# fai un po' tu/te



## Otter

Ciao a tutti,

Can someone tell me if "poi fai tu" is an idiom or has different meanings within different contexts?

Grazie.


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## etymologist

I would say "poi fai tu" is similar to the English

you can take it from there 

or 

then it's up to you to...

This is in the context of a speaker giving you explanations on how to do something, and omitting instructions for the presumably obvious last part.

I hope this helps.





Otter said:


> Ciao a tutti,
> 
> Can someone tell me if "poi fai tu" is an idiom or has different meanings within different contexts?
> 
> Grazie.


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## Otter

etymologist said:


> I would say "poi fai tu" is similar to the English
> 
> you can take it from there
> 
> or
> 
> then it's up to you to...
> 
> This is in the context of a speaker giving you explanations on how to do something, and omitting instructions for the presumably obvious last part.
> 
> I hope this helps.


 
*Grazie, Ety.  Is there a way to  turn it around to say, "I can take it from here."?*

*Otter*


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## Henry63a

etymologist said:


> I would say "poi fai tu" is similar to the English
> 
> you can take it from there
> 
> or
> 
> then it's up to you to...
> 
> This is in the context of a speaker giving you explanations on how to do something, and omitting instructions for the presumably obvious last part.
> 
> I hope this helps.


The meaning you suggest is correct, but there's another one that I try to explain.
If I'm speaking with a friend of mine, giving him some advice or information, I can end the speech by saying: "Io te l'ho detto, poi fai tu",
meaning that I intended to tell him something that could be useful but, at the end, he had to decide what to do


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## Otter

*Thanks. *

*Do you know if there's a way to turn the phrase around to answer?  What about Moki's suggestion.*

*Or can one just answer, "si." or "ok" ?*


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## Henry63a

Otter said:


> *Thanks. *
> 
> *Do you know if there's a way to turn the phrase around to answer? What about Moki's suggestion.*
> 
> *Or can one just answer, "si." or "ok" ?*


"Poi faccio io" does make sense (also "Poi ci penso io") in both cases
1. "Tu dimmi, poi faccio io" means that I'm asking you to tell me all about some matter and then I will decide what to do
2. If you're giving me some information or advice and I stop you and say "Va bene, poi faccio io", I mean, Ok that's enough, I can go on by myself

I hope that's clear
Enrico


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## Otter

Grazie,

So if someone gives you information and then asks,
"poi fai tui?", 
you can answer, 
"Va bene, poi faccio io," 
or "Si, poi faccio io", yes?
Or is "Va bene, poi faccio io" more like, "Stop advising me.  I know what I"m doing".

Otter.


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## moki

Of course it depends on _how_ you were to say it but, "va bene, poi faccio io" sounds like ok, yes, I understand and it is good...if you were to say "vabbé, poi faccio io" I think it would sound more like you wanted them to stop or you didn't really care what they were saying.


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## brooksy

*W*hat does this mean in *E*nglish please? *I* though maybe it is a common expression something like*:*

"as you do sometimes"


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## mapeta

brooksy said:


> what does this mean in english please? i though maybe it is a common expression something like
> 
> "as you do sometimes"


 
No, I think it's more similar to "do it how you prefer" or "do in the way you like".

Sorry for my bad *E*nglish!


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## kan3malato

brooksy said:


> what does this mean in english please?  i though maybe it is a common expression something like
> 
> "as you do sometimes"


Ciao.
Maybe it can be " It's up to you".


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## cicciosa

Hi everyone,
It means "do it how you prefer" or "do in the way you like",
but I guess it has an implicit meaning of "try to do it also in the way I like". 
I generally use with a person I trust, so I am sure that _what he prefers_ is also what _I prefer_.
Please Italian natives correct if I am wrong!
G.


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## TimLA

This looks like an important idiom.

Do you consider it synonymous with:
...a tuo piacimento...
...(fai) come vuoi...
...fai come ti pare...
...fai quello che ti pare...
...fai come credi...
???

Like we might write:
As you want
However you want
As you wish


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## Dinaazem

I personally thought It would be simply "you do some/a little". Am I wrong?


