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provato dalla vita

English translation: life has left him/her worse for wear

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Italian term or phrase:provato dalla vita
English translation:life has left him/her worse for wear
Entered by: Lisa Jane

10:44 Mar 18, 2021
Italian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Italian term or phrase: provato dalla vita
private letter between friends
Adrian James
life has left him/her worse for wear
Explanation:
Here is an idiomatic rendition. To be provato is to be worn down by something so you could also say

worn by the trials of life ( keeping the connection with 'provato-prove'

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Note added at 16 mins (2021-03-18 11:00:16 GMT)
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https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/the-wor...
Selected response from:

Lisa Jane
Italy
Local time: 03:49
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2life has left him/her worse for wear
Lisa Jane
4 +1someone who went through (suffered) a lot in his/her life
Isabella Nanni
4he has gone through a lot of trials and tribulations during his life
Barbara Cochran, MFA
Summary of reference entries provided
Adrian James

Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
someone who went through (suffered) a lot in his/her life


Explanation:
you're not providing much context, but this is what it means

Isabella Nanni
Italy
Local time: 03:49
Native speaker of: Italian
PRO pts in category: 1

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  philgoddard
2 hrs
  -> Grazie!
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14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
life has left him/her worse for wear


Explanation:
Here is an idiomatic rendition. To be provato is to be worn down by something so you could also say

worn by the trials of life ( keeping the connection with 'provato-prove'

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 16 mins (2021-03-18 11:00:16 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/the-wor...

Lisa Jane
Italy
Local time: 03:49
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 496
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  FRANK KEENAN: Without context the phrase is too general - as other contributors rightly said, the gist is worn out/ drained/ a bit worse for wear etc
29 mins
  -> Thanks
neutral  philgoddard: I don't think we can know what effect it had on him. He could have experienced all kinds of suffering and come out smiling. It's a pity this question is from a non-logged-in visitor, so there probably won't be any more context or points.
2 hrs
  -> Provato in Italian usually has a negative connotation, if you say someone is provato it means it has taken its toll on them.
agree  martini: Treccani: Part. pass. provato, in funzione verbale: persona provata dalle avversità, dalle disgrazie e sim., la cui vita è stata segnata da eventi difficili o dolorosi;
3 hrs
  -> Thanks!
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
he has gone through a lot of trials and tribulations during his life


Explanation:
Since "provare" means to be tested.

Or more informally, "life has put him through the wringer".

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 21:49
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 42
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Reference comments


9 hrs
Reference

Reference information:
Thanks for making a suggestion about translating “provato dalla vita” taken from a private letter between friends, referring to 2020/21 and the pandemic. Here are some more suggestions from all sources:

tested by life
tried by life
put to the test by life
knocked about by life
stressed out by life
stretched to the limit by life
worn down by life’s trials (and tribulations)
stretched on life’s rack
dismayed by life’s troubles
dismayed by life’s ups and downs
drained by life
life has taken its toll
put through the wringer
left worse for wear
went through a lot
suffered a lot

Adrian James
Italy
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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