Help translating idiomatic expression, "Det er noget..."

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aarjpon
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Help translating idiomatic expression, "Det er noget..."

Postby aarjpon » 2015-03-05, 16:37

"Det er noget værre noget med dig!"

I've come across this expression before when learning Danish, but I don't think I completely understand it. The translation provided is "You are in a bad way!", which doesn't make complete sense to me either. This is from the Teach Yourself Danish series (Chapter 16), so perhaps the translation is more British than American English.

I'd like to know why there are 2 "noget"s in the expression. Transliterated, I'm guessing it is something like "There's something worse something with you!" ??? But the 2 "something"s are throwing me off. Any native Danish speakers that could explain this better?

aarjpon
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Joined:2015-01-31, 19:29
Gender:male
Country:USUnited States (United States)

Re: Help translating idiomatic expression, "Det er noget..."

Postby aarjpon » 2015-03-05, 19:06

FYI, here is an explanation I just got from another site (reddit):

"Det er noget værre noget med dig" sounds more like: "It's some terrible stuff(regarding you)". It's a pretty generic phrase with a broad meaning, but I think the translation that was provided is really bad.

It can mean many different things. Did the person just break his leg and then drop his food on the floor? "Det er noget værre noget med dig!" (What is happening to you lately is bad and unlucky! I feel bad for you!)

Did she just punch her friends and rip off the head of her teddy bear? "Det er noget værre noget med hende.." (Things regarding her have been bad/terrible lately)

You friend Tom just got sick and might die soon. "Det er noget værre noget med ham Tom.."

Your friend is harrassing you sexually and you say: "You are acting crazy!". He might answer: "Ja, det er noget værre noget! Haha"

Don't try to translate "det er noget værre noget" directly. It's just a set phrase that means: It's not looking too good / the situation is bad / things are not very good.

You could also say: "Det er noget værre lort", "det er noget værre møj", "det er noget værre pis" and so on. "Noget" is just a generic pronoun and it's a coincidence that it's the same word as the other "noget" :) If you need a translation, think of it: "It is some bad something"



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