# Sense



## JNavBar

In English the 'sense' is made, but in Spanish, it is had.
What verbs would they use in other languages when trying to make sense?

In other words, how would this translate to your language?

EN: _*Your idea makes sense*_.
ES: _Tu idea tiene sentido_. (Have)
FR: _Ton idée a du sens._ (Have)
DE_: Deine Idee ergibt Sinn. _(Yield)
IT: _La tua idea ha senso. _(Have)


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## Yendred

In French, you can come across both:
1) _Your idea makes sense = Ton idée fait sens_
2) _Tu idea tiene sentido = Ton idée a du sens_
The most standard is the second one, the first one being a loan translation of English, and not recommended by the Académie.


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## symposium

In Italian "fare senso" (to make sense) means "to be appaling, to be extremely disgusting": "quel film fa senso = that movie is horrible"/"il sangue mi fa senso = blood makes me sick/ I can't stand the sight of blood". Things that "make sense" in Italian "have sense", hanno senso.


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## elroy

German:
Deine Idee ergibt Sinn. (“yields sense”)
Deine Idee macht Sinn. (“makes sense”; widespread Anglicism)


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## Roxxxannne

Ideas can also 'have sense' in English, but 'have sense' and 'make sense' don't mean the same thing.


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## JNavBar

symposium said:


> In Italian "fare senso" (to make sense) means "to be appaling, to be extremely disgusting": "quel film fa senso = that movie is horrible"/"il sangue mi fa senso = blood makes me sick/ I can't stand the sight of blood". Things that "make sense" in Italian "have sense", hanno senso.


So they are kind of false friends. Interesting. But would you say in Italian "your idea makes sense" meaning that the idea is a good one?


Yendred said:


> 1) _Your idea makes sense = Ton idée fait sens_





elroy said:


> Deine Idee macht Sinn. (“makes sense”; widespread Anglicism)


I didn't expect this influence in both languages, in Spanish "tu idea hace sentido" sounds sooo wrong.


Roxxxannne said:


> Ideas can also 'have sense' in English, but 'have sense' and 'make sense' don't mean the same thing.


What does "have sense" means or when it is used?


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## symposium

JNavBar said:


> So they are kind of false friends. Interesting. But would you say in Italian "your idea makes sense" meaning that the idea is a good one?


Your idea makes sense in Italian is "la tua idea ha senso", lit. "your idea has sense". "La tua idea fa senso" (lit. Your idea makes sense) means "your idea is repulsive, disgusting".


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## Roxxxannne

"Your idea has sense" means something like "Your idea has meaning."


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## Penyafort

Both *tenir sentit* ('have') and *fer sentit* ('make') are possible in Catalan, with some slight variation in meaning, although the latter is almost always in negative sentences and no longer used in common speech.


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## merquiades

Yendred said:


> 1) _Your idea makes sense = Ton idée fait sens_


Golly!  I'm so glad I have never heard that.  It sounds horrific.


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## Yendred

merquiades said:


> Golly!  I'm so glad I have never heard that.  It sounds horrific.


We often just say "_ça fait sens_", maybe to avoid the hiatus "_*ça a *du sens_".


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## apmoy70

In Greek, ideas _draw out_ sense: *«Η ιδέα σου βγάζει (=3rd p. sing. present tense) νόημα»* [i.iˈðe̞.as̠u ˈvɣaz̠i ˈno̞.ima].

The v. is *«βγάζω»* [ˈvɣaz̠o̞] --> _to take off, remove, draw, draw out, pull, earn, make, issue, deliver, pluck_, aphetism of Byz.Gr. v. *«ἐβγάζω» evɡázō* (same meaninɡs) < *ἐγβάζω *eɡvázō < *ἐγβιβάζω *eɡbibázō < *«ἐκβιβάζω» ĕkbĭbắzō* --> _to put, cause to ɡo_, a compound: Classical prefix and preposition *«ἐκ» ĕk* + second part in inseparable compounds (meaning, the word is never found alone), *«-βιβάζω» -bĭbắzō*, a causative from the v. *«βαίνω» baínō*.


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## Awwal12

Russian "иметь смысл" (imét' smýsl, lit. "to have sense" = "to have a purposeful meaning"). The expression is rather formal, though,  as the verb "to have" itself is rarely used outside of formal contexts. Cf. "в этом есть определенный смысл" - lit. "in this is definite sense" > ~"there is a definite sense in that", "it has a definite sense".


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## Yendred

Awwal12 said:


> смысл


Gosh! I didn't know this Russian word. It's almost unpronounceable


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## Awwal12

Yendred said:


> Gosh! I didn't know this Russian word. It's almost unpronounceable


It isn't as terrifying as it seems; it's actually bisyllabic (['smɨ.sɫ̩]~['smɨ.səɫ]).  If a word-final liquid consonant is preceded by another consonant, it necessarily creates a syllable; cf. корабль, мысль, театр, вепрь.


