Thread: need help again

His reputation does him no justice.

Said after meeting "him" in person. Is his reputation better or worse than real impression?

Originally Posted by Indra

His reputation does him no justice.

Said after meeting "him" in person. Is his reputation better or worse than real impression?

That's a difficult statement to interpret positive or negative. It depends on the previous impression. Basically, you are only saying that his reputation does not tell a complete story.

If I had to, though, I would lean toward interpreting this as meaning that his previous reputation is negative and his in-person impression is positive. This is because of the phrase "to do smb. justice". Usually, this means that the previous story/information/picture was not as positive as it should have been.

This phrase is almost always used with regard to photographs. For example, if a person is better-looking in real life than in a photograph, you say, "This picture doesn't do him justice."

Matroskin Kot
спаибо большое значит, что-то вроде

"в жизни он гораздо лучше"

Originally Posted by Indra

Matroskin Kot
спаибо большое значит, что-то вроде

"в жизни он гораздо лучше"

Без указывающего по-другому контекста я бы понял это так, да.

Sorry, guys, I have one more question.

Situation: you write to a person who is ill, and the illness is rather serious. What is the most delicate and careful way to ask how s/he feels? Saying something just like "I hope you are better now" seems inappropriate to the case of a long-lasting, untreatable illness.

Maybe you could say "I hope you are not feeling too poorly", or something similar which refers only to the present and does not imply future recovery.

Has your health gotten any better?
Have the doctors/Has your doctor been taking care of you?

These are very polite questions you could ask.

basurero

paulb

Thanks