Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Swedish term or phrase:
stava (in this context)
English translation:
...knew absolutely nothing about
Added to glossary by
Cristian Iscrulescu
Jan 9, 2009 19:07
16 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Swedish term
United States
Proficient and reliable
Native in: Romanian 
Works in: English to Romanian, Romanian to English, Swedish to English, and 1 more.
stava (in this context)
Swedish to English
Bus/Financial
Business/Commerce (general)
Sentence:
När jag började på 70-talet kunde man inte ens stava till upphandling.
The sentence is talen from a newspaper aritcle that can be found at http://www.svd.se/naringsliv/nyheter/artikel_2260925.svd
Thank you.
När jag började på 70-talet kunde man inte ens stava till upphandling.
The sentence is talen from a newspaper aritcle that can be found at http://www.svd.se/naringsliv/nyheter/artikel_2260925.svd
Thank you.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 +2 | ...knew absolutely nothing about |
Tim Kynerd
|
| 4 +2 | ...couldn't even spell the word. |
Anna Herbst
|
Proposed translations
+2
4 mins
Tim Kynerd
Sweden
Sweden
Native in English
Works in field
Sweden
Transportation, IT, construction
Native in: English (Variant: US)
Works in: Swedish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
19
Selected
...knew absolutely nothing about
Here, "kunde inte ens stava till" means "knew absolutely nothing about." ("Kunde inte ens stava till," of course, literally means "couldn't even spell." That literal translation might work as well, though I think it feels a bit exaggerated in English.)
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Note added at 1 hr (2009-01-09 20:19:32 GMT)
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"Didn't know an iota" would also work. There are lots of possibilities. :)
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Note added at 1 hr (2009-01-09 20:19:32 GMT)
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"Didn't know an iota" would also work. There are lots of possibilities. :)
Note from asker:
| Maybe something like "didn't know an iota"? |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks a lot."
+2
3 hrs
Anna Herbst
Australia
Australia
Native in Swedish
&
English
Works in field
Australia
When quality matters more
Native in: Swedish 
, English
Works in: English to Swedish, Swedish to English, Swedish, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
19
...couldn't even spell the word.
Why not just translate the phrase the speaker uses rather than explain it?
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
George Hopkins
: Yes.
11 hrs
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Tack George!
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| agree |
Kathy Saranpa
1 day 6 hrs
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Tack Kathy!
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