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- "Lui capisce le donne."
329 Comments
"Don't try to understand women. Women understand women and they all hate each other" is how the quote goes :P
"If you don't give my boss what he wants, you will be sleeping with the fishes, Capisce?" :P
Not 'capisce', which is pronounced cah-pee-she, but 'capisc', which is pronounced cah-peesh. Dialect from Naples frequently drops the last syllable. Similarly 'ricotta' becomes 'ricot'. Note the accent is where it would be if the last syllable were still there: cah-PEESH(-e), ree-COHT(-tah).
Someone needs to watch more episodes of The Sopranos! ;-)
I see the resemblance. But that is Ron Swanson, the libertarian exemplar of manliness! I gave you a lingot so you can buy bacon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0m-6I2BpXA
Ain't nobody got time for that! Google is your friend, amico :P Btw we were talking Standard Italian. So it would seem all those films all use the Napoli dialect then lol :D
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"Those films" do tend to be about people whose ancestors are from southern Italy and Sicily.
Nope, just trying to show the typical Mafia line like that in Hollywood films. I mean, I heard it a lot in movies including the Spanish "comprende".
Yes, I know what you meant... I'm quite familiar with those movies :) What I mean is when they say, "Capisce" to the person, shouldn't it be "capisci" (grammatically speaking)? Like is it TECHNICALLY said wrong in the movie? Anybody understand what I'm trying to say?
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no it's not. you use the third form to be more polite. in the case with the mafia it might not be politeness but to express certain distance to the person.
It is definitely "capisci" but what I have researched that it's American slang. I suppose it is technically wrongly said. It's no surprise.
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I disagree. you can use both forms to directly speak to a person. the way you address them is different though. 2nd person singular is with "tu" and third form is with "il signore / la signora..." although you can spare the noun. so capisce isreferring to il signore / la signora and capisci to tu.
How do you know if it's 'he understands women (as an entire species)' or 'he understands the women (that we were just talking about)'? Is it entirely based on context?
Yes, it is based on context. Almost always in Italian, the definite article (the) is placed before a noun (there are a few exceptions). For example if you said "I want to go to university" in Italian, it's literal translation into English would be "I want to go to THE university". This can be annoying in Italian since it means he might understand women as a species or there might be a group of French women that have ended up in China and nobody else can speak French but he can so he understands them. Who knows?
Why isn't this translated as, "he understands the women" (meaning a specific group of women)? In English," he understands women" means something different. And how is THAT said in Italian )? Is it "Lui capisce donne"?
As all men know, it is impossible to understand women. Of course that is part of their allure. Cosi' e' la vita
I got it correct but don't get why it doesn't translate the women
I thought it was "He understands the woman" can anybody tell me why that was wrong? Thanks.
This exercise is completely wrong. The science of languages has proven that understanding a woman, is impossible
I have seen this phrase so many times on the app, but I have yet to see "She understands men". Any, non sexist, reason for this? (As if 6th July 2021)
I have seen this phrase so many times on the app, but I have yet to see "She understands men". Any, non sexist, reason for this? (As if 6th July 2021)
Prepare to have your mind blown, lads: Each woman is different. With this knowledge, you won't understand women any better, but the world will make a bit more sense.
Would "he understands women" also be correct? They are different things in English, but can Italian express the difference?
Why is " he understands the women" wrong?! Really I can't understand this app! :/
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But I do, it's harder to understand the people in generally than solely the opposite sex thoughts
I know it can be also "He understands the women" but its confusing as there is a big context difference between saying..
"Yes he understands what these women are saying" and..
"Oh he understands women alright" wink
Which context is correct? Or does Italian not differentiate between the two? Thanks.
You can begin to conceive and understand anyone's thoughts by simply listening and watching. Understanding is not based on the subject you are understanding, rather your ability to understand them.
Why is this not "He understands the women"? To miss out "the" changes its meaning quite a lot. (insert joke about understanding all women
when they use the article for 'le donne' you would translate as 'he understands the women' which in english is talking about a specific group of women, where as saying 'he understands women' means women in general...
Is there a difference in italian in saying 'lui capisce donne' vs ' lui capisce le donne'?????
thanks
Is woman a course you can take on Duolingo? Cause I'd love to understand women too.
I first put this as "he understands women" like it says here, but it told me it was wrong. Second time around it accepted "he understands the women". Bit conflicting with what you've got as the answer here.
I put 'he understands women' as an answer but it told me i was wrong. Second time round it accepted 'he understands the women'. Bit conflicting with what you've got as the answer here.
I put he understands women as an answer but it told me i was wrong. Second time round it accepted he understands the women. Bit conflicting with what you've got as the answer here.
Does anyone know why it's 'le donne' when the sentence is 'he understands women' not 'he understands the women'
This looks like it would literally translate to "he understands the women" and not "understands women". This would make a big difference; can someone clarify why duolingo says this refers to understanding women rather than understanding the women?
Why not 'the women'. I would translate this to particular group of women, le donne not women in general. And actually i have yet to meet a man who understands women:-))
In a previous example of this the answer was stated as Lui capisce le donna. Present Level 1 Lesson 3. I write then down as the lessons progress
Sometimes Duolingo marks "the women" as incorrect. There seem to be inconsistencies with the article in this sentence.
How do you know it's women in general and not 'the women'? Is it purely context?
Really throws me off when they dint have "the" available to pick. It feels like I'm doing it wrong.
This is an interesting sentence. I would've thought "he understands the women" might be better to practice because it's more believable
