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Me Ne Frego Meaning

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Posted 10 March 2005 by Matt

what does "me ne frego" mean?

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Posted 10 March 2005 by Lupo Solitario

literally "I don't care a rap" but it's really vulgar...

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Posted 10 March 2005 by Tankredi

kinda like "i don´t give a damn"

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Posted 11 March 2005 by Me Ne Frego

it literally means i dont give a shit :twisted:

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Posted 12 March 2005 by Lupo Solitario

translation is better as much as vulgar the synonym is

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Posted 05 April 2005 by Michele

translation is better as much as vulgar the synonime is
Yes, you are right: it is vulgar, but now (2005), even if not polite, "me ne frego" is not felt as much vulgar as it could be during '30s. Most Italians do not know or remember its origin, in particular the youngest. (personal consideration on language).

Regards.

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Posted 01 May 2005 by SM70Sparviero

It is not a necessarily vulgar sentence, neither an original fascist one.An appropriate translation in English is not easy.

It was written by Gabriele D' Annunzio in 1917, two years before the birth of Fasci Italiani di Combattimento.
The great poet had seen the sentence written on the bandages of a severely wounded italian infantry veteran in a trench, later it became the battle cry of Fasci Italiani di Combattimento.

ME NE FREGO= "it doesn't matter to me"
and, in the same time , "I don' t care"

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Posted 02 July 2005 by Joesph Salemi

The verb "fregare" in Italian has a very strong sexual connotation. It means to rub or cause friction in the act of intercourse. Therefore the best translation of "Me ne frego" is probably "I don't give a f--k." (I hope I have not broken the Forum rules by saying this).

Yes, the saying is vulgar, but it shows intense force and is therefore a good expression to be used in the military. Many military units have unofficial mottoes that are quite obscene. I remember the one "Noli futuere nobiscum" used by an American paratrooper unit.

You should compare the "Me ne frego" sentence with this other Italian expression: "Ma che cazzo si ne frega?" This is also very vulgar, but it's effective if you want to express contempt or unconcern for something.

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Posted 04 July 2005 by FB

Joseph Salemi said:
The verb "fregare" in Italian has a very strong sexual connotation. It means to rub or cause friction in the act of intercourse. Therefore the best translation of "Me ne frego" is probably "I don't give a f--k." (I hope I have not broken the Forum rules by saying this).

Yes, the saying is vulgar, but it shows intense force and is therefore a good expression to be used in the military. Many military units have unofficial mottoes that are quite obscene. I remember the one "Noli futuere nobiscum" used by an American paratrooper unit.

You should compare the "Me ne frego" sentence with this other Italian expression: "Ma che cazzo si ne frega?" This is also very vulgar, but it's effective if you want to express contempt or unconcern for something.

I'm sorry but the verb fregare does not have all the sexual connotation that you say (albeit I don't give a f--k can be a good translation for me ne frego).

Correct: fregare can mean to rub or friction but not in a sexual context, or, better, it can be used also in that contexct but that is not it's main use. In the sense of rub/friction the verb fregare is very often addressed to young kinds when they happen to hit something when they walk or wen the fall. You say "frega che ti passa" (rub it and the pain will ease off).

Fregare can also mean to cheat: mi ha fregato means "he swindled me". A "fregatura", "prendere una fregatura", means a swindle, to have concluded an awful bargain (you buy what you think is a good used car and after a while you discover that what you bought is a dead engine) In this case both the bargain and the car yoou bought are a "fregatura".

Best regards

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Posted 04 July 2005 by Michele

You are both right.

The verb "fregare", from latin "fricare", means rub/friction, also, but not only, in a sexual context. It's use as to cheat or similar comes from this sexual meaning (note that expressions like "me ne fotto" are exactly equivalent to "me ne frego").

But it is also true that now for most italians it has lost its sexual meaning, and so expressions like "me ne frego" are not felt as vulgar (even if not very polite), while the equivalent "me ne fotto" is very vulgar because the sexual meaning is expilicit and evident.
(the vulgarity is Salemi's reported "ma chi cazzo se ne frega" (with "chi", not "che" and "se", not "si"), is felt in the first part, not in "se ne frega").

Only in some regional italian speech (in central or southern Italy) "fregare" retained also its sexual meaning, often in the variant "frecare" ("c" instad of "g"), beacuse in local dialects it means to f--k.
 
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