# count on someone



## DearPrudence

Hello 

I just wondered how you said "*to count on someone*" (meaning, to rely on someone) in your language.

*French*: _compter sur quelqu'un_ (literally: count on someone)
*Spanish*: _contar con alguien_ (literally: count with someone)
*Dutch*: _rekenen op iemand _(literally: count on someone)

Thank you


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## jazyk

In Portuguese: contar com alguém.


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## Flaminius

In Japanese:
X-o ate-ni suru.
Literally, regard/believe X as a [favourable] prospect.  Or even more literally, make X a prospect (the noun for prospect is marked by the dative postposition).  The noun _ate_ has no implication of counting.


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## Tamar

In Hebrew it's לסמוך על מישהו  _lismokh al mishe'u_  to count on someone.


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## sakvaka

*Finnish*: _luottaa _+ illative

I thought the English expression was _count upon someone_, but they're similar enough.


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## Encolpius

*Hungarian*: számítok rád [literally: I count *on *you]
*
Czech*: počítám s tebou [literally: I count *with *you]


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## itreius

Croatian

računati na nekoga [to count/calculate - on - someone]


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## apmoy70

In Greek:
«Στηρίζομαι σε..»
sti'rizome se
Verb «στηρίζομαι» (sti'rizome) derives from the ancient «στηρίζω» (stē'rizō). In active voice (στηρίζω) means "_to support_,  _to be firmly set_"; in mediopassive voice (στηρίζομαι) means literally "_to steady against_" and metaphorically "_to rely, depend"._
Now, the problem is how to translate the preposition «σε» (se): Modern preposition «σε» derives from the ancient «εἰς» (eis) which in medieval times became «εἰσε» (eise) due to the open transition made with the initial «ἐ-» (e-) of the 1st person objective pronoun «ἐμὲ» (e'me): εἰς ἐμὲ-->εἰσεμὲ-->εἰσε μὲ. Ultimately, «σε με» (se me), following the omission of the initial unstressed vowel (a common phenomenon in Greek). The preposition "σε-se" in Greek covers dozens of different meanings; it can be translated in English as into, onto etc. E.g. We enter "σε-se" house, we lean "σε-se" tree, we swim "σε-se" sea


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## ThomasK

Dutch: _*op iemand rekenen*, rekenen op iemand_, so just the same (_*op = on*_).


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## ger4

German:
- _sich auf jemanden verlassen_ - 'to rely on somebody'


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## Dymn

*Catalan*:
- _c__omptar amb algú_ (literally: count with someone)


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## ancalimon

Turkish: xxx'e bel bağlamak

-e,-a : to
bel: waist
bağlamak: to tie, to bind, to attach


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## Encolpius

Holger2014 said:


> German:
> - _sich auf jemanden verlassen_ - 'to rely on somebody'



Interesting you didn't choose "rechnen mit/auf"


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## ger4

Encolpius said:


> Interesting you didn't choose "rechnen mit/auf"


 Yes, I should have added that (after all, it's a much more literal translation) but in most contexts we would say _sich auf jemanden verlassen _to express something like 'to rely on somebody'...


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## Encolpius

Holger2014 said:


> Yes, I should have added that (after all, it's a much more literal translation) but in most *contexts *we would say _sich auf jemanden verlassen _to express something like 'to rely on somebody'...



Yes, context is an issue moderators keep bullying us into it here in WR...


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## ger4

Putting them all together... 'to count on somebody' in German can be...
- _sich auf jemanden verlassen_ - not a literal translation but used most frequently*
- _auf jemanden zählen_ - lit. 'to count on somebody' - literal but used less frequently*
- _mit jemandem rechnen_ - lit. 'to reckon with somebody' - can correspond to both 'to count on sb' and 'to reckon with sb'

* Can't provide statistical evidence, though


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## Encolpius

Thank you Holger for your effort, but it is not your fault...a concrete sentence would make it all much easier... That's why I tried to use concrete sentences of Hungarian and Czech version. Számítok rád. Počítím s tebou [*I'm counting on you*]...how would you say "I'm counting on you!" in German? ich zähle auf dich. Ich verlasse mich auf dich... (?) I am not sure about it now....


