saturday. Everyone can go! Coming?"
> 
> 1) Anyone = any individual (ie any individual who exists [sc. in the whole world? Probably not. Maybe within a larger or smaller circle of friends and acquaintances etc]), whoever they are. Which, at the end of the day, means "everyone", surely, to all intents and purposes, because one takes for granted the practical limitations of the size of Cinda's place, and the logistics of organizing a private party which is not open to the whole world (all 64 billion people, or whatever...)
> 
> 2) "Everyone": to all intents and purposes, means the same as "anyone" (see above), with the rider that a logical distinction is arguable, and may potentially be intended -- ie, "everyone" within a particular group which is understood.
> 
> Hope I haven't made things even more complicated, but I fear I may have done...


Each and every, all and any - there are circumstances in everyday speech where the distinction isn't clear.. for instance, there are times when the phrases above are to all purposes interchangeable when someone wants to be _inclusive -_ by and large when they are being extravagant in their speech, although not necessarily, they can be used in a more formal setting. 
"Each and every student is expected to attend a minimum number of lectures on this course".
"Any and all students are required to attend 80% of classes - lectures and tutorials"...


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## TimLA

Very interesting discussion.
But being the iconoclast that I am, I thought I might throw some sand in the gearbox.
To do that, I thought that maybe it would be best to stay in one language and not try to translate to any other.

So, I went to De Mauro (online) and saw this for qualsiasi:
*1a* agg.indef., qualunque, ogni: _q. ragazzo lo conosce_, _farei q. cosa per te_, _chiamalo in q. momento_
*Polirematiche - a qualsiasi costo* loc.avv. *CO* a ogni costo, a tutti i costi: _devo finire a q. costo_.

Then I went to Devoto-Oli and saw this:
Qualsiasi ... Forma indefinita dell’agg. Quale col significato di “ogni”, con accentuazione del valore indefinito respetto a quello quantitativo...

Then I went to Zanichelli – Sinonimi e Contrari (You’re all so smart, so what’s another word for Thesaurus?) and found this:
Qualsiasi agg. Indef. M. e f. qualisisia (lett.), qualunque, ogni, tutto, qualsivoglio (lett.), purchessia.

So my questions to the natives are:

Why are there three reasonable references that include the word “ogni” in the definition of “qualsiasi”?

Are there “mental pictures” in Italian that you can create that might indicate that ogni and qualsiasi are similar or equivalent?

Examples:
There are 10 people in a room. Can you construct a sentence using the word “qualsiasi” that would paint a “mental picture” in which all 10 of the people would be included? Or can you only create a mental picture in which 1-9 are included in the meaning of your sentence.

Che ne credete?


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## moodywop

> There are 10 people in a room. Can you construct a sentence using the word “qualsiasi


 
*Ognuno *di loro è un ipocrita.

Each and *every* one of them is a hypocrite

*Any* idiot could see that

*Qualunque/qualsiasi* idiota se ne renderebbe conto

Over to you


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## moodywop

From Michael Swan's _Practical English Usage_ (2005, Oxford University Press):

*Any *and *every*

The meaning is not quite the same. *Any *looks at things one at a time: it means 'whichever one you choose', 'this or that* or* the other'. *Every *looks at things together: its meaning is closer to 'all', 'this, that *and *the other.

The difference between "ogni/ognuno" and "qualsiasi" is precisely the same in Italian as the difference outlined by Professor Swan.


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## Necsus

I know that I've raised this question including '*every*' among translations of '*qualsiasi*', in post #4, but unfortunately I still can't really understand the reason why it should be wrong. I've consulted other dictionaries (online) and I've also found this translation again, so I've focused my attention on Italian, as suggested, on possible difference between 'qualsiasi/qualunque' and 'ogni/ognuno', but I didn't find any proof that the meanings of two words can't coincide.

_Serianni _says (four lines, yes...):
"L'aggettivo *ogni* presenta tre distinte sfumature di significato: a) 'ciascuno' (ogni causa esige i suoi caduti [Cassola]); b) *'qualsiasi' *(professori dai modi distaccati e ironici che scoraggiavano ogni confidenza [Bassani]; c) 'tutto' (= tutto il possibile), non con riferimento a una totalità, come nelle altre due accezioni, ma con effetto di intensificazione del concetto astratto contenuto nel sostantivo _[...]_"

Actually on _Treccani_ I've found:
*ogni* - Spesso indica una totalità di singoli elementi [...] Ma altre volte pone in rilievo la differenza fra i singoli elementi, ed equivale piuttosto a "*qualsiasi*, di qualunque specie sia": _gente d'o. categoria_;[…]
_&_
*qualunque* [cfr. lat. _qualiscumque_], invar. - *2*. _[…]_ Con senso più vicino a "*ogni*, ciascuno": _la vita umana, in qualunque paese abitate, e sotto qualunque cielo, dura naturalmente, _[...] (Leopardi)

_Garzanti_:
*ogni *ant. onni, onne, ogne, _agg. indef_. - [...] *2.* *qualsiasi*, qualunque: _persone d'ogni età_ | _in ogni caso_, comunque | _in ogni modo_, a qualunque costo; tuttavia |
_&_
*qualunque* - l'uno o l'altro che sia, non importa quale; *ogni*: _qualunque persona agirebbe così_; _farebbe qualunque cosa pur di aiutarlo_; _telefonami a qualunque ora_; _partirò domani con qualunque mezzo_; [...]

_Zingarelli:_
*ogni - *agg. indef. sing., pl. _*1*_ _[...] _*Qualsiasi* (ponendo in rilievo la differenza tra i singoli elementi): _abbiamo tentato con ogni mezzo_ 
_&_
*qualunque* - A agg. indef. inv. *1* L'uno o l'altro che sia, indifferentemente: _telefona a qualunque ora […]. *2 *(est. enfat.)_ *Ogni*: _sono disposto a fare qualunque cosa per lui; […]_

And so forth. I agree that of course there is a different nuance between the two terms, but if actually in English the 'difference' between "any" and "every" is the same as the 'difference' between "ogni/ognuno" and "qualsiasi/qualunque" in Italian, then I am to understand that is possible to translate 'qualsiasi' as 'every' as well.


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## Paulfromitaly

Necsus said:


> And so forth. I agree that of course there is a different nuance between the two terms, but if actually in English the 'difference' between "any" and "every" is the same as the 'difference' between "ogni/ognuno" and "qualsiasi/qualunque" in Italian, then I am to understand that is possible to translate 'qualsiasi' as 'every' as well.



Secondo me la differenza tra *every* ed *any* è più rilevante di quella tra *ogni* e *qualsiasi* e nel 90% dei casi direi che la si deve mantenere in entrambe le lingue.
Se poi in un particolare esempio, li vuoi usare indifferentemente, vedi tu...Gavin , Carlo e molti altri ti hanno fornito una marea di casi e di spiegazioni, a te la scelta..


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## Necsus

Paulfromitaly said:
			
		

> Secondo me la differenza tra *every* ed *any* è più rilevante di quella tra *ogni* e *qualsiasi* e nel 90% dei casi direi che la si deve mantenere in entrambe le lingue.


Okay. Grazie, Paul. Mi regolerò di conseguenza. A questo punto immagino che anche chi legge la discussione nel forum avrà modo di farsi un'idea abbastanza precisa. 
At this point I imagine that also foreros that will read this thread can form a quite definite idea about the issue.


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