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I have heard the following dialogue in the TV series Marseille:

  • Je sais très bien ce que je fais.
  • Je te le souhaite.

The English subtitle translation of the last line is "I hope so". What is the difference between "Je te le souhaite" and "Je l'espère" ?

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Unlike je le souhaite ("I wish it") or je l'espère ("I hope so"), je te le souhaite means "I hope you do" (literally: "I hope it for you").

The difference is that you are not personally concerned, or at least less concerned than with je le souhaite.

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  • Doesn't "I hope" express that I'm personally concerned? Maybe you meant that "I hope you do" and "je te le souhaite" express more a warning/threat than a true concern ? At least in English, AFAIK the meaning of "I hope you do" depends on voice tone and context.
    – Alan Evangelista
    Apr 9, 2020 at 17:22
  • Je te le souhaite (and I guess "I hope you do") doesn't necessarily express a warning or a threat but imply that whatever happens wouldn't affect that much the person speaking.
    – jlliagre
    Apr 9, 2020 at 18:13
  • Thanks for clarifying it. In English AFAIK "I hope so" and "I hope you do" are synonyms and there is no diference in the level of concern between them.
    – Alan Evangelista
    Apr 10, 2020 at 12:17
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il est difficile de les nuancer sans un contexte précis.Néanmoins il faut noter que je te souhaite peut à l'idée qu'une personne aura un malheur ou un bonheur.tandis qu j'espère peut definir aussi le prémier mais aussi un mot d'ordre.

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