dude (need UK equivalent)

English translation: Mate, she's well fit!

12:47 Feb 11, 2007

English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Slang

English term or phrase: dude (need UK equivalent)

Context is one teenage boy speaking to another about a girl. He says something like, "Dude, she's really hot". What would a teenage boy say in a similar situation in the UK? Does "dude" work, or... what? For that matter, what about the "she's really hot" part?

TIA!

tazdog (X) KudoZ activity Questions: 123 (1 open) (3 closed without grading) Answers: 2594 Spain
Local time: 00:05

Selected answer:Mate, she's well fit!

Explanation:
Hope it helps ;

Sara

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 12 mins (2007-02-11 13:00:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Interestingly, for me at least, one of my colleagues at my "day job" was talking about the wealth of expressions her son was baffling her with at the moment. One of them was "He's me blood" meaning friend/mate. When asked why he used "blood", he replied, "Well, he's me brother from another mother, innit?".

;)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2007-02-11 13:02:56 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

If it helps, my day job is working for a Child & Adolescent Mental Health Team In the UK. I know from my contacts that "mate" is used. Well, in my "hood", at any rate.

Selected response from:

Sara Noss
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:05

Grading comment

Thanks, Sara, this is what I used. Thanks also to the other answerers and to all the peer graders.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED

3 +20

Mate, she's well fit!

Sara Noss

5 -1

mate, dude, man

Andreea Bostan

pal or may be bloke

Fayez Roumieh

comment NFP

Ken Cox

geezer

Alexander Demyanov

Discussion entries: 1

Answers

4 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): -1

dude (need uk equivalent) mate, dude, man

Explanation:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?num=50&hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&re...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 mins (2007-02-11 12:54:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

dude is very much used in the UK! My nephew uses it all the time!

Andreea Bostan
United Kingdom
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English,

Romanian
PRO pts in category: 4

2 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +20

dude (need uk equivalent)

Mate, she's well fit!

Sara Noss
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:05
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

Thanks, Sara, this is what I used. Thanks also to the other answerers and to all the peer graders.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Madeleine MacRae Klintebo

4 mins

-> Thank you.

disagree

Andreea Bostan: not used so much between kids; used more between aduts

5 mins

-> Sorry, I beg to differ on this one, mate. ;)

agree

BrigitteHilgner: Isn't is fascinating how language keeps changing?!

5 mins

-> Very. I love the creativeness behind some of the changes, too.

neutral

Alexander Demyanov: The problem with "mate" is that it's rather old and "multigenerraltional" while AE "dude" is more of youth slang.//I see that "mate" is coming back, but translating "dude" as "mate" whould drop the nuances/connotations "dude" carries.

8 mins

-> It seems to be enjoying a revival here, but certainly, there is more than one way to hail a friend. From what I hear, "mate" has the edge at the moment. :)

agree

Konstantin Kisin: absolutely. I am laughing at the neutrals/disagrees to your answer. Someone basing their comment on a dictionary when we're talking about slang - hilarious.

8 mins

-> Nothing like a little entertainment to liven up a quiet Sunday, eh? Thank you, Konstantin.

agree

Vicky Papaprodromou

20 mins

-> Thank you.

agree

Tony M: It's great the way "mate" has come back in, and I certainly hear it a lot between young people; I must say the "she's well fit" expression is not familiar to me; I'd have said "a bit of alright", but I suspect that is now rather (very?) dated

24 mins

-> "a bit of alright" is ok, but I think it is used by ever so slighty older "geezers" - the ones just out of their teens. ;) Thanks, Tony.

agree

Ioanna Karamanou: with Konstantin... like "dude" hasn't been around forever anyways...

2 hrs

-> Good point! Thank you.

agree

Laura Terrett

2 hrs

-> Thank you.

agree

Roman Bardachev

4 hrs

-> Thank you.

agree

Fan Gao: Definitely the most widespread and spoken by the broadest age range. Can't go wrong with "mate" whichever part of the UK you come from:)

4 hrs

-> Thanks, CC. It isn't that the other options would not be understood in their way, but mate is catch-all. It can be used amongst friends or to address unknown peers/individuals.

agree

Peter Shortall

4 hrs

-> Thank you, Peter.

agree

jerrie

5 hrs

-> Thank you, jerrie.

agree

Melissa Stanfield: I remember first coming across this in London - I love it! ;)//A lot of the argument is circling around terms not fitting perfectly - they never do, especially with slang! This (dude/mate) is closest by far

8 hrs

-> Thank you, Melissa.

agree

Teresa Goscinska

15 hrs

-> Thank you.

agree

Hakki Ucar: a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance; http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dude; Sorry, on second though , your answer seems much closer,

18 hrs

-> Ok, but is that how it is used in Cindy's AE example? Even there I think it is a casual way to address another boy, much like "mate" would be in the UK. :)

agree

Veronica Coquard: Here's an interesting website for slang: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=d&p=19

19 hrs

-> Cheers, Inkling!

agree

P.L.F. Persio

19 hrs

-> Thank you.

agree

Robert Fox

21 hrs

-> Thank you

agree

PB Trans: I live in London and "mate" is not only used by adults. What about the song Dry your eyes (mate) by the Streets? http://www.lyricstop.com/d/dryyoureyes-thestreets.html See also this link: http://www.londonslang.com/db/f/ http://tinyurl.com/2axnar

1 day 24 mins

-> Didn't he also write a song that included the lyrics "You're fit, but my god, don't you know it!"? It may even have been the title. Thanks, Pina. :)

agree

Sophia Finos (X)

1 day 28 mins

-> Thank you, Sophia.

agree

Alfa Trans (X)

5 days

-> Thank you.

agree

John Alphonse (X): Does ths mean that "chap"is totally out of usage?

