darsi una svegliata
To smarten up in Italian is to say darsi una svegliata.
The phrase darsi una svegliata is used to tell someone to start paying attention or to act more alertly in a situation. It can also be used to suggest that someone needs to improve their performance or behavior regarding a specific task.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
darsi una svegliata is an informal and colloquial expression typically used among friends, family or in casual settings to tell someone to snap out of it. For more formal contexts, you might use Migliorare l'aspetto to mean improve one's appearance or Dare un tocco di eleganza to mean to add a touch of elegance. If you want to say to put oneself in order in an informal way, you can use Mettersi a posto.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because this phrase uses the reflexive verb darsi, the reflexive pronoun must change to match the subject of the sentence, such as mi do una svegliata, ti dai una svegliata or si dà una svegliata.
Did you know?
- In Italian, you can use the word sveglia (alarm clock) as a metaphor for a person who is remarkably alert or quick-witted.
- In Italian, the verb svegliare shares a root with the English word 'vigil', as both derive from the concept of staying awake and alert.
- The noun svegliata comes from the verb svegliare, which means 'to wake up'. Literally, you are telling someone to 'give themselves a waking up'.
Examples in context
- Se vuoi fare una buona impressione a quell'intervista di lavoro, dovresti migliorare l'aspetto.If you want to make a good impression at that job interview, you should smarten up.
- Per la cena di gala, dovresti dare un tocco di eleganza al tuo abito.For the gala dinner, you should smarten up your outfit.
- Se vuoi convincere il tuo capo, devi fare una bella figura e mostrarti più professionale.If you want to convince your boss, you should smarten up and appear more professional.
Example conversation
Giulia is reminding Matteo to focus during their project.
- GiuliaMatteo, devi darsi una svegliata e concentrarti.Matteo, you need to smarten up and concentrate.
- MatteoHai ragione, mi sono distratto un momento.You are right, I got distracted for a moment.
- GiuliaSiamo quasi alla scadenza del progetto.We are almost at the project deadline.
- MatteoOk, ora sono decisamente più attento.Ok, now I am definitely more attentive.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries darsi, svegliata, una, CC BY-SA 4.0.
