A language learners’ forum

I’m watching some of the episodes of Masterchef Italia on YouTube. Unfortunately, there aren’t any subtitles, so it is very difficult for me as a beginner to understand most of what is being said. The context helps because I know the British and Australian versions of the show, but I think I pick up only about 20%.

There are a couple of phrases that recur: “sei fuori” and “sei dentro” (I think). So, I understand that this literally means you’re out and you’re in, but I’m interested in the idiom involved. Those phrases seem harsh to me.

The British equivalents are “you’re safe” and “I’m sorry, you’re leaving us”. The Aussies: “you’re safe” and “I’m sorry, you’re going home”.

Interestingly, the Italian contestants often say that they don’t want to go home during individual interviews.

So, do the Italian phrases not have the harshness that I infer as an English speaker, or are they harsh in Italian too but chosen to match the combative style adopted by the judges?

BTW, let me know if this is the wrong sub forum to post things like this in.

Edit: fancy me incorrectly transcribing some Italian!

Hi teapot,

I can't assist with your question as to tone, but I get the strong sense that Masterchef Italia considers itself free to take greater liberties with its contestants, compared to the U.S. Masterchef or Masterchef Canada.

Here is a link to a collection of comments from various of the judges from Masterchef Italia which may be fun for you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7ZIunxhBPg&t=238s

I've seen Joe Bastianich on the U.S. version of Masterchef and while he likes there to present as a little stern and crusty, he has not as far as I know called any of the U.S. contestants an "ash-hole" (I might have misspelled that) or liberally thrown around the English equivalent of "merda" when describing dishes like he apparently does on Masterchef Italia: "questo piatto sembra un pezzo di merda"

Hi teapot,

While it is true that the chefs at "Masterchef Italia" are quite harsher than their equivalents in the English-language versions (and that's why I don't like the programme very much for how they mistreat the contestants), "sei fuori" and "sei dentro" sound, per se, quite neutral in Italian, and they don't convey a negative sense or too abrupt a message like their English equivalents.

I also forgot to mention that the expression ma sei fuori? is Italian slang for "are you crazy?". But this has nothing to do with Masterchef Italia's "sei fuori".