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## Paulfromitaly

TimLA said:


> This looks like an important idiom.
> 
> Do you consider it synonymous with:
> ...a tuo piacimento...
> ...(fai) come vuoi...
> ...fai come ti pare...
> ...fai quello che ti pare...
> ...fai come credi...
> ???
> 
> Like we might write:
> As you want
> However you want
> As you wish


The tone makes a difference here.
It could be either 
Fai un po' tu = fai come credi = I trust you, so whatever you decide to do is fine with me
or
Fai un po' tu = fai quello che ti pare = I really don't care what you want to do, it's your problem so you decide.


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## TimLA

Paulfromitaly said:


> The tone makes a difference here.
> It could be either
> Fai un po' tu = fai come credi = I trust you, so whatever you decide to do is fine with me
> or
> Fai un po' tu = fai quello che ti pare = I really don't care what you want to do, it's your problem so you decide.


 
So like most other things, it's very contextual.

So I often do something like this here on WR:

*Puoi dire:*
*The book is very large.*
*The book weighs a ton.*
*The book's weight is excessive.*
*Fai un po' tu...*

Meaning "choose whichever one you want".
????


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## brooksy

I see more context may help: " champagne a casa da sola prima e dopo la doccia fai un po' tu" which I translated to "champagne at home alone before and after the shower as you do"

but I am not sure about "fai un po' tu" meaning "as you do" - this was my contextual attempt which is probably wrong

*G*reat idea though, champagne in the shower!!  ahahaha


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## Paulfromitaly

TimLA said:


> So like most other things, it's very contextual.
> 
> So I often do something like this here on WR:
> 
> *Puoi dire:*
> *The book is very large.*
> *The book weighs a ton.*
> *The book's weight is excessive.*
> *Fai un po' tu...*
> 
> Meaning "choose whichever one you want".
> ????



*Fai un po' tu 

*That's what I'd do in that context.
If said with a slightly peeved tone, it could denote raising annoyance.
If I wanted to be really sure the other person doesn't get it wrong, I'd go for "a te la scelta".


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## TimLA

Paulfromitaly said:


> *Fai un po' tu *
> 
> That's what I'd do in that context.
> If said with a slightly peeved tone, it could denote raising annoyance.
> If I wanted to be really sure the other person doesn't get it wrong, I'd go for "a te la scelta".


 
Got it! 
Thanks!


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## brooksy

cicciosa said:


> Hi everyone,
> It means "do it how you prefer" or "do in the way you like",
> but I guess it has an implicit meaning of "try to do it also in the way I like".
> I generally use with a person I trust, so I am sure that _what he prefers_ is also what _I prefer_.
> Please Italian natives correct if I am wrong!
> G.




The implicit idea suggested by Cicciosa would make sense in the 'champagne' context where you would think the last phrase of the sentence would be a more fun/flippant/playful comment - so perhaps instead of "as you do"  it would make sense to be "in the way you like" - thus if talking to a friend might just mean that, if the friend is known to do the same!  OR with the implicit meaning "the way I like"


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## miri

In the sentence provided by Brooksy,  "fai un po' tu" sounds like a bitter remark.
"Champagne a casa da sola prima e dopo la doccia, fai un po' tu"
I guess she's talking about an evening she spent all by herself while other people were perhaps celebrating something. It's like saying ironically: "Imagine how much fun it was" ...


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## brooksy

Miri, 

Like sarcasm, yes the opposite meaning you have suggested could also make sense. 

However, if talking about getting ready for a fun Saturday night out, then I doubt it is this... 

It is interesting that these four words can be so perplexing even with context!

Happy boxing day everyone


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## federicoft

It is an expression often used sarcastically (do as you like - but you'll pay for it!). It could also mean (and I think in the sentence provided by Brooksy is the case) something like: "draw your conclusions yourself".


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## brooksy

federicoft, thanks!  that makes sense

ps: in English we would say: "draw your own conclusions"


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## andrea.rusignuolo

Hello everyone. 
I was wondering if there is an equivalent expression for (of?) "fai da te". 
It is used an ironic way to express, for example, that the speaker is an worse position than the other person. 

