Yo Kass answered
Live well, Love much, Laugh often
There are at least two acceptable translations of the phrase 'live well, love much, laugh often' in Italian.
The first, vivi bene, ama molto e ridi spesso, keeps the tense of the phrase in the imperative form. Although it sounds slightly awkward in Italian, it is still acceptable grammar.
For a more natural sounding translation you could use the imperfect form, as in: vivere bene, amare molto e ridere spesso.
Origins of the Phrase
Although it cannot be accurately verified, one suggestion is that the phrase actually emerged as a reference to the 1904 poem 'Success' written by Bessie Anderson Stanley, and specifically the line: "He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much".
Correct Variations
Doing a quick internet search for the phrase 'live well, love much, laugh often' seems to bring to light a significant number of incorrect translations that are floating around various forums and question and answer websites. Especially worryingly is that, in a number of cases, the person asking for the translation was interested in having the phrase tattooed!
Having said that, there are a few tweaks to the translation above that are entirely permissible. For example, the word molto can be replaced by the synonym tanto without affecting the meaning of the phrase in any way. Additionally, there are a few examples of similar phrases (i.e. viv, ama, e ridi or 'live, laugh, love, laugh') which are grammatically correct Italian, but have slightly different meanings.
There are at least two acceptable translations of the phrase 'live well, love much, laugh often' in Italian.
The first, vivi bene, ama molto e ridi spesso, keeps the tense of the phrase in the imperative form. Although it sounds slightly awkward in Italian, it is still acceptable grammar.
For a more natural sounding translation you could use the imperfect form, as in: vivere bene, amare molto e ridere spesso.
Origins of the Phrase
Although it cannot be accurately verified, one suggestion is that the phrase actually emerged as a reference to the 1904 poem 'Success' written by Bessie Anderson Stanley, and specifically the line: "He has achieved success who has lived well, laughed often, and loved much".
Correct Variations
Doing a quick internet search for the phrase 'live well, love much, laugh often' seems to bring to light a significant number of incorrect translations that are floating around various forums and question and answer websites. Especially worryingly is that, in a number of cases, the person asking for the translation was interested in having the phrase tattooed!
Having said that, there are a few tweaks to the translation above that are entirely permissible. For example, the word molto can be replaced by the synonym tanto without affecting the meaning of the phrase in any way. Additionally, there are a few examples of similar phrases (i.e. viv, ama, e ridi or 'live, laugh, love, laugh') which are grammatically correct Italian, but have slightly different meanings.
