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-   -   Anyone speak Italian?translate a phrase-please (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/anyone-speak-italian-translate-a-phrase-please-179142/)

pastalover Aug 22nd, 2001 07:39 AM

Anyone speak Italian?translate a phrase-please
 
I want to stencil a saying to my kitchen wall--What I want it to say in essence is---"For the good life one must have laughter,love and good food" I am not sure if it should say la buon vita or la vita buona and that same for alimento bueno or buen alimento---should it say bisogni or richiede? Is there a saying such as this in Italian??? seems I have heard it before ---Can anyone help??Thanks

Book Chick Aug 22nd, 2001 08:07 AM

I would probably go with this: <BR> <BR>Per la buona vita, si ha bisogno d'umore, d'amore et del buon cibo. <BR> <BR>Best Wishes, <BR>BC <BR> <BR> <BR>

Mein Aug 22nd, 2001 08:12 AM

I thought it was "risata" for laughter Thanks

Diva Aug 22nd, 2001 08:17 AM

pastalover - try this website for translating. It's pretty good. <BR>www.babelfish.com <BR> <BR>Translates from English to Italian & vice versa. Good luck! Ciao!

xyz Aug 22nd, 2001 10:23 AM

"Per la bella vita, devi avere umore, amore, and buon cibo".

xyz Aug 22nd, 2001 10:44 AM

Sorry <BR> <BR>e buon cibo.

Non Parlo Bene Aug 22nd, 2001 11:44 AM

My Italian is pretty rusty, but as I recall "umore" means "mood. For example, "sono di cattivo umore" = "I'm in a bad mood." "Humor" as in "sense of humor" is "umorismo." Sorry I can't give you a good translation for the whole phrase. As I said, my Italian's rusty.

Tina Aug 22nd, 2001 12:07 PM

What about an oft quoted phrase such as "the sweetness of doing nothing" --- in Italiano, it's "la dolce far niente". <BR> <BR>

Gerry Aug 22nd, 2001 12:09 PM

Non Parla Bene is correct: <BR>senso dell'umorismo=sense of humor. <BR>risata=laugh:laughing:laughter <BR>

Gerry Aug 22nd, 2001 12:25 PM

Sorry posted too soon: <BR>Riso=laughter I think this is a better translation than risata. <BR>Any Italians out there?

Jan Aug 22nd, 2001 12:40 PM

I ran to get a ceramica catalog that sells little plaques, thinking I'd seen your phrase on their list. <BR> <BR>Sorry, not there, but among the 14 or so proverbs is: "Il riso fa buon sangue," loosely translated as "laughter is the best medicine. I like "Amici e vino devono essere vecchi," "Friends and wine should be old."

xyz Aug 22nd, 2001 02:15 PM

Yea there are italians out here. <BR>It was me only not paying any attention really to what I wrote. <BR>Realized I didn't write umorismo during dinner and thought to come back a fix it, but see someone else did it for me. <BR>

pastalover Aug 22nd, 2001 02:54 PM

"Sweetness" is a good qoute but I like something pertaining to food since it is for the kitchen. I like the "friends and wine" I would still like a Italian phrase that means "love, music and good food are the essentials of the good life" --Didnt Pavoratti(spl?)say that??? maybe I was thinking about wine women and song -- Oh well

pasquale's friend Aug 24th, 2001 12:41 PM

I asked my Italian friend and here is his response: <BR> <BR>There is something right in all the versions you have got. <BR> <BR>I would say: "Per una bella vita, si ha bisogno di buon umore, amore e cibo <BR>buono" <BR> <BR>Here is why: <BR>- in Italian life is 'beautiful' (bella) more than 'good' (buona); "una <BR>buona vita" would not sound such a great life; <BR>- "si ha bisigno", "devi avere", and similar expressions like "hai <BR>bisogno", "serve", and others, are all equivalent, but the construction of <BR>the sentence would slightly change according to your choice. "si ha bisogno <BR>di" is very common and says it all: <BR>- 'laughter' is in fact 'risata', but refers to a single event; I would use <BR>'buon umore' even though not a literal translation, because it has a more <BR>general meaning of 'happy mood'; <BR>- 'cibo buono' or 'buon cibo' is the same; using 'cibo buono' put more <BR>emphasis on the need for the food to be good ('buono'); <BR>- although it is not a mistake, you do not need to repeat the preposition <BR>'di' before each term of your list; <BR>- in Italian you do not use a comma before the last conjunction of a list. <BR> <BR>By the way: I entirely agree! <BR> <BR>Pasquale

ttt Aug 24th, 2001 04:29 PM

ttt for pastalover


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