A: "Guadagno solo 800 euro"
B: "Io 400, fai te". 

A: "I'm just earning 800 euro 
B: " ... "?

Thank in advance


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## Paulfromitaly

"Fai te" o meglio "fai (un po') *tu*" è ben diverso da "fai da te"..


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## brian

There's already a thread _fai *da* te_, which, as Paul said, is quite different from _fai tu_: Fai-da-te.

Paul, that _fai un po' tu_ thread is a bit different from Andrea's example in this thread, don't you think? Here it can't really mean "you decide, it's up to you, you do it, etc."


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## Paulfromitaly

Mah..a me sembra la stessa cosa..
Infatti l'ultimo suggerimento di quel thread è perfetto qui

"draw your own conclusions"


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## brian

Ah okay.. non avevo afferrato il vero significato in questo esempio.

Allora è un po' simile a _pensa te_, no?

edit: ha! Non avevo visto che c'era una seconda pagina in quel thread.


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## Paulfromitaly

brian8733 said:


> Ah okay.. non avevo afferrato il vero significato in questo esempio.
> 
> Allora è un po' simile a _pensa te_, no?



E' ironico: la situazione è così chiara che invece di dare ulteriori spiegazioni ti limiti a suggerire all'altra persona che gli basta fare 2+2.


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## brian

Capito.

Ma non mi viene in mente una buona espressione inglese che possa portare lo stesso senso. _Draw your own conclusions_ rende bene il significato, ma non è molto comune come espressione.

Anzi.. ora che ci penso, *(So) you do the math* è perfetto.


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## Alxmrphi

Io direi "Beat that", scherzando come fosse un concorso, ma non so se funzionerebbe come traduzione, visto che se lo mettiamo in un altro contesto, probabilmente non andrebbe...

Mi viene in mente anche "So there!"


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## You little ripper!

Paulfromitaly said:


> Mah..a me sembra la stessa cosa..
> Infatti l'ultimo suggerimento di quel thread è perfetto qui
> 
> "draw your own conclusions"


Or the longer version, "You're an intelligent person; draw your own conclusions".


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## brian

Would the following scenario work?

Un ragazzo dice ad una donna: _Scusi, ma quanti anni ha?_
La donna risponde: _Be'... sono nata prima del 1940. *Fai (un po') tu/te.*_


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## Paulfromitaly

brian8733 said:


> Would the following scenario work?
> 
> Un ragazzo dice ad una donna: _Scusi, ma quanti anni ha?_
> La donna risponde: _Be'... sono nata prima del 1940 (oppure sono nata nel 1940). *Fai (un po') tu/te.*_



Perfect example.


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## brian

Okay, then I think *you do the math* is the perfect translation (at least for me). It's short, it conveys the meaning, and (very important) it's a very common expression.


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## Paulfromitaly

You could also use it in a slightly different context, though:

Se mi sporchi il divano ti do un calcio nel sedere, adesso fai un po' tu..
If you get my couch dirty, I'm gonna kick your ass.. you've been warned..


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## brian

Even there, _so you do the math_ would certainly render the idea to the listener*, but it would no longer be very idiomatic.

I think we'd maybe say _so keep that in mind_ or something.

*I think of it as math being like logic, so the listener thinks to himself: _dirty the couch + Paul finds out = kick in the ass!_ <-- that's called "doing the math."


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## swansea12

Fai un po' come vuoi would mean do as you wish...?


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## london calling

swansea12 said:


> Fai un po' come vuoi would mean do as you wish...?


But it depends on the context, as you will see from the posts above. 

If I were a bit miffed about something and answered someone like that, I would mean:

_Do what you bloody well like!_

Although of course it's not as rude as that! _Do what you like_ is a better translation in this context.


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## giacinta

La frasa intera e' " Se ti far vedere in tribunale non mi faccio vedere io, fai un po' te"

Significa " think about it?' 

Non ne ho la piu' pallida idea! 

