The "Translate your Language Literally" Thread

[Cyrene]

Ok, so in this thread, you post a perfectly normal paragraph/sentence/phrase from your [Non-English] language which sounds perfectly normal in your country, but has an Interesting, hilarious, or -in my case- creepy literal English translation, i believe this is a good way of understanding how a language works.

now i'm going to post an example from Arabic, which is not (or should not be) my first language, and leave out my mother language which is an unholy and blasphemous Bastardization of Libyan, Greek, Turkish, and Berber languages.

Example:

هَذَا الْكَلاَمْ مَا يَمْشِيْ , اَناَ طَالِبْ عَصِيرْ بٌرْتٌقَالْ مِنْ عَشَرْ سَاعَاتْ

"This Talk, no walk, i am a student Orange Juice since Ten hours"

Explanation: "This is not acceptable, i have ordered Orange Juice since 10 hours"

Other Examples:

Inshallah Tuqburni "May you bury me" -- used to express love for someone.

Uqtulni "Kill Me" -- used to express love for someone.

Inshallah Amoot Qablak "May i die before you" -- used to express love for someone.

Ana Qurbanak "I am your Sacrifice" --- used to express love for someone

Bi Abi wa Ummi "May my Father and Mother be Sacrificed for you" -- used to express love for someone

Yihraq Dena kam Hulwa "Burn her Religion! how beautiful she is!" --used to describe a woman's beauty

Fokkak min Nafsak "Unscrew yourself" -- used to tell someone to take it easy.

'Tah min Kitab Tarikh "he fell from a history book" -- said when someone is "old school"

Shay' Yahriq al-Dam "something that burns blood" -- used to describe something annoying.

Huwa/Hiya Mahthoom/Mahthooma "he/she is very digestable" -- used to describe an easy going, funny person.

Tislam Edaek "May your hands be Safe!" -- same meaning as "may you live long"

---

now, show me your own!

[You_Guess_Who]

Maaf, saya sedang tidak enak badan hari ini

"Sorry, I medium not delicious body day this"

[KingTutEgy]

هَذَا الْكَلاَمْ مَا يَمْشِيْ , اَناَ طَالِبْ عَصِيرْ بٌرْتٌقَالْ مِنْ عَشَرْ سَاعَاتْ to me as an Arabic speaker this word طَالِبْ means I ordered. The word means student but in this context it means "I ordered". But I could see what you mean by how some things when translated literal it will not make sense to someone who learns the language.

[Lord Baal]

"A caballo regalado no se le mira el colmillo", it's a saying in Spanish that is about not being picky when receiving gifts, and instead be grateful somebody is gifting you anything, referring to check the health of a horse by checking it's teeth before consider receiving it.

The literal translation would be: "To horse gifted do not look the fang".

The correct translation would be: "On a horse that's a gift, don't check the teeth" "Don't check the teeth on a horse that's a gift" or something along those lines.

[Condottiere 40K]

Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Unless you're Trojan, and/or the giftor is Greek.

[Lord Oda Nobunaga]

Needs more Chinese.

[beckyolt]

Arab sure has some classy ways of telling someone you love her.

[Condottiere 40K]

Talaq, talaq, talaq.

[♔atthias♔]

"A caballo regalado no se le mira el colmillo", it's a saying in Spanish that is about not being picky when receiving gifts, and instead be grateful somebody is gifting you anything, referring to check the health of a horse by checking it's teeth before consider receiving it.

The literal translation would be: "To horse gifted do not look the fang".

The correct translation would be: "On a horse that's a gift, don't check the teeth" "Don't check the teeth on a horse that's a gift" or something along those lines.

in dutch we have the saying je moet een gegeven paard niet in de bek kijken wich when translated reads like
you should not look a given horse into its mouth

[Iskar]

Seems to be a widespread saying: Einem geschenkten Gaul schaut man nicht ins Maul (One does not simply inspect the mouth of a gift horse.)

Some German ones:
jemandem auf den Keks gehen (to go someone on the cookie/biscuit - to annoy someone)
Butter bei die Fische geben (to give butter by[sic] the fishes - to do something properly)
einen Vogel haben (to have a bird - to be silly)

[Lord Baal]

[Condottiere 40K]

With gloves, since a Teutonic one would be poisonous.

[Vaðarholmr]

Here-the was one interesting one thread.

End-ly began it to snow again in day. Weather-the has been some .

[fkizz]

Zangam-se as comadres sabem-se as verdades - "The old ladies get upset and Truth becomes known".

[AqD]

Chinese menu:

[Socrates1984]

This is interesting!

"Μια το κλέφτη, δυο του κλέφτη, τρεις και τον τσακώσανε"

Literal meaning: "Once the thief, twice the thief, thrice and he got caught"

What it really means: One can steal once or twice, but the third time he will get caught.

[Condottiere 40K]

Or frames someone else.

[Socrates1984]

Or frames someone else.

Or in a similar context:

"Αγαπάει ο θεός τον κλέφτη, αλλά αγαπάει και τον νοικοκύρη".

Literal meaning: "God loves the thief, but he also loves the homemaker"

What it really means: Luck will sometimes favor the thief, but it will certainly favor the honest guys in the end.