Hi Everyone,I am writing a book on "Becoming the good guy*
* (or being a smart, personable, reliable, giving woman. )
It's about why people speak well of you, refer you business and open doors for you.
I am looking for the term (usually one or two words) in other languages that someone uses when they are referring business to someone else In Canada, it's often a "good guy." eg. If you need a lawyer, go see Steve, he's a good guy. Tell him I sent you!
It may or may not be a direct translation ( e.g. in French it is bons gars but in in Spanish it is chevere) . It may be generic (e.g. a mensch) or it could be gender specific (e.g. if you need a great doctor, go see Susan, she's amazing). I have also seen older phrases (she's really top drawer) and very new ones (he's solid).
If you speak another language or dialect or know someone who does, could you please find a translation for me?
35 comments:
Nein, no Gaelic .....but I have come up with an Italian version for you ....... "e in gamba".
The expression means ....he (or she) is smart, successful and "all round good people"
Hope this fills in another blank ....hey at this rate I could be on the fly leaf of your book ....hey, don't push it Matt :-)
cheers = Matt
My Italian offering is "Un grande uomo" or "Una persona per bene".
Later.
Yeah I guess, but not sure if it fits into the context you are using it for... calling someone a 'good guy' [in Jamaica] means you are "Bigging him up"... or making him sound good... but it is more of a verb than a noun. I'm trying to find you a descriptive verb or a proper... well not so proper noun.
I did think of one but it is an older saying... Boz... used as... "This guy is boz"... I'm waiting for confirmation from my male cousins and on the spelling.
Tanya
I obviously don’t have enough work to do…..
POLISH dobry czĺowiek
JAMACAIN big ups
Celia
In Farsi they call it "ADAME KHOOBIEH".
The word "ADAM" means person and "KHOOB" means good, and you use it when you want to approve somebody.
Mike
Well, my manager came back with leuk betrouwbare vent - good, liikeable,
trustworthy guy in Dutch
Barbara
A translation “a good guy’ into Dutch of will be “een goede jongen”. But ‘a good guy also means that he is liable en honest; which can be translated into “een betrouwbare jongen’.
Dirk-Jan
German /Swiss German. Then you'd say, independant whether you recommend a man or a woman: "Dieser Geschäftskontakt in Sachen Rechtsberatung ist eine Empfehlung des Hauses". --> in English: This business contact in regard to legal is a chief's suggestion. You'd refrain from saying anything personalised such as good, trustworthy etc.
T.
I talked to my relatives and good guy in portuguese is BOM HOMEM. It meansgood man.
Hope this is helpful.
Cheers
Joe
Dave, you piqued my curiosity with the word challenge.
The only words I could think of for this are not really a literal translation in Italian.
If you use that i.e. "un' uomo buono" (literally 'a good guy') or the more generic 'una persona buona' (a good person), that indicates a kind-hearted person, which is really not the meaning you are looking for.
More appropriate would be "un uomo bravo" or "una persona brava" (yes, bravo is not just used to salute opera singers at the end of a performance...). This means "a skilled person", but in a more generic sense. If you are "bravo" in Italian at something, that means you are good at what you do. "Bravissimo" is 'very good' (superlatives are used extensively in the Italian language).
Alternately, (and definitely what I would suggest you use) is "una persona di fiducia".
Literally it means "a trusted person". The term fiduciary (as you well know) exists in English as well, but it has a more legal meaning.
This is a high compliment, and an extreme recommendation of somebody in the Italian culture. It means this person is not just good (i.e. bravo), but you can trust him or her to deliver, to keep his/her word... So "persona di fiducia" is my recommendation.
Hoping this helps! Claudio
Okay I just got a couple for you:
He's a good guy:
é um rapaz bom - Portuguese
él es un tipo bueno - Spanish
Tonya
Dobry czlowiek is a direct translation, but I think that there might be a better term to use. I'll double check my ideas with my in-laws (they're read magazines from Poland and like in any language there are 'current' terms better to use than others. I'll try to get back to you by tomorrow).
Dorota
Hi Dave,
In Romanian, when we refer at someone as a "good guy" we say often:
"un tip de treaba"
where:
un tip = a guy
de treaba = doing good job, good to work with, reliable, but in tha
same time someone who is nice
There are some other expressions:
"baiat bun"
very close to the previous, but you would translate like "good boy" w
where "baiat = boy" and "bun = good" (note we put the adjective after noun)
"un tip simpatic" which means "nice guy" (French people have something
very similar to this one)
All of them refer to men.
Let me know if I can help more. I'll get my italian fellow to help
with this, too.
All the best,
Georgeta
Hi Dave,
In Romanian, when we refer at someone as a "good guy" we say often:
"un tip de treaba"
where:
un tip = a guy
de treaba = doing good job, good to work with, reliable, but in tha
same time someone who is nice
There are some other expressions:
"baiat bun"
very close to the previous, but you would translate like "good boy" w
where "baiat = boy" and "bun = good" (note we put the adjective after noun)
"un tip simpatic" which means "nice guy" (French people have something
very similar to this one)
All of them refer to men.
Let me know if I can help more. I'll get my italian fellow to help
with this, too.
All the best,
Georgeta
Dutch: een goede jongen, een brave borst, een goeie vent, goeie kerel, en een beste vent.
