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I have not at any point tried to tell you what Trapacear means, and nor did I at any point indicate a disagree with your answer. I have maintained from the start that I'm talking about ENGLISH USAGE and not meaning, (which suggests that an appropriate synonym might sound more idiomatic). This is merely to help the Asker find the correct word or phrase for her context for usage in English. I have also not "refused" to agree on softness or hardness of words, so you have clearly misunderstood my point, which refers to the NUANCE in the meaning of the words and how this can alter slightly through usage, and not their strength! PS. With reference to which term is hard/soft (insulting/not insulting), I would personally be equally insulted if I was confronted with either of these words, given the context, as it is the target lang. USAGE and CONTEXT that drives the meaning here, not only the dictionary definition.
As translators we need to convey the meaning and intention of the original term. You insist in softening the actual meaning of "trapacear" which is (almost) colloquial. You would not walk up to someone and tell them "Está a trapacear-me" without this sounding insulting. If you tell me I am "misleading" you, that is not insulting. Also, you said: "The point is that "cheat" refers to breaking the rules of a game (i.e. between players - see Oliver's reference post below), while the deception described in the context is not part of the game, as the attendant is not a player. "Cheat" would certainly apply between "players" in a casino if they broke the rules intentionally to try to win, but the attendant is not playing, he/she is carrying out a professional or official function. I.e., you reduced the scope of the meaning of cheat and refuse to accept that "trapacear" is stronger than "misleading". In any case, I do not want to go on with this dialogue, nor am I trying to teach anything about English to a native speaker. I am merely defending my suggestion and the accepted meaning of "trapacear". And please do not teach me what "trapacear" means. I know perfectly well.
transitive verb 1: to deprive of something valuable by the use of deceit or fraud cheated the elderly couple out of their property 2: to influence or lead by deceit, trick, or artifice a young man who cheated young women into marrying him when he was already married 3: to elude or thwart by or as if by outwitting cheat death
intransitive verb 1 a: to practice fraud or trickery denied the accusation that he cheated b: to violate rules dishonestly cheat at cards cheating on a test 2: to be sexually unfaithful —usually used with on was cheating on his wife 3: to position oneself defensively near a particular area in anticipation of a play in that area the shortstop was cheating toward second base
Collins Dictionary 1. VERB B2 When someone cheats, they do not obey a set of rules which they should be obeying, for example in a game or exam. Students may be tempted to cheat in order to get into top schools.
VERB If someone cheats you out of something, they get it from you by behaving dishonestly. The company engaged in a deliberate effort to cheat them out of their pensions. [V n + out of/of] Many brokers were charged with cheating customers in commodity trade
I do not find the Hard vs Soft issue to be relevant here, the issue is the USAGE of the verbs, and what they mean in English. The point is that "cheat" refers to breaking the rules of a game (i.e. between players - see Oliver's reference post below), while the deception described in the context is not part of the game, as the attendant is not a player. "Cheat" would certainly apply between "players" in a casino if they broke the rules intentionally to try to win, but the attendant is not playing, he/she is carrying out a professional or official function. This is why I find "mislead" much more relevant to the context, which may be set in a casino all the same, but the relationship between this person and the attendant is not Player vs Player. That is to say attendants in casinos do not "cheat", but could deceive or mislead.
Mislead - (maybe a euphemism but...) to lead in a wrong direction or into a mistaken action or belief often by deliberate deceit. Maybe I should reinforce my answer by adding "DELIBERATELY" MISLEAD although I dont think it is necessary
I did not suggest that you were either correct or incorrect in your answer. In my comment i was merely trying to establish if you possibly had any further knowledge than I could find on the question's context, given your description, as this was before the asker added her extra content for us. Personally, as a contextually-focussed translator, I would neither agree nor disagree with any answer until I have seen a way that the word or translation could be incorporated (or idiomatically structured) into the required context. It might be more useful to the Asker (Cica) if you could show her how you would do this (using "cheat"), because a dictionary translation is not always the correct synonym to use in English, given our style and customs in language usage.
We must consider the Portuguese author chose the verb "trapacear", which implies willful conduct (negative, of course). I understand why Phil and Lara insisted "cheating" would not be the best choice, and perhaps misleading would be more accurate in this situation. However, it was the aithors error if he intended to say miselad instead of cheat, because the word he used in PT is "to cheat".
Like Phil says, I (wrongly) assumed "sua" referred to the cashier's ignorance. In any case, now that the context is totally clear, I (still) stand by my suggestion. Trapaça and trapacear are really clear, strong terms in Portuguese to describe cheating. I am glad the discussion brought clarity ;)
Well, in that case you've answered your own question. I (and others, I suspect) assumed "sua" referred to the cashier's ignorance, but it's the customer's.
More context: a girl who is buying casino chips thinks the attendant could easily mislead (?) her as she knows nothing about casinos and gambling. She doesn´t even know the values of each color of chip.
I think maybe you didn't catch the exact meaning of "trapacear" in Portuguese. It is cheating, it is conscious and intentional. We're all curious about what your suggestion would be, though.
It is apparently not confusing to our colleagues who look at my answer and understand my reasoning. I don't understand why don't you propose your own if you feel mine is incorrect. Cheers!
peer agreement (net): +8