You know how sometimes there isn’t a direct word for word translation from one language to another?
As a language learner I love these moments of discovery, because not only am I learning a new word, I’m learning a concept that is totally brand new to my experience of reality. In other words, my thinking expands and my world just gets bigger and bigger.
I’m always searching for patterns and relationships between words, grammar, sounds, and meaning. And as I learn new words, I generally associate the word with a known word or concept in English. But sometimes no such concept or word exists. So I move to my next language, Spanish and try to find an association.
It tickles me to find relationships between Chinese words and Spanish words, that leave English out in the cold. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, I take note.
Today I want to share a few examples of Chinese – Spanish translations where there is no good direct translation in English.
Chinese- 加油 Jiāyóu
Spanish- Echale ganas
Said when you want to encourage someone, sort of like saying give it your all, break a leg, do your best, go get ’em, don’t give up, etc. 加油 Jiāyóu literally means to add oil, fuel, or gas. Echale ganas literally means to throw forward.
Chinese- 無奈 Wúnài
Spanish- Ni modo
Said when something is futile, like saying what can be done? There’s no hope. Oh well. The great thing about this pair is that they are used in the exact same way in both languages.
Chinese- 專情 Zhuānqíng
Spanish- Entregado / Entregada
Said to describe a lover who surrenders their heart and is fully committed to their partner.
Subscribe to the blog and be the first to get my next post “Don’t Study Or Travel Abroad Without This One Thing!” delivered to your inbox tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by, and echale ganas / 加油 Jiāyóu with your languages!