12 days

-> Not totally, but I think that, for now, as far as teen-speak goes it is. Thank you.

56 mins confidence:

dude (need uk equivalent) pal or may be bloke

Explanation:
Dude in North America

Fayez Roumieh
United States
Local time: 18:05
Native speaker of:

Arabic

2 hrs confidence:

dude (need uk equivalent) comment NFP

Explanation:
- as this won't fit in a peer comment field (even an empty one) -

Terms such as geezer, nigga, bitch, bastard, etc. that originally had or still have negative or perjorative connotations are often used in slang in the opposite sense, but in most cases the users are well aware of the negative connotation and use the terms expressly to emphasise the opposite meaning or transform it into a positive attribute within a particular social and cultural context.

In this sense, a young person might well refer to a respected acquaintance or friend as a 'geezer', just as an adult might call a respected acquaintance an 'old bastard', but that's not the same as addressing the person by the term.

It's also possible to address a person by such a term, or use it as a sort of form of address, such as 'nigga/bitch, get a load of that!', and of course that *could* be done with 'geezer' as well. The question remains as to whether it is actually used that way, or at least how common such usage is.

Other relevant considerations here are (a) whether it advisable to use a term that is relatively risky (such as geezer) when a perfectly good non-risky term (mate) is available, and (b) the relative equivalence of the terms. AFAIK 'dude' originally had a negative connotation, but IMO this has long been forgotten in common US usage, where 'dude' has a positive connotation. (Naturally, it can also be used sarcastically, but that is presumably not the case here).

Ken Cox
Local time: 00:05
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 8

5 mins confidence:

dude (need uk equivalent) geezer

Explanation:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=geezer

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 17 mins (2007-02-11 13:05:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In particular, definition 7 of the article:

7. Geezer

british slang, a term used by young people to say hello to thier respected friends.

howsit going geeza? fancy a pint?
yeh man...
nice one

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 42 mins (2007-02-11 13:30:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Yo Yo Yo Co-el-ho
what's going down geeza?
http://www.myspace.com/poetryjoe

I waked into an electronics store and a salesman yells out, "What's up, geeza?"
http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-129292.html

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 48 mins (2007-02-11 13:36:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Hi geeza, just added some pix of the xmas party gig...love & kisses,
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewpro...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2007-02-11 15:07:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

To Konstantin's deleted comment "...so the fact that everyone uses "mate" is irrelevant. LOL, OK":

That fact is very relevant and is at the core of my point: in AE not "everybody" uses "dude" and people take on slangs in part to be or seem different from "everybody"

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2007-02-11 15:29:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Geezer/geeza may be a bit obscure and narrow restricted to certain narrow/young/rap-loving population (usage of "dude" in the US is significantly wider). So "geezer"/"geeza" is probably not the right choice.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2007-02-11 15:37:02 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I'd still like to note another problem with "mate" as a translation for "dude": in addition to be too common/universal, it is used (in the meaning of interest to this question) to address someone, while "dude" is used (in the same meaning) to refer to a third person.

Besides, even as a term of address, "dude" isn't necessarilly as "friendly" as "mate". It's more neutral.

Alexander Demyanov
Local time: 18:05
Native speaker of:

Russian
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

disagree

Konstantin Kisin: geezer is never used to address someone in the way that you would use "dude", "mate", "man" etc. // Tell me, do these people you meet in Boston call themselves Brittons too? It's just that British people are "Brits" not Brittons...

11 mins

-> "Dude" is not used by everybody as "mate" is in BE. I meet enough Britons of all ages in Boston and hear how they speak.//No, they are careful to be more specific.//Well, if you havent' heard the usage, you may want to look it up.//Typos aside

disagree

Ken Cox: fully agree with Konstantin -- addressing someone directly as 'geezer' would normally be insulting. Did you check the peer rating of item 7 in the urban dictionary entry?

18 mins

-> Good point. Thank you.//However, you may have been detached from "street talk". "Myspace" is a good indicator.

agree

Fan Gao: I'll agree with you just from my own personal experience. I worked in London for 10 years and calling each other "geez", "alright geez, howz it going" was really common. May have just been a London thing tho, "mate" is certainly used more widespread.

4 hrs

-> Thanks, Concept.

agree

PB Trans: Yes, used all the time in London between friends and not only between the young, rap-loving population... 'ello geezah! :-)

1 day 14 mins

-> Thanks, Pina.

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

dude (need UK equivalent)

English translation: Mate, she's well fit!

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

Your current localization setting

Select a language

dude (need UK equivalent)

English translation: Mate, she's well fit!

Answers

KudoZ™ translation help

You have native languages that can be verified

Your current localization setting

Select a language