One of the best ways of getting to know a culture is by understanding
their sayings. Sayings are mostly short expressions that advice or express some
obvious truth. As translators, one of the biggest challenges in our field is
the rendering of sayings, because we have to choose between translating them,
explaining them or finding an equivalent in the target language. This can be
hard work, because most sayings are related to cultural knowledge and, for
people to understand them, sometimes the translator needs to provide a certain
background to the saying.
In Chile, for example, there are many sayings that have traveled through
history and they are now part of the idiosyncrasy of Chileans. We in Translate-In-Chile would like to help
you to understand some of them better, so here are some examples. As you will
notice, there is a 3 column list at the bottom. There the examples are divided
in the Chilean saying, its equivalent in English and a short explanation so
that you can comprehend them better.
We hope you enjoy this tiny part of our culture and if you have any
questions on other sayings or any other topic, fell free to post it in the
comment section.
Spanish
|
English
|
Explanation
|
No hay mejor condimento que el hambre.
|
Hunger is the best
sauce.
|
All food tastes good
when you are hungry.
|
A quien madruga dios lo ayuda.
|
The early bird catches
the worm.
|
If you want to do something successfully,
you should do it as soon as you can.
|
Aunque la mona se vista de seda, mona se queda.
|
A monkey in silk is a monkey no less.
|
No matter how someone
dresses, it's the same person underneath.
|
A caballo regalado no se le mira el diente. | Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. | Don't be ungrateful when you receive a gift. |
De tal palo, tal astilla.
|
Like father, like son.
|
A son's character can be
expected to be like his father's.
|
No hay mal que por bien no venga.
|
Every cloud has a
silver lining.
|
There is a positive or
hopeful side to every bad situation.
|
En casa de herrero, cuchillo de palo.
|
The shoemaker's son
always goes barefoot.
|
A skilled or knowledgeable person commonly neglects to give his own family the benefit of his expertise.
|
Para ser bella hay que ver estrellas.
|
You have to suffer in the name of fashion.
|
Fashion and beauty are
very painful or uncomfortable most of the time.
|
En la noche, todos los gatos son negros.
|
All cats are grey in the dark.
|
People are
undistinguished until they have made a name.
|
Mejor prevenir que lamentar.
|
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
|
It is easier to prevent
something from happening than to repair the damage or curing the disease
later.
|
Más vale pájaro en mano, que cien volando.
|
A bird in hand is worth
two in a bush.
|
It's better to keep
what you have than to risk losing it by searching for something better.
|
Dios los cría y el diablo los junta.
|
Birds of a feather flock together.
|
People of the same sort
are usually found together.
|
Más vale diablo conocido que por conocer.
|
Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know.
|
It's better to deal
with somebody difficult but familiar, than change and risk dealing with
somebody worse.
|
Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo.
|
Experience is the father of wisdom.
|
Experience and
knowledge result in better judgment.
|
Cría cuervos y te sacarán los ojos.
|
A bad tree does not yield good apples.
|
References:
http://www.learn-english-today.com [Last
update : February 12, 2012] K. Beke.
All rights
reserved.-
http://dichospopulareschilenos.blogspot.com/ - Leonardo
Sepúlveda Faúndez [2007]- http://leonardosepulvedafaundez.blogspot.com/
By Lorena Reyes Oliva
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