Questions tagged [translation]
Determining English equivalents for words or phrases in other languages (that is, translation into English). We don't actually do translations: we can try and help you with your own translation. Please see the detailed tag info for guidance on what to ask.
978
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A shorter way of saying "In view of the fact"
I need a shorter, equivalent form for "In view of the fact". I am a certified Spanish/English translator in Venezuela. Thank you for your assistance.
1
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2
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378
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Why are archaic English words often used in translations?
I often see the words "thou" and "thy" used in English translations from other languages, as opposed to the modern "you" and "your".
I thought this was something specific to translations of Sanskrit (...
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1
answer
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"Muss man dabei gewesen sein" in English
German has an idiom,
(Da) muss man dabei gewesen sein
I'd say it means
You cannot understand the emotion/memory if you weren't present when it happened.
I couldn't find an equivalent English ...
- 248
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vote
4
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Expression for "repeat placement in storage" or "conditioning for storage"
From a Russian National Standard for medical equipment:
8.1.5. Маркировка потребительской тары или футляров должна содержать:
- год и месяц переконсервации при необходимости;
i.e., "The ...
- 3,649
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2
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122
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How to say « peut-on ne pas rêver »?
I want to say this french sentence, in English. I hesitate between
Can we not dream?
Can we don’t dream?
Can’t we dream?
I want to ask for is it possible to not dream?
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1
answer
368
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Another name for a cheval de frise
I need another way to label a cheval de frise for my book. The problem is, the story takes place in a fantasy setting that neither contains the French language, nor Frisians.
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12
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English term corresponding to German “Ausgangssperre”
I’m a native German speaker looking for the correct term for a condition
when people are restricted from leaving their homes (German:
Ausgangssperre). For example, in the case of a virus outbreak.
I’d ...
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3
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423
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What is the English equivalent for "для особо одарённых"?
There is a steady expression in Russian: "для особо одарённых". It can be used in such context:
Повторяю для особо одарённых...
Straight translation is "I repeat for the gifted". But in general it ...
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1
answer
523
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Better synonym for "news threshold"?
Background: In Finland, we have a word "uutiskynnys", and I am looking for a good translation for it. Literally it translates as "news threshold" or "news doorstep".
Uutiskynnys is used to measure if ...
- 103
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1
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179
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How does this Old English text (from the dedication of the book “The White Horse King”) translate in Modern English?
The dedication of the book The White Horse King (Merkle, 2009) contains the following:
Hwa Þeos, Þe gesihÞ swa swa se morgen
Fæger swa se mona
Beorht swa se sunne
Torhtmod swa se scildweall.
...
- 133
0
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2
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176
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Single word meaning 'to put to sleep' (best translation of 'endormir' from French)
I'm looking for a very particular word meaning 'to put to sleep'.
There is a verb in French, 'endormir', which is the meaning I'm trying to capture. It functions similarly to 'invigorate' in that it ...
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5
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Translation for German word "Kür" as in "Pflicht und Kür"
I am trying to find a crisp translation of the German phrase "Pflicht und Kür. deepl.com yields "Duty and freestyle" as translation for "Pflicht und Kür" which irritated me.
In my (business) context "...
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1
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Is there any English equivalent to the idiom "cat always dreams of meat"?
We have an idiom in Urdu that could be translated as, "cat always dreams of meat". The meaning is something like, "one always sees what one desires".
Let me try to put it in a context. Suppose,
A ...
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1
answer
52
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Meaning of Erin [closed]
I usually come across the following combination a lot on online stores:
"Erin Recommendations" or "Erin Recommends"
Could anyone clarify the meaning?
Thanks in advance
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1
answer
87
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The term for a kitchen device [closed]
I want to translate a Russian fairy tale. There is a "device" I need an equivalent for. In Russian it is called "ухват" (uhvat), and it is used to put pots on the coals/into the oven. Is there ...
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Is there a word/idiom/proverb for this Hindi phrase? [duplicate]
I'd like to know if there is anything for this in English which is roughly:
Shoot many arrows, one will fit.
