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- Topic: Italian >
- "L'uomo tira il coltello."
71 Comments
When does "tirare" mean "pull", and when does it mean "throw"? Thanks.
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Your question is quite old, so I guess you have already figured it out. Still there's no answer, so just in case someone is interested: "tirare" means both "pull" and "throw". Only context can help discerning. To avoid ambiguities, you can use synonyms, like "lanciare" (a bit -- just a bit -- more formal) and "gettare" (which can be used when you are not really aiming at anything in particular)
I'm guessing that this term comes either from fishing or drawing an arrow, where pull and throw can mean the action of a rod or a bow. I just think the action you would take with a fishing rod is what tirare means. Which is either pulling or throwing.
Thank you for this answer! Although the question was pretty old, there are lots of new people around who have the same problems as the former students had.
If context is what helps us to discern whether pull or throw is the translation, then it seems to me that either would be acceptable.
I speak Spanish and Italian is not too different. For us it is the same pull and throw. I mean the same word "tirar" has 2 different meanings. I suppose that it is the same in Italian with the verb "tirare"
Exactly my thoughts! I would bet it would make an enormous difference in a trial!
Anybody else thinking of this? http://www.cbs.com/shows/i_love_lucy/video/1998955157/i-love-lucy-i-speak-italian
I know I'm replying ridiculously late, but you can try the Chrome extension Hola Better Internet. It basically tells websites you're in a different country than you really are. You can pick which country you want to appear to be viewing the page from.
It's not late nor ridiculous! It's good to know that someone wastes times with us...Thanks!
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LOL. I have Hola, so I could watch the video, except that I also have AdBlocker Plus and they won't let me watch it unless I unblock the ad they want me to watch first. You have to love the internet!
If you mean late as in late at night, then people can read it tomorrow or they might be in a different time zone. If you mean late as in 6 months late, than at least other people can read it.
I miss that show!!! And I agree with mgspunk; it was a fantastic exercise for listening.
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When I first encountered " tirare" the hover showed " pull out " as an acceptable translation. I therefore translated this as " The man pulls out the knife" and lost a heart. On hovering over "tira" in this sentence it is translated as throws. It seem to be advisable to hover over every highlighted word as the meaning can change from sentence to sentence.
I would love if duolingo was completely consistent too and I do get frustrated when I lose a heart too. Then I try to remember that. failing is not the important thing the primary objective is learning and I used the annoyances to help me to learn. Luckily I smelled a rat when my first instinct was to translate to 'The man pulls the knife' but it seemed a little too gory or violent so I peeked... Not that throwing the knife is entirely without violent connotations. Anyway, to help me learn, the next time I see a door in Italy that I should PULL to open, I'll be temped to THROW it open instead. There's nothing like a bit of theatre to get attention!!.
Wow. This came right after the one with "capisci?" Duolingo is telling me a story.
Can you only discern the use of "tirare" for pull or throw based on context or is there another way to identify?
Ah, I already understood! The man is a circus performer! He is a knife thrower!
Yes, Luke. However, getta is more commonly used in southern italia. Northern use tira a lot more. Just have to know which type of Italian you speak to!
Tira=pull or pick & getta=turn or spin. That was common with Mia Nonna Siciliana. Aremina was stir, move or hurry...I really appreciate DuoLingo. Not to mention the people and the comments :)
I recognized the meaning of "tira" from Moonstruck.... "non tirare! non tirare!" the old man yells to his dogs who are pulling on their leashes too hard...
In English, you can say "the man pulls a knife on me, so I pulled out my gun".
Now that's what tiro meeeeaaans! This Italian commentator, Mauricio forgothiscognome, always says that when a calciotore shoots.
Get a good streak going and you'll have more lingots than you'll ever need and won't need to resort to begging.
Yes ! when a boyfriend invites his beloved one to have a tiramisu cake somewhere and suddenly his other girlfriend appears then tirare (to throw) has all things to do with tiramisu :P
Actually, tiramisu literally means pick-me-up. Tira (it pulls), mi (me), su (up). Even wiki agrees... :-) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiramisu
How many times will I be asked the same question during the same lesson?
Are these stage directions for an Italian movie? Work united the men and now a man throw a knife. Back-to-back statements that leave one wondering what comes next!
He could have thrown an axe, so I am relieved. Unless this sentence is used for humorous effect (and consequently, it calls for so many witty responses from the students), I don't really understand why this choice of a sentence. If they want us to remember the word "knife", they should have used it frequently enough in previous lessons. In this case, we are in process of learning verbs, aren't we? So, instead of having us focus on the verb, they shift our attention to the noun and, in turn, to the situation. I don't think it is serious enough and makes the system rather chaotic. It still has its benefits, however, with all its visible flaws.
I thought 'tira' meant pull up? at least it did on the sentence prior to this one...
"The man pulls the knife", would/should work, so should, "the man throws the knife". How does one discern context?
