Thread: Мало ли что

Originally Posted by Юрка

"Мало ли что" = "Неважно, что".
"Мало ли что ей там надо" = "Неважно, что ей там надо".

I watched something in Russian with English subtitles, "Мало ли что" was translated there as "just in case".

"Мало ли что ей там надо. - Just in case she will be needed there" (?)

Could it be?

Originally Posted by Valda

"Мало ли что ей там надо. - Just in case she will be needed there"

BTW the word ‘там’ isn't used in its literal meaning ‘there’ in this sentence. ‘там’ here expresses the emotion of disdain, as well as ‘мало ли’ does.

Originally Posted by Soft sign

BTW the word ‘там’ isn't used in its literal meaning ‘there’ in this sentence. ‘там’ here expresses the emotion of disdain, as well as ‘мало ли’ does.

Just in case it will be needed?

Originally Posted by Valda

Just in case it will be needed?

"Мало ли что ей там надо"
No.
In this context "мало ли" means "who knows", "you never know" etc, so it would be "well, who knows what she needs" (a bit derogatory). "Там" like a particle (not like "there") has no analogs in English. So I used "well", although it's a bad substitution.

Originally Posted by Paul G.

"Мало ли что ей там надо"
No.
In this context "мало ли" means "who knows", "you never know" etc, so it would be "well, who knows what she needs" (a bit derogatory). "Там" like a particle (not like "there") has no analogs in English. So I used "well", although it's a bad substitution.

Can we say "там" in this phrase is roughly like "on Earth" in English:

"Who knows what on Earth she needs"?