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## Yendred

Awwal12 said:


> It isn't as terrifying as it seems; it's actually bisyllabic (['smɨ.sɫ̩]).


Oh yes, I've listened to it on Forvo. Indeed, it's like if there was a short unstressed vowel inserted between the last two letters for pronunciation: смыс(o)л
Obviously this helps 



Awwal12 said:


> (['smɨ.sɫ̩]~['smɨ.səɫ]).  If a word-final liquid consonant is preceded by another consonant, it necessarily creates a syllable; cf. корабль, мысль, театр, вепрь.



Could you give the phonetic transcription for театр and вепрь (with the possible short unstressed vowel added)?
These ones don't frighten me as the others because there are similar words in French:
_théâtre _\te.ɑtʁ\
_vêpre _\vɛpʁ\


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## Awwal12

Yendred said:


> Could you give the phonetic transcription for театр and вепрь?


[tʲɪ'a.t̪r̩]~[tʲɪ'a.t̪ər], ~[vʲɛ.pəɾʲ]. Also as usual:
- all non-palatalized and non-palatal consonants normally experience velarization;
- Russian [r] is pretty short (where /r/ is really [r], that is, and doesn't degrade to a tap consonant);
- /r/ and /rʲ/ experience considerable de-voicing word-finally;
- Russian labiodentals are retracted;
- [tʲ] often has a slightly slowed release (~[tˢʲ]).
(Reflecting all that in the IPA would be difficult and impractical.)


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## AutumnOwl

In Swedish "your ideas makes sense" would be translated as "dina ideer låter vettiga" (låter = sounds). There are other alternatives to "you ideas makes sense", there is "dina ideer är vettiga" (är = are) and "dina ideer känns vettiga" (känns = feels). It's also possible to say "du har vettiga ideer" (har = have) "your ideas make sense". The only word I can't think of being used is "make" (göra).

Vettiga/vettigt/vettig are adjectives, from "vett" which is one word for "sense" in Swedish. 

There is also the word "förnuft" (adjective förnuftig), which was used when Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" was translated into Swedish as "Förnuft och känsla".

The word "vettiga" in the sentences above can be changed to "förnuftiga", but it sounds more old-fashioned.


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## Demiurg

AutumnOwl said:


> In Swedish "your ideas makes sense" would be translated as "dina ideer låter vettiga" (låter = sounds). There are other alternatives to "you ideas makes sense", there is "dina ideer är vettiga" (är = are) and "dina ideer känns vettiga" (känns = feels). It's also possible to say "du har vettiga ideer" (har = have) "your ideas make sense". The only word I can't think of being used is "make" (göra).
> 
> Vettiga/vettigt/vettig are adjectives, from "vett" which is one word for "sense" in Swedish.



That's similar to the German adjective "sinnvoll":

_Deine Ideen klingen sinnvoll. (sound)
Deine Ideen sind sinnvoll. (are)
Du hast sinnvolle Ideen. (have)_



AutumnOwl said:


> The word "vettiga" in the sentences above can be changed to "förnuftiga", but it sounds more old-fashioned.



I guess that corresponds to German "vernünftig" (_reasonable_).


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## Dymn

*Portuguese *uses _fazer_ "to make": _a tua ideia faz sentido _(European Portuguese)


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## Welsh_Sion

*Cymraeg/Welsh*

General consensus with our European friends - _*gwneud synnwyr*_ ('to make/do sense'). Yes, there's no 'do sense' in English (it makes no sense!), but it's only to illustrate that we have one word for English 'make' and 'do'.

However, are we allowed to add to this thread expressions of _not making sense_?

In case, here are a few Welsh ones (which often equate to the idea 'I don't understand'):

*Dw i'n methu gwneud na phen na chynffon o ...*
I'm failing to make neither head nor tail of ...

*Dw i'n methu gwneud na rhych na rhawn o ...*
I'm failing to make neither ditch or long coarse animal hair of ...

*Dw i'n methu cael pen llinyn ar ...*
I'm failing to get an end of the string on ...


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## Włoskipolak 72

In Polish as far as I know there are three alternatives ;

1.*mieć sens*  =  lit.(have sense) make sense

Your words don't make sense. Twoje słowa nie _*mają*_ _*sensu.*_  

2.*być sensownym *(adjective) = make sense

Her offer doesn't make sense to us. Jej oferta nie _*jest*_ dla nas _*sensowna*_.  

3.*nadać sens* = make sense  

Ona chyba może _*nadać sens*_ kilku sprawom.


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