Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 33
Like Tree19Likes

Thread: Russian wisdom - translation needed

  1. #1
    Властелин Deborski's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    USA, Earth
    Posts
    1,187
    Rep Power
    14

    Russian wisdom - translation needed



    Here is another one of these little Russian "life's journey" quotes. I do not understand #1, and #3 and #5 were tricky to translate and might not be correct.

    Any suggestions?


    The truth about relationships:

    1. Not one person in your life's journey is met not written (????)
    2. In relationships you get what you give.
    3. There is no need to fight for a place in someone's life (?)
    4. Everyone changes and this is normal.
    5. Relationships take work (?)
    6. You must be able to forgive.
    7. You can not change another person.

  2. #2
    Почтенный гражданин dtrq's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    243
    Rep Power
    10
    Напрасно - in vain.
    Everything else seems OK.
    Btw, I wouldn't call it "russian wsdom".
    Deborski likes this.

  3. #3
    Подающий надежды оратор
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Posts
    29
    Rep Power
    8
    Maybe something like that:

    1 Noone you've ever met in your life was met in vain
    3 You should't fight for taking a place in someone's life
    5 Relationships need an everyday working
    Deborski likes this.

  4. #4
    Властелин Deborski's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    USA, Earth
    Posts
    1,187
    Rep Power
    14
    Quote Originally Posted by dtrq View Post
    Напрасно - in vain.
    Everything else seems OK.
    Btw, I wouldn't call it "russian wsdom".
    So -

    "Not one person in your life's journey is met in vain"?

    *What is wrong with calling it Russian wisdom? No offense is intended!

  5. #5
    Властелин Deborski's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    USA, Earth
    Posts
    1,187
    Rep Power
    14
    Quote Originally Posted by scmember View Post
    Maybe something like that:

    1 Noone you've ever met in your life was met in vain
    3 You should't fight for taking a place in someone's life
    5 Relationships need an everyday working
    In English, we would probably say "Everyone is in your life for a reason" and that is a fairly common saying.
    alexsms, scmember and Yulia65 like this.

  6. #6
    Подающий надежды оратор
    Join Date
    May 2012
    Posts
    29
    Rep Power
    8
    Quote Originally Posted by Deborski View Post
    In English, we would probably say "Everyone is in your life for a reason" and that is a fairly common saying.
    you're right ) that's a sort of "which way to translate" - straight, word by word, or to adapt a sentence. Sure each of wisdoms above has an English analog with the same meaning but in other words than Russian version. Your version of number 1 sounds much better though )
    Deborski likes this.

  7. #7
    Почтенный гражданин dtrq's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    243
    Rep Power
    10
    Quote Originally Posted by Deborski View Post
    *What is wrong with calling it Russian wisdom? No offense is intended!
    It's may be just translation, and even if it's not, it's just someone's random trite thoughts.
    Deborski likes this.

  8. #8
    Властелин Deborski's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    USA, Earth
    Posts
    1,187
    Rep Power
    14
    Quote Originally Posted by dtrq View Post
    It's may be just translation, and even if it's not, it's just someone's random trite thoughts.
    OK... although I did not think they were all that "trite." A little bit cliche maybe, but mostly very true.

  9. #9
    Почтенный гражданин dtrq's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    243
    Rep Power
    10
    No one can say how they are true or wrong, since no verification basis was given. For example, that 'no one is met in vain': there's no general criteria of when someone is met in vain and everyone will use their own definition. There's no accepted standard of 'met in vain', therefore whole sentence can't be proven right or wrong.
    "In relationships you get what you give" - Life is full of examples that proves it wrong.
    Etc.
    Deborski and eisenherz like this.

  10. #10
    Подающий надежды оратор
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Location
    Russia - Kaliningrad
    Posts
    12
    Rep Power
    8
    ^3. There is no need to fight for a place in someone's life --> not just someone's life but life of a person you want to be in. One should not do that. It has the idea that its a wrong thing when you fight for smth that ought to be given as a gift. kinda that.
    Deborski likes this.

  11. #11
    Властелин Medved's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Wonderland of Russia
    Posts
    1,201
    Rep Power
    26
    Sure each of wisdoms above has an English analog with the same meaning
    Except for: Не бывает некрасивых женщин, бывает мало водки
    Throbert McGee likes this.
    Another month ends. All targets met. All systems working. All customers satisfied. All staff eagerly enthusiastic. All pigs fed and ready to fly.

  12. #12
    Почтенный гражданин impulse's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Posts
    394
    Rep Power
    8
    Where do you find these Deb?
    Иди и учи русский!