Giacinta


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## Tunalagatta

Hello ,

Please explain more about the context. Who are these people, and what is the situation? Did you read or hear this phrase, and are you sure you have transcribed it all correctly?

Thank you.


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## giacinta

E' un libro di Chiara Gamerale "L'amore quando c'era" e l'ex- amante sta raccontando (in una email) a la ex-fidanzata la storia della loro ultima discussione due anni prima. Lui era un avvocato appena laureato e nonostante non si fossero visti per due anni lei gli ha telefonato dicendogli che voleva assistere alla sua prima causa.  Questa era la sua risposta...


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## danalto

Hi, Giacinta! Long time no see!! 
*Do as you like */ *Do as you want* / *Think what you prefer to think about this situation... *could give you the idea.


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## Holymaloney

giacinta said:


> La frasa intera e' " Se ti *fai *vedere in tribunale non mi faccio vedere io, fai un po' te"


Hi giacinta !
Just made a small correction . As far as the meaning is concerned, I agree with Dani (ciao carissima !) and another option (although slightly different) could be _*'...it's up to you/it's your choice...'

*_


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## Bella63

danalto said:


> Hi, Giacinta! Long time no see!!
> *Do as you like */ *Do as you want* / *Think what you prefer to think about this situation... *could give you the idea.


Hi,
It's also very sarcastic isn't it? It's obvious that the lawer *has* to be in court (his first trial???), so he is trying to tell her basically to leave him alone. "If that's what makes you happy" or "if that suits you?" Something like that! 
Bella


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## ohbice

"Fai un po' te", "fai un po' tu", "vedi tu", "vedi te" sono in genere frasi di avvertimento: "la responsabilità (per quello che succederà) è tua, quindi pensaci bene prima di fare la tal cosa".


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## giacinta

Thanks everyone!  Is it an expression that is used very often nel linguaggio parlato quotidiano?
G


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## ohbice

Abbastanza, direi. Almeno per una certa generazione (non so se vale ancora per i giovani e giovanissimi). Il "te" forse è un po' regionale, il "tu" mi sembrerebbe più "ufficiale".


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## Bella63

Concordo con oh, bice ma io, istintivamente, userei "te" avendo imparato l'italiano in Toscana mentre, evidentemente in Lombardia userebbero il "tu".


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## Paulfromitaly

Bella63 said:


> Concordo con oh, bice ma io, istintivamente, userei "te" avendo imparato l'italiano in Toscana mentre, evidentemente in Lombardia userebbero il "tu".



TU è grammaticalmente corretto (visto che è richiesto un pronome soggettivo), TE no.


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## Bella63

I know , buts thanks anyway! It's a form of slang, and I can't tell the Tuscans that they don't speak correct Italian can I?  Your try 


Paulfromitaly said:


> TU è grammaticalmente corretto (visto che è richiesto un pronome soggettivo), TE no.


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## Paulfromitaly

Bella63 said:


> I know , buts thanks anyway! It's a form of slang, and I can't tell the Tuscans that they don't speak correct Italian can I?  Your try



I've heard people say TE instead of TU also around here, so it's not just Tuscany


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## london calling

Paulfromitaly said:


> I've heard people say TE instead of TU also around here, so it's not just Tuscany


You'd never hear _fa' un po' te_ down here. I've only heard it north of Rome, myself.


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## Paulfromitaly

london calling said:


> You'd never here _fa' un po' te_ qui. I've only heard it north of Rome, myself.



It's clearly wrong but also sounds kind of funny, that's why Raul Cremona's character "Jerry Manipolini" would always say "Se sei tanto bravo _vieni qua *te* e lo fai *te*_" to people who were laughing at his magician's performance


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## Bella63

Certain slang certainly sounds funny in any language I suppose, What about when Florentines say: che ci fo qui? . to them it doesn't sound funny!  or "i che tu voi (vuoi)? etc.


Paulfromitaly said:


> It's clearly wrong but also sounds kind of funny, that's why Raul Cremona's character "Jerry Manipolini" would always say "Se sei tanto bravo _vieni qua *te* e lo fai *te*_" to people who were laughing at his magician's performance


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