This site uses cookies. Some of these cookies are essential to the operation of the site, while others help to improve your experience by providing insights into how the site is being used. For more information, please see the ProZ.com privacy policy.
Cookie settings
  1. KudoZ™ Top
  2. French to English
  3. General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

elle ne sait pas très bien danser

English translation: she's not a great dancer

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:elle ne sait pas très bien danser
English translation:she's not a great dancer

10:31 Mar 17, 2018
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2018-03-20 10:55:32 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)


French to English translations [Non-PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / Plubicité/school homework
French term or phrase: elle ne sait pas très bien danser
elle ne sais pas très bien danser

http://context.reverso.net/traduction/francais-anglais/elle ...
Fabrice59
France
Local time: 05:50
she's not a great dancer
Explanation:
Assuming it's not a metaphor for something else

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 mins (2018-03-17 10:36:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And the conjugation of 'savoir' is misspelt, should be 'elle ne sait pas'
Selected response from:

Helene Tammik
Local time: 05:50
Grading comment
Merci !
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +10she's not a great dancer
Helene Tammik
3 +7she doesn't really know how to danse
ormiston
4 +3she's not very good at dancing
Tony M
5 -4She don't know to dance very well.
Mohamed Hosni
Summary of reference entries provided
to know HOW to do something in English (one of the meanings of "savoir" in French)
Nikki Scott-Despaigne

Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +10
elle ne sais pas très bien danser
she's not a great dancer


Explanation:
Assuming it's not a metaphor for something else

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 mins (2018-03-17 10:36:03 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

And the conjugation of 'savoir' is misspelt, should be 'elle ne sait pas'

Helene Tammik
Local time: 05:50
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Merci !

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Ashlie
1 min
agree  writeaway: dur dur
26 mins
agree  Beatriz Ramírez de Haro: GOOD translation, WRONG disagree!
54 mins
agree  Jennifer White: Yes, wrong disagree.
56 mins
agree  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: Natural solution.
1 hr
agree  Sandra & Kenneth Grossman
1 hr
agree  Tony M
2 hrs
agree  katsy
5 hrs
agree  Josephine Cassar: First best natuaral answer
19 hrs
agree  Michael Davies: Yes, this would be a good way to translate the phrase (Md. Hosni is mistaken - it would appear that he does not accept other than literal translations, which is not a good way to translate into a different language).
1 day 7 mins
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +7
elle ne sais pas très bien danser
she doesn't really know how to danse


Explanation:
In that she hasn't learnt properly. Out of context the 'très bien' qualifies her ability rather than whether she danses well or not. Does this answer your question?


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 9 mins (2018-03-17 10:41:12 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry PLEASE note spelling of DANCE!!

ormiston
Local time: 05:50
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 93

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  writeaway: definitely NOT incorrect for those who actually know English
25 mins
agree  Beatriz Ramírez de Haro: GOOD translation, WRONG disagree!
49 mins
agree  Jennifer White: Nothing wrong here, of course.
52 mins
agree  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: Another natural solution.
1 hr
agree  Tony M
2 hrs
agree  katsy
5 hrs
agree  Michael Davies: This is equally acceptable (Md. Hosni - see my comment to your comment on the previous suggestion).
1 day 4 mins
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
she's not very good at dancing


Explanation:
Just another option to throw into the melting pot; would be useful, perhaps, where the verb doesn't lend itself to 'the name of the person who does it'.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 heures (2018-03-17 13:05:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

An example of what I meant:
If we wanted to say someone is not very good at photocopying, we wouldn't be able to say 'she's not a good photocopier' as that would make her sound like a defective Xerox!

One of my friends once said of a colleague "She's an excelletnt typewriter" and wondered why I giggled! I explained that in some cases, we have a special word for 'the person who does something' (typist); just as we equally can't say 'she's a good cooker' (une bonne gazinière ?!) (cook)

Tony M
France
Local time: 05:50
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 348

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  writeaway: to cancel the utterly preposterous disagree
2 hrs
  -> Thanks a lot, Writeaway!
agree  Charles Davis: I'm surprised this hasn't attracted much support. I think it's the best version.
2 days 9 hrs
  -> Thanks, Charles! My feelings exacty (well, I would, wouldn't I ;-) ! )
agree  AllegroTrans
5 days
  -> Thanks, C!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): -4
elle ne sais pas très bien danser
She don't know to dance very well.


Explanation:
Suggestion.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2018-03-17 14:26:46 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It's very easy.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 hrs (2018-03-17 18:36:19 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

8 disagree for the most accurate and direct translation!!!!!

Mohamed Hosni
Morocco
Local time: 04:50
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Nikki Scott-Despaigne: Four "disagrees" suffice to get the point across, but I would like to indicate the essential term missing here : "how". For this meaning, "savoir danser/nager/chanter,etc.", using the verb "to know" requires the expression "to know HOW to do something".
1 hr
disagree  Tony M: Not only incorrect EN as a translation of the source expression, it's even a bad translation, as it means something quite different: 'know to' / 'know HOW to' are NOT the same: "She waited outside in the rain as she didn't know to ring the bell".
1 hr
disagree  Sheila Wilson: "she don't"? That's an elementary-level error
5 hrs
disagree  AllegroTrans: Thus is completely wrong and I will be the 11th person to say so; why are arguing with native English speakers? "She do" is NOT the third person singular conjugation of the verb "to do"; look it up in any English grammar book
23 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)




Reference comments


1 hr peer agreement (net): +5
Reference: to know HOW to do something in English (one of the meanings of "savoir" in French)

Reference information:
"Savoir" + infinitive in French indicates the ability to do something. This is rendered in English by "to know how to do something".
For example : je sais nager = I know HOW to swim.

See the intro to this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_13746...

Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 119

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Jennifer White: Yes, but this really is basic stuff.
24 mins
agree  Tony M: Yes, basic first-year FR grammar.
34 mins
agree  mchd: des règles de base méconnues pour certains !
1 hr
agree  AllegroTrans
1 day 21 hrs
agree  writeaway: to counter the erroneous (and totally unjustified/unexplained) disagree
4 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:
ProZ.com term search
Search millions of term translations
Close search
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search