  13. #13
    Завсегдатай it-ogo's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2009
    Location
    Ukraine
    Posts
    3,048
    Rep Power
    29
    The original is very far from literary perfection. Actualy it looks like records in a diary of a very young girl and the style is... helpless.
    dtrq likes this.
    "Россия для русских" - это неправильно. Остальные-то чем лучше?

  14. #14
    Властелин Deborski's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    USA, Earth
    Posts
    1,187
    Rep Power
    14
    Ok, Ok, Ok...... lol.... points taken...

    We won't call them "Russian wisdom" anymore, although I have to say that not all Russian sayings are perfect examples of literary grace and truth either.

    For example, "Тише едешь, дальше будешь" is certainly not always true. In fact, if you keep quiet while being attacked by a wild mountain lion, you have a good chance of dying sooner rather than later! Sometimes you have to scream and yell if you want to live. But, at least this saying rhymes I suppose.

    I have no idea where the saying (in the original post) originated. I subscribe to some of these "wisdom of the day" pages on Facebook, and I like this one because it's in Russian. It's a good translation exercise for me.

  15. #15
    Подающий надежды оратор
    Join Date
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Russia
    Posts
    18
    Rep Power
    8
    Quote Originally Posted by Deborski View Post
    Ok, Ok, Ok...... lol.... points taken...
    For example, "Тише едешь, дальше будешь" is certainly not always true. In fact, if you keep quiet while being attacked by a wild mountain lion
    In that wisdom word тише means slowly, not silent

  16. #16
    Властелин Deborski's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    USA, Earth
    Posts
    1,187
    Rep Power
    14
    Quote Originally Posted by sergei View Post
    In that wisdom word тише means slowly, not silent
    All the more silly then - because clearly there are some situations where you better run like hell to stay alive! If a tsunami is coming, for example, the slower you go the less likely you are to live

  17. #17
    Почтенный гражданин dtrq's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Posts
    243
    Rep Power
    10
    Quote Originally Posted by Deborski View Post
    All the more silly then - because clearly there are some situations where you better run like hell to stay alive! If a tsunami is coming, for example, the slower you go the less likely you are to live
    But it's not really about moving speed, actual meaning is "do not haste, make less mistakes and you will reach your goals faster".
    Another one says it more clearly: "Поспешишь - людей насмешишь".

  18. #18
    Властелин Deborski's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    USA, Earth
    Posts
    1,187
    Rep Power
    14
    The point is that most of these little cliches and sayings sound great but are not applicable in every single situation.
    That said, they are fun little translation experiments perhaps

  19. #19
    Властелин
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Posts
    1,155
    Rep Power
    14
    Quote Originally Posted by Deborski View Post
    All the more silly then - because clearly there are some situations where you better run like hell to stay alive! If a tsunami is coming, for example, the slower you go the less likely you are to live
    That particular cliche has even been rewritten to say "тише едешь, хрен приедешь" =))
    Deborski likes this.

  20. #20
    Завсегдатай Throbert McGee's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Fairfax, VA (Фэйрфэкс, ш. Виргиния, США)
    Posts
    1,591
    Rep Power
    39
    "Not one person in your life's journey is met in vain"?
    Deborski -- напрасно and the synonym зря -- both mean "in vain; for naught" -- are heard in the classic Soviet-era pop song Разговор со счастьем. I would definitely call it a "must know" song because it's so famous and contains some useful vocabulary and grammar. Here's a version with karaoke lyrics:



    "Всё на свете было не зря
    Не напрасно было!"

    PS. The song originally appeared in a 1973 comedy where it was performed by a bunch of dancing maidens in the court of Ivan the Terrible -- so the folk costumes and the crazy wig-spinning at the end of the video are a parody of the scene.
    Deborski likes this.
    Говорит Бегемот: "Dear citizens of MR -- please correct my Russian mistakes!"

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. Translation needed for Russian song
    By Deborski in forum Translate This!
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: October 2nd, 2013, 07:25 AM
  2. Russian video voice translation needed
    By MarkinUSA in forum Translate This!
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: November 19th, 2010, 07:44 PM
  3. ENGLISH > RUSSIAN TRANSLATION HELP NEEDED!
    By JohnRich in forum Translate This!
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: September 16th, 2005, 02:47 AM
  4. English translation needed of old Russian game
    By wiggle in forum Translate This!
    Replies: 17
    Last Post: August 27th, 2004, 11:16 AM
  5. Replies: 2
    Last Post: August 7th, 2004, 08:23 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  


Russian Lessons                           

Russian Tests and Quizzes            

Russian Vocabulary