German: ein guter Kerl.
French: Un bonhomme, un brave home, un digne homme and un bon garcon
Spanish: un chico bueno,
a good sport - un tipo estupendo
good fellow - buenaza.
In Afrikaans, "Hy is 'n gawe ou"
Brett
From what I know and what I've used all my life, in Punjabi the direct translation for a "good guy" is "changa banda." Hope this helps!
Gary
My best buddy best pal, Paul B. who happens to be German, had this to say:
In German: "ein guter mann" (a good man) … NB: "ein guter mensch" (a good guy) also applies in German (the base of Yiddish) …
Thanks Dave. I may be posting another entry soon when I get the Chinese term for "good guy".
Jerry T.
In Greek, 'einai kalos anthropos' is a common term which maans : 'He/ She is A GOOD PERSON'.
Cheers,
Kathy
First off, I want to wish you and yours a wonderful holiday. Hope you're getting some well deserved rest. I'm in Vancouver, taking time off to catch up on my job hunting and GMAT preparation.
In Chinese, if you want to refer business to someone reliable, you could say:
shin de guo = "trust-able"
sung dow = on track
The second one is a literal translation. It means that the person in question is on the level - he will do right by you; he will take care of you.
Does that help? Also, do you want the actual Chinese words?
I'll ask my parents for more when I get a chance. Adios for now and all the best.
--
Regards,
Oscar Lin
This is based on a translation on AltaVista, and I’ve verified it with a couple of my Chinese mail friends. It should be accurate.
you need a lawyer, go see Steve, he's a good guy. Tell him I sent you.
您需要律師, 去看見史蒂夫, 他是一個好人。告訴他我介紹您。
Direct translation of “he’s a good guy” is - 他是一個好人
Hope this helps!
Susanna
Filipino-Mabait na tao…
Filipino-pare,magling yan
Cantonese –ho ho Sin Sound
Mandarin- hau hau sian shung
I’m working on a few more from our staff …….. but also came across a great line today that I really liked
“Never believe your own press release” …. because your own press release can be self serving and often more myth than reality…….
I guess this ties in with Goodguy.com…… like you said you cannot call yourself a “good Guy” just hope that someone say it about you…… thought you’d like that one!
Cheers, S
他是個好漢
He is a good guy.
Hi Dave:
I checked with my Mom, who was a teacher in Hong Kong, and my sister in law, who was a HR Manager in HK and Singapore. This seems to be the best translation.
Eddie
Good guy means "Sarau Manas Che" in my language (Gujarati). Gujarati is one of twenty-seven languages from India.
Sarau – Good
Manas – Human being
Che- is
In Hindi, Good Guy means “ Archa Ladka Hai”. Hindi is the national Language of India.
Archa – Good
Ladka – Man
Hai – is
I know this is too late to post but hope it helps you.
Thanks Suchi for posting this. It's never too late to be a "Sarau Manas Che"
Hi Dave, I'm a kurd and speak Kurdish, good guy in kurdish can be said many ways, but the one I think works best is..."Pe-yow Bash".
To add to 'Translations' for 'good guy' commonly used in Spanish, would be "buena gente". Which actually means good people.
S.
Hi Dave,
Amongst my Hindi speaking friends, we refer to a "good guy" as "achcha bandaa". In a more formal setting, it would be "Achcha insaan". So "Dave is a good guy" in casual Hindi would sound like "Dave achcha banda hai", or "Dave achcha insaan hai". Rule of thumb, "bandaa = guy, insaan = man". To refer to woman called Devi as "She's amazing", we would say "Devi achchi bandi hai" or "Devi achchi aurat hai"
Thanks for being an achcha bandaa and posting this!
For the good guy translation - look to kids for "He/She Rocks!" or He's Sick!"
And I will provide your name to others given the opportunity.
Cheers,
dc
In Arabic, the literal translation of a reference to a good guy is "Rajolloon Saleh". Since there's so many different dialects, it's hard to find one that works for all of them. This one is a more formal translation but it most definitely works :).
Good guy in Persian/Farsi:
-mardeh/khanomeh khoob (good man/women)
-mardeh/khanomeh mofid (useful man/women)
-mardeh/khanomeh bahal(cool man/women)
-mardeh/khanomeh monsef (fair man/women)
-mardeh/khanomeh
ba-shaksiat(prestigious man/women)
-mardeh/khanomeh mohtaram (respectful man/women)
Hey Dave,
I really enjoyed your Knocking Down Silos presentation.
In Tamil, good guy would be
"Nallavan" and a very good guy would be "Romba nallavan"...
Still working on getting the female equivalent for you
Cheers,
D.N.
I speak Russian fluently. The translation for "good guy" in Russian is "horoshij chelovek"(good human). The word human is sexless and the expression applies to both men and women. Someone who is outstanding in the community for selflessness and contribution is known as "velikij chelovek" - a Great human.
Hello Dave,
I attended your latest speech in Guelph and I must say that I stunned and it definitely had me thinking. Excellent Job!! I am going to add to your list the Greek version of nice guy, and it is καλός άνθρωπος which is a well rounded person and totally matches your definition of the term nice guy. Hope to be hearing you again!! Thanks so much!
George
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