I am from India and we have an idiom dedicated to it in Hindi but I, literally, ...
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2
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Are there terms for the Dutch 'meewind' and 'tegenwind'?
In the Netherlands we have a term for when for example you're biking on the streets and you have the wind in the back. We call that wind meewind, and we say we have meewind (translated as wind with).
...
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1
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Confusing tooltip, opt out opt in
I am having a hard time understanding what seems to be a very simple sentence, so anyone who speaks English better than me, help me understand the following:
"By checking this box you will opt all ...
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1
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732
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'I have a little pin that says..' Is this literal or metaphorical
Is the sentence :
“I have a little pin that says I didn't miss school for nine years.”
to be taken as being metaphorical, that I unnderstand the sentence to say something like “I am quite sure of ...
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0
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How to translate "Je fais marcher le carburateur"?
What would be a good translation of "je fais marcher le carburateur" in English.
It is an expression to say that you are thinking intensively, using your brain a lot.
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2
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Meaning of "misuse of time" in this context
Professor Anthony Pym, in a paper on (linguistic) translation errors, writes:
The definition of translational competence may be used to define a
translation error as a manifestation of a defect ...
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3
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Difference between "Make a choice" and "Make a desicion"/"Take a decision"
In spanish we normally say "Tomar una decisión". But, which one will be the correct translation?
Make a choice
Make a decision
Take a decision
Decision: the act of or need for making up one’s mind.
...
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0
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108
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Looking for a translation for the German "hellhörig"/"ringhörig"
The German adjective "hellhörig" (sometimes also "ringhörig") describes a badly or insufficiently soundproofed building or room; i.e. being able to hear your neighbors through the ...
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1
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416
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Can "pip" mean picture or icon in British English?
I am playing a British game and I'm having trouble exactly understanding some of the words used in the dialogs!
from "godus" game
They seem to use the word "pip" to mean "graphic" or "icon", but I ...
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8
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Translate the French quote "Il n’y a pas d'amour, il n’y a que des preuves d’amour" to English?
I’d like to translate a quote from Pierre Reverdy (or Jean Cocteau, this
is an open question apparently). The quote is:
Il n’y a pas d’amour, il n’y a que des preuves d’amour.
For some context in ...
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3
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113
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What is the word/ expression for 'when the content received via an information medium is transferred to another medium'?
I have viewed this answer but none of the answers quite match what I am looking for.
The German term for this word is 'Medienbruch'. The translated definition on the corresponding wikipedia page is:
...
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0
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Evaluation of Inhabitants on/of/based on the Influence of Media?
I'm currently translating an abstract for personal purposes, but I'm not sure how I'd translate this part. I translated it as this:
Self-Evaluation of Inhabitants on (the) Influence of Media (the ...
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2
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An idiom from Dostoyevsky
My first question is straightforward. What is the meaning of the following idiom (from Dusa McDuff's translation of Crime and Punishment):- "some bread and salt together but a pinch of sniff apart." ...
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1
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How do you describe the expression of the boy on the left?
In Chinese, it's called "Xian Qi" which is a mix of dislike, avoid,refusal and disdain. It is usually used by people in the position of power or those who have advantage over others.
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What do these sentences mean? Please translate or paraphrase [closed]
"There is in the works of Emerson an underlying tone of quiet appreciation."
"There is stashed below the frigid depths of the arctic a magnificent treasure that no one has ever been able to recover."
...
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3
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What is the equivalent proverb/idiom for Hindi saying in English?
Muh mein ram ram bagal mein churi
It means
Speak praise on the face and stab him from behind.
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English equivalent of the Malayalam saying "don't stab/poke the dead body"?
ശവത്തിൽ കുത്തരുത് (śavattil kuttarut)
is a Malayalam saying that in literal translation means "Don't stab/poke the dead body". The meaning would be something like: don't humiliate a person when he is ...
