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И будет вам известно, я ...

I gather there is an equivalent of "будет вам известно" among the following phrasings, but I wonder which is the closest, as they nuanced in English:

"you know", "you see", "for what it’s worth", "for your information", "for the record", "I'm letting you know that ...", "I'll have you know that ...", "just so you know"

How exactly do you use "будет вам/тебе известно"?

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    "(Да) будет вам известно ..." sounds more formal/old-stylish/pompous than any of the proposed English equivalents. "You should know that ..." or even "Surprise surprise! ..." seem like a better fit.
    – Alexander
    Apr 16, 2018 at 19:04
  • @Alexander Hi. What do you think of "just so you know"? At least, it seems at odds with any of being "formal/old-stylish/pompous". urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=just%20so%20you%20know
    – Con-gras-tue-les-chiens
    Apr 28, 2018 at 6:01
  • yes, looks like "just so you know" is a good option.
    – Alexander
    Apr 28, 2018 at 8:46
  • It is archaic. It probably sounded neutral in the past, but the only use in modern day I would be (very) annoyingly condescending, but without tabooed word.
    – permeakra
    Apr 29, 2018 at 11:56

2 Answers 2

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Да будет вам известно = Be it known to you

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First of all, the expression is more properly да будет вам известно. (The и does not replace да, which marks a third-person imperative, so the whole phrase here would be И да будет, etc.). Without the да, it's a case of the "I could care less" type of phraseology decay in everyday usage.

"For your information" seems closest. Not necessarily condescending, but certainly non-neutral in an argumentative way.

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  • Hi. 1) "For your infomation" is used in English mostly when your interlocutor has the wrong idea about a particular fact. Is it the same with "да будет вам известно"? 2) If this is considered to be an imperative, does "Be aware that ..." work as a rough equivalent?
    – Con-gras-tue-les-chiens
    Apr 15, 2018 at 14:07
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    @Alone-zee No, I meant the he/she/it imperative — "may it be known to you that...". Having the wrong idea is not a prerequisite; "FYI" just seemed the nearest fit on your list; I tried to think of something else but couldn't. Reverso Context suggests "for the record" and "I'll have you know that..." context.reverso.net/%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B4/…
    – Nikolay Ershov
    Apr 15, 2018 at 14:44
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    3) I don't think so, the imitation would be rather unobvious. It's not the kind of mistake that tends to be called out and made a big deal of; in fact I wasn't aware until now that some people drop "да". 4) "Давай"+future is a lot more informal. This is more on par, stylistically, with adding "-те" to the 1st person plural: "приступимте", etc.
    – Nikolay Ershov
    Apr 15, 2018 at 15:37
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    Given your remark "non-neutral in an argumentative way", I like the turn of phrase "I'll have you know that ...", which is often used with annoyance and irritation. What's your take?
    – Con-gras-tue-les-chiens
    Apr 15, 2018 at 17:02
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    "For your information ..." is more like "Кстати, ..." - it's petty neutral unless you want to translate it word-by-word. "Да будет вам известно" is (in general) way more patronizing.
    – DK.
    Apr 15, 2018 at 22:48

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