# whatever



## merquiades

The expression "Whatever" is used to dismiss what has just been said in a conversation and express complete indifference or apathy.  It can also sometimes express unwillingness to carry on with the conversation and a way to put an end to it.
1) Do you want red or white wine?  _Whatever!_
2) The Far Right has won the elections in France.  _Whatever_
3) The party next week has been canceled.  _Whatever_
4)  There's a lot of work to be done.  _Whatever_
5)  You'll regret the day you messed with me.  Whatever

It can be more or less rude depending on the tone and the body language of the person saying it.   Apparently it comes originally from Whatever you say!
How can this be expressed in your language?  Is there a one word interjection?

I guess  _Me da igual_ can be similar in Spanish, but is not used nearly as much and it might sound more rude.  It kind of reminds me of _Peu me chaut_ in French but that's regional and kind of dated.


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## symposium

In Italian se say "chissenefrega" (chi se ne frega?) = who gives a damn?, which is mildly vulgar. Teenagers shorten it down to "chìssene": that's what a petulant boy or girl would say to a parent who is scolding them...


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## Perseas

In Greek we usually use "ό,τι να 'ναι" (otinane) or "οτιδήποτε" (otiδipote) but it depends on context.
For example, in _1) Do you want red or white wine?  _the Greek phrases would mean: "I don't mind", "either it's OK", while on another context "ότι να 'ναι" could mean "I am not interested in what you are talking about" or even "you are talking nonsense".


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## Yendred

merquiades said:


> It kind of reminds me of _Peu me chaut_ in French but that's regional and kind of dated.



Indeed, it's really dated. But do you know this colorful one: _Ça me fait une belle jambe ! _(quite dated too)
In French, depending on the context, I'd just say:
_Peu importe
Et alors ! _(closer to "s_o what!_")

And of course, the rude one:
_Je m'en bats les c... ! _(fill in the gaps with the slang name for the even numbered male reproductive glands)

Jacques Chirac, former President of France, was known to use such colorful expressions. In this case, he used to say:
_Ça m’en touche une sans faire bouger l’autre !_
(still refering to the same male organs...)


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## merquiades

Yendred said:


> Indeed, it's really dated. But do you know this colorful one: _Ça me fait une belle jambe ! _(quite dated too)


  Nice one!  I'll have find a way to place it in conversation.  I like _Peu me chaut_.  The tone is just right.  Too bad it has fallen out.



> In French, depending on the context, I'd just say:
> _Peu importe
> Et alors ! _(closer to "s_o what!_")


  The thing is, there is a bit of cheeky ring to these expressions, I think.  Whereas with _whatever_, it really depends on tone.  It can be on the edge, but not technically rude.


symposium said:


> In Italian se say "chissenefrega" (chi se ne frega?) = who gives a damn?, which is mildly vulgar. Teenagers shorten it down to "chìssene": that's what a petulant boy or girl would say to a parent who is scolding them...


Doesn't _Chissenefrega_ or _Chissene_, technically come from  _Chi se ne frega un cazzo_?   That would make the expression terribly vulgar, right?



Perseas said:


> In Greek we usually use "ό,τι να 'ναι" (otinane) or "οτιδήποτε" (otiδipote) but it depends on context.
> For example, in _1) Do you want red or white wine?  _the Greek phrases would mean: "I don't mind", "either it's OK", while on another context "ότι να 'ναι" could mean "I am not interested in what you are talking about" or even "you are talking nonsense".


  Looks like "ό,τι να 'ναι" (otinane) is a nice versatile expression!


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## Yendred

merquiades said:


> I like _Peu me chaut_. The tone is just right. Too bad it has fallen out.



Did you know that "_chaut_" is the conjugated form of the verb "_chaloir_", which has disappeared, except in this expression. "_chaloir_" was a synonym of "_importer_" (to matter), so "_peu me chaut" _is literally equivalent to _"peu m'importe"._


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## KalAlbè

In (Brazilian) Portuguese _*tanto faz*_ would be the most common expression, I believe. 

In Haitian Creole there's no set expression for this.


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## Dymn

You're right in thinking that there's no true equivalent in Spanish (or in Catalan). In fact I often feel like saying "_whatever_" because it looks like it fits more to the occasion, but the thing is many people wouldn't understand me or would think I'm being pedantic.

I think it can be summed up to four situations, in Spanish:

As in "either is fine":


merquiades said:


> 1) Do you want red or white wine? _Whatever!_


I'd say "_como quieras_", "_cualquiera (de los dos) (me va bien / me vale / me sirve)_", etc.