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3
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English equivalent of Russian "по кд" meaning "used repeatedly and as soon as possible"
There's a Russian gaming phrase "по кд" which means "fired/activated/used repeatedly and as soon as possible after the cooldown time".
The example of it being used in World of Tanks - "Зашёл к нему в ...
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4
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1k
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Equivalent of phrase 'emu parade' in other English-speaking places
In Australian English we have a phrase 'emu parade' which refers to the action of one or more people walking around searching for specific things on the ground in a certain area. For example, say you ...
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1
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Spelling of Vietnamese names in formal context
I am a professor and I have a Vietnamese student called, say, Nguyen Hoang Thang. How should I write his name in the official documents, such as his diploma or transcript? How should his name be ...
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5
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Idiom for taking absolutely everything from someone
In Finnish, there is an idiom for taking everything from someone which translates roughly to "taking even the ashes from the stove". Is there an equivalent saying in English?
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2
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134
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Clean Words for the Money? [closed]
There is a discussion concerning how to translate the Norwegian expression ''Rene ord for Pengene" to English. The expression has the meaning that one has been quite forthright. Is it reasonable in ...
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0
answers
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Is there a term to describe a word or idiom that translates literally as one thing, but is actually a specific word?
Is there a term to describe a word or idiom that translates literally as one thing, but is actually a specific word in the translated language?
My best example would be 'pomme de terre' from French ...
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2
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727
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"Dasometry": is this a common word in English? Is there more common alternative?
I am looking for a word that groups all measurements done in the trees or forest, like Tree height, Diameter at breast height, Basal Area, Volume, crown diameter, etc.
In Spanish we have the word "...
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0
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498
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Word for very long and/or very complex mathematical expression?
In some Latinamerican countries (Spanish speaking) the word "chorizo" is sometimes colloqualy used to refer to a very long and/or very complex mathematical expression. This use is almost slang and it ...
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1
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201
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What do you call overtaking after overtakers? Not necessarily a single word, a phrase will do
What do we call the act of overtaking a vehicle which is already being overtaken by one or more cars? You see that some other car begins overtaking, and you join this overtaker, and others may join ...
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1
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Is "financial low" correct?
I need to translate baja financiera (Spanish) or baixa financeira (Portuguese) into English. That idiom is a noun phrase used to describe a partial or total payment of a purchase or sale.
I'll give ...
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4
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688
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English equivalent of the French "Mettre au placard"
I am looking for an equivalent of the French “mettre au placard”.
It literally translates as “to put in the closet” and describes the fact of assigning no missions to someone on the job without ...
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2
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677
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Chinese names in English [closed]
I have noticed certain Chinese names follow the English order, i.e., given name before family name, when occurring in English text, whereas others retain the Chinese order, i.e., family name before ...
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What does "sardine box" mean?
Can anybody explain what exactly a "sardine box" is ?
Here are a few usage examples:
"sardine boxes take us from here to there"
"the motorized sardine box"
It obviously ...
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0
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88
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A rural dialect for "Why"? [closed]
Forgive me if this is the wrong place to ask about this.
For context, I've been trying to figure out a good way to translate "なしてや", which is a dialect of どうして and なぜ. All of them mean "...
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6
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What's the term for a group of people who enjoy literary works?
I'm translating an essay to English from Korean, and it uses the term hyangyoo jibdan, which means "a group of people who enjoy literary works". What's the English term for that?
(I've searched, but ...
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3
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Correct word for a little toy that always stands up?
In Spanish, we have a word for a little toy that always stand up, "tentetieso".
I want to search for those toys in English, but I can't find the correct word or specific description to find them.
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4
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What do I call a building with a variable number of storeys?
I'm translating the description of a city block design. The city block (in this particular case) is basically a single building with a variable number of storeys: different sections of this block-...
- 3,649
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0
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Is there a word in English that express that something though less would suffice the need by the grace of God
Is there a word in English to substitute barka in the Arabic language to mean that though something is less but can be sufficient by the grace of Allah or God.
For example: you have made a meal for ...