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## ger4

Encolpius said:


> ...how would you say "I'm counting on you!" in German? ich zähle auf dich. Ich verlasse mich auf dich... (?) I am not sure about it now....


I'd put it like this (perhaps other German speakers could add some more examples or explanations...):
(1)_ Ich verlasse mich auf dich_ is probably the most frequently used version. 
(2)_ Ich zähle auf dich _tends to be reserved for more important situations. 
(3) _Ich rechne mit dir_ is often used in the sense of 'I expect you to...' 
_--> _An example:_ Ich rechne dann mit dir um sieben Uhr_ - 'I'm expecting you to be here at 7 o' clock' 

If the thread starter is more interested in the prepositions used (--> in #1 they were underlined):
(1) & (2): _auf_ (~ 'on') + accusative
(3) _mit_ (~ 'with') + dative


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## 810senior

We use ni-particle indicating to indirect object, locative and so on.

*(1) に*頼る ni tayoru
*(2)* を当て*に*する o ate ni suru
*(3) に*すがる ni sugaru
*(4) に*依存する ni izon suru

(1),(2) are relatively affirmative but (3),(4) are used mostly as negative meanings. such as 薬物依存(yakubutsu izon; relying on crack)




ThomasK said:


> Is any counting implied here, 810sr?


you can put anything you count ahead of *ni* or *o* in case (2) (I'm sorry I can't somehow get what any counting points to)


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## ThomasK

Is any counting implied here, 810sr?


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## SuperXW

In Chinese, one common way to translate "count on" is 指望.
指望 means "rely on, put hope in" someone or something.
There can be other alternatives in dialects and specific contexts, but 指望 is more common.


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## rusita preciosa

Russian:
*рассчитывать на */rasschityvat'/ - lit. out-count on


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## Gavril

sakvaka said:


> I thought the English expression was _count upon someone_, but they're similar enough.



_count upon_ is more old-fashioned than _count on_, at least in the United States: you might see _count upon_ used in texts from 60 years ago or so, but nowadays the predominant form is _count on_. Maybe the story is different in British or other non-American forms of English.


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## Sempervirens

DearPrudence said:


> Hello
> 
> I just wondered how you said "*to count on someone*" (meaning, to rely on someone) in your language.
> 
> *French*: _compter sur quelqu'un_ (literally: count on someone)
> *Spanish*: _contar con alguien_ (literally: count with someone)
> *Dutch*: _rekenen op iemand _(literally: count on someone)
> 
> Thank you



Ciao! In italiano : Contare su qualcuno

La frase negativa è fattibile - Non contare su nessuno-, ma non ho idea di come possa essere resa nelle varie varietà dell'inglese. 

Che sia mai questa?  "T_o do not to count on/upon nobody"   _Mah, ho i miei forti dubbi!

S.V


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## elroy

Palestinian Arabic:

أركن/بركن على حدا

The preposition used is "on."


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## amikama

Tamar said:


> In Hebrew it's לסמוך על מישהו _lismokh al mishe'u_ to count on someone.


That's true, but the _literal _translation is "to rely on someone".


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## KalAlbè

Haitian Creole
*Konte sou ou* - Literally: count on you


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## Sun-Shine

Arabic: أعتمد على أحدٍ ما/شخصٍ ما
I count on someone.

Egyptian: بَعْتَمِد على حَدّ


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## nimak

Macedonian:

да смета на некого (da smeta na nekogo) - _literally_: "to count/calculate on someone"

Сметам на тебе. (Smetam na tebe.) = I count on you.
Можеш да сметаш на мене. (Možeš da smetaš na mene.) = You can count on me.


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## apmoy70

Also in Greek:

*«Βασίζομαι σε»* [vaˈsi.zɔ.me se] 

The MoGr mediopassive v. *«βασίζομαι»* [vaˈsi.zɔ.me] is a modern construction (1833) after the Classical deverbative fem. noun *«βάσις» bắsis* --> _step, base_ < Classical v. *«βαίνω» baí̯nō*.
*«Βασίζομαι σε»* [vaˈsi.zɔ.me se] + accusative = _to count/rely on_


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## ZDalexx

Slovak : *počítať/rátať s niekym *(to count with someone)


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