"Tu sei un bravo ragazzo."
Translation:You are a good boy.
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Generally, bravo/a is good at something. For example, if I say I tap dance, you might ask me if I'm good with bravo. ("Sei bravo?") Or if you want to say someone is a good cook (meaning good at being a cook or at cooking), you would use bravo/a. Most other meanings of good would be buono/a.
This particular sentence is a bit of an exception. When you refer to un bravo ragazzo or una brava ragazza it means "a good boy/girl" in the "good person" sense, although I suppose you could argue that it's still in the sense of good at being a boy/girl if you think that means doing a good job at what boys/girls are supposed to do (being polite, obeying parents, doing chores without complaining, completing homework on time, etc.).
615
This is probably because with some words (including "bravo"), order matters: http://www.italyheritage.com/learn-italian/course/grammar/adjectives.htm
"Great" is not really a valid translation of "bravo", because it has a stronger meaning than good/ clever. "Great" is usually "grande", but I doubt that would be used in this context, since it would sound like "You are a big boy". Probably "tu sei un bravissimo ragazzo" would capture the meaning of "you are a great boy".
2184
Adjectives (bravo/brava) and determiners (un/una) reflect the gender/number of the noun (ragazzo/ragazza):
- Tu sei un bravo ragazzo = You are a good boy
- Tu sei un
a
brava
ragazza
= You are a good girl
1344
Also, a clever boy is " un ragazzo bravo"". The positon of the adjective alters its meaning.
I think I can see where you got your info re "nice" vs "clever"!
http://www.italyheritage.com/learn-italian/course/grammar/adjectives.htm
I'm not so sure about this myself. Other sources do not explain it that way. For example:
http://italian.about.com/library/fare/blfare129a.htm
"Able" is pretty close to the meaning "clever", but it can also be used after the noun for emphasis. The position of the adjective definitely alters the meaning for some words, though.
I guess it's just another illustration of the subjectivity and subtlety of languages. I'll see if a native speaker might be able to clarify a bit.
Up-date: native Italian speaker forsilvia has kindly helped us out. She wrote this:
"Sei un bravo ragazzo" is a typical sentence an adult says to a teenager; I can't think of a boy saying this to another boy. "Un ragazzo bravo" (with the adjective after the noun) is never used. possible with more than one adjective: Un ragazzo bravo, intelligente e simpatico."
You are wrong. Bravo means 'good', in these senses. 1. Able (good at, clever, skilful, capable). 2. Well-behaved (decent, honest). 3. Kind.
One sense overlaps with successful, which is 'good at'. However, successful describes achievement and is typically translated by riuscito, di successo, o arrivato, whereas bravo describes the actions that lead to achievement.
Many adjectives like bravo, buono and bello usually come before the noun. You may refer to this website: https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-adjective-order-4098168
323
the answer should be "you are a brave boy" DL has it marked wrong. they should have said "you are a good boy "tu sei un buono ragazzo