揭秘:世界上最难翻译的二十个词

2011年06月14日16:02  中国日报网-英语点津    

  1. Toska

  Russian – Vladmir Nabokov describes it best: “No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom。”

  俄语,作家弗拉基米尔·纳博科夫对这个词的描述是:“英语中没有哪个词能精确表达toska的含义,这个词表达了一种深刻的精神上的痛楚,通常这痛楚是无由来的。它也可以表达程度比较轻的、灵魂的隐痛,一种没有思慕对象的渴求、一种忧愁的思念,一种微弱的忧虑不安感、精神上的剧痛、渴望。在某些特定情况下这个词可以表达对特定对象的渴求,比如乡愁、相思。这个词程度最轻的含义是无聊、烦闷。”

  小编注:……以后不说什么忧伤了,说toska

  2. Mamihlapinatapei

  Yagan (indigenous language of Tierra del Fuego) – “the wordless, yet meaningful look shared by two people who both desire to initiate something but are both reluctant to start”

  火地岛的一种土语,意为:两个同样抱有做某件事的决心但都不愿着手行动的人彼此间交换的一种无言而意味深长的眼神。

  小编注:其实就是考试前想要好好背单词复习的两个人一起进行最后的思想斗争……

  3. Jayus

  Indonesian – “A joke so poorly told and so unfunny that one cannot help but laugh”

  印尼语:一个拙劣的笑话,太搓了以至于听者都觉得很好笑。

  小编注:……其实就是冷笑话吧……好冷!

  4. Iktsuarpok

  Inuit – “To go outside to check if anyone is coming。”

  因纽特语:出去看看是不是有人来了。

  小编注:精炼啊!

  5. Litost

  Czech – Milan Kundera, author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, remarked that “As for