As in "I don't care about this information":


merquiades said:


> 2) The Far Right has won the elections in France. _Whatever_
> 3) The party next week has been canceled. _Whatever_


Probably _"me da igual"_, or more slangy,_ "me la suda/pela/sopla", "me la trae floja / sin cuidado / al pairo"_, etc. all fit the situation. Also as a question, you could say "_¿y?_", "_¿y qué?_", "_¿y qué más da?_" (as in "so (what)?", etc.)...

As in "I don't care about what you're saying to me":


merquiades said:


> 4) There's a lot of work to be done. _Whatever_
> 5) You'll regret the day you messed with me. Whatever


These two examples look more like the listener is concerned and should so something, but doesn't care. I think "_lo que tú digas_" fits the situation rather than the alternatives given above.

Finally a last usage would be when the corrections and technicalities made are deemed to finicky to the speaker:
_- It's leviOsa not levioSA
- Whatever_
I think this could be translated as "_como sea_", or "_como se llame_" if it's a linguistic correction. You can also apply this construction in the middle of a sentence:
_Arnold Swardzeneger (o como se escriba), = _I don't care how it's written


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## merquiades

Yendred said:


> Did you know that "_chaut_" is the conjugated form of the verb "_chaloir_", which has disappeared, except in this expression. "_chaloir_" was a synonym of "_importer_" (to matter), so "_peu me chaut" _is literally equivalent to _"peu m'importe"._


Yes, I know the meaning and have a good feeling for _peu me chaut, _but since I never use the verb _chaloir_ or hear it in any other context that I'm aware of, its basic meaning of _importer _(be of little importance to me) had escaped me.   Honestly on some unconscious level I had acquainted it with _chaud_.  Now that I think about it, it seems obvious that _chaloir _must be the lost French equivalent of _caler _in Catalan/Spanish which is used much like _falloir.  Peu me chaut, mon cher ami!_

@Dymn    Reading your explanation, another short possiblility came to mind but it might be regional or with too much attitude.  _ Yo paso_


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## Dymn

merquiades said:


> Now that I think about it, it seems obvious that _chaloir _must be the lost French equivalent of _caler _in Catalan/Spanish which is used much like _falloir._


Yes, they are cognates. _Caler _doesn't exist in Spanish though. Due to Catalan influence, you might hear "_no cal!_" in Catalonia by Spanish speakers, but it's used almost like an interjection, it's not a verb that you can conjugate (in fact it would be _no cale _if it was Spanish).



merquiades said:


> @Dymn Reading your explanation, another short possiblility came to mind but it might be regional or with too much attitude. _ Yo paso_


Hmmm I don't think it's regional. _Pasar de alguien/algo_ means ignoring sby/sth, not paying attention to it (_no hacerle caso_). Same as _sudar de_, although the latter is more informal. "_Paso_" could be used when you don't want to do something someone is telling you to do. "_Yo paso_", without further context, sounds like there's a group and you (personally, hence the explicit use of the pronoun) don't want to do something that is suggested. Kind of like _"I'm out", "count me out"_.


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## Circunflejo

In Spanish, another option for the I don't care meaning would be _pues vale_.



Dymn said:


> _Caler _doesn't exist in Spanish though.



It existed in Old Spanish and it's still in the dictionary of the RAE with a mark saying Usado en Aragón that, if I'm not wrong, would mean that they consider that it's still on use in Aragón (because otherwise the mark would/should say Era usado en Aragón (it was used in Aragón)).


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## Dymn

Thanks Circunflejo. In fact I asked an Aragonese friend of mine before I wrote the post (and he answered later), because it rang a bell to me that they used it there. He says in Huesca they use the full conjugation while in Zaragoza it has been fossilized in "_no cal_". Anyway it's an influence from Aragonese and not a purely Castilian word so to speak.


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## merquiades

I have heard a woman from Cuenca province use _caler_ in Spanish, with no connection to Catalonia, so I would say it is in theory a "possibility" in Spanish.  In literature there are examples too.  However, I do not want to give the impression at all that people really use it either.  One person hardly sets a trend and her daughter doesn't speak at all like her.  I just brought it up because of the similarity to _peu me chaud._  If you think it's interesting enough it's possible to open a thread on it in the Spanish forum.


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## Circunflejo

Dymn said:


> Anyway it's an influence from Aragonese and not a purely Castilian word so to speak.



Nowadays, yes, it's an influence either of Aragonese or of Catalan. In the past, it was user by Castilian speakers too but that was a long time ago.



merquiades said:


> I have heard a woman from Cuenca province use _caler_ in Spanish, with no connection to Catalonia, so I would say it is in theory a "possibility" in Spanish.



Note that Cuenca borders both Aragón and Valencia (although it makes it with a Castilian speaking part of Valencia). I wouldn't disregard some sort of influence from any of those territories. I find it more likely than a local survival of a verb that disappeared a long time ago from Spanish speaking areas except Aragón and some Spanish speakers of Catalan speaking areas; the later due to the influence of Catalan.


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## Penyafort

merquiades said:


> 1) Do you want red or white wine?  _Whatever!_
> 2) The Far Right has won the elections in France.  _Whatever_
> 3) The party next week has been canceled.  _Whatever_
> 4)  There's a lot of work to be done.  _Whatever_
> 5)  You'll regret the day you messed with me.  Whatever



In *Catalan*, an equivalent for the indifference of the first three or four could be said, in gradual variation from standard to vulgar:

*Tant és*​*Tant se val*​*Tant se me'n dona *​*Tant se me'n fum*​*Tant se me'n fot*​​I see the fifth one as somewhat different, almost in a patronizing way. That'd rather be said as:

*Ui, sí.*​*Pots comptar*​


Dymn said:


> He says in Huesca they use the full conjugation while in Zaragoza it has been fossilized in "_no cal_".



It's definitely in full use in Aragonese. At least, as much in full use as it could be. 



merquiades said:


> I have heard a woman from Cuenca province use _caler_ in Spanish, with no connection to Catalonia, so I would say it is in theory a "possibility" in Spanish.



Beware of all provinces surrounding Aragon, from Navarre to Cuenca, and to some extent, even southwards to Murcia and Granada. That sometimes called 'Eastern Spanish' still maintains surprising Aragonese relics here and there.


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## symposium

merquiades said:


> Doesn't _Chissenefrega_ or _Chissene_, technically come from _Chi se ne frega un cazzo_? That would make the expression terribly vulgar, right?


No, "fregare" means "to scrub, to rub", so basically the meaning is something like "I shake it off"...  "cazzo"  is indeed very vulgar, but it can be attached to any sentence to make it vulgar, a bit like "fucking": non me ne frega un cazzo! = I don't fucking care!


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## eno2

Spanish: As an interjection, WR only gives



como quieras _loc adv_

In some cases , I would say: me da un bledo.

----
German: recently a Dutch friend  used 'von wegen' and we had an exchange of opinion about its meaning  (with another German speaker present to offer his opinion too).  She concluded it must be 'whatever'. But I'm not fully convinced.


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## Circunflejo

eno2 said:


> In some cases , I would say: me da un bledo.



Me importa un bledo.


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## Yendred

Another (somewhat dated) expression in French:
_Je m'en fous comme de ma première chemise _(lit.: I care about it as much as about my first shirt)


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## eno2

Circunflejo said:


> Me importa un bledo.


Of course 
I'm not the only one who forgot 'importa'


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## Circunflejo

eno2 said:


> I'm not the only one who forgot 'importa'



Note that most of the results aren't of _me da un bledo_ but of _no se me da un bledo_ or, to a lesser extent, _se me da un bledo_.


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## Dymn

Dymn said:


> Finally a last usage would be when the corrections and technicalities made are deemed to finicky to the speaker:
> _- It's leviOsa not levioSA
> - Whatever_
> I think this could be translated as "_como sea_", or "_como se llame_" if it's a linguistic correction.


You could also use "_¡eso!_" in this example.


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## Welsh_Sion

Welsh:

Dim ots < No odds
Dim ots gen i = No odds by me = I don't mind

Yr un o'r ddau = The one of the two = Either (one) of the other. (Colloquial/Yorkshire English: 'one o' t'other)

Beth bynnag = Whatever. (Again, depends on intonation if bored, rude or friendly).

English highly colloquial: Whatevs.

Have also taught French learners of English to be careful of the distinction between, 'I don't care' and 'I don't mind' (but it seems that younger English speakers are not making this distinction …)


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## ThomasK

Dutch: we have short forms but not a one-word phrase, I think.

Short:
- maakt niet uit (makes no difference) -- could be interpreted as aggressive
- om het even (any --- as in anything you like)  
- (dialectal) al gelijk (everything is the same, anything is OK, ...)
- (in the Netherlands) doe maar op (just do whatever you like),
Fairly aggressive
- het kan me niet schelen (I cannot be bothered, I don't bother) > ... geen fluit schelen (not a ...)


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## Armas

Finnish:
_miten vain_ "however, in whatever way" (this can be said in neutral tone, the following are more or less abrupt)
_ihan sama_ "totally same"
_mitä väliä?_ "what difference?"
_ketä kiinnostaa?_ "who's interested?"


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## vi-m

Ciao





symposium said:


> chissenefrega


 works for #2, #3, #4, #5.  "_e 'sti cazzi!_", a bit vulgar but largerly used, also works.
For #1 we would say "_fai tu, è uguale/indifferente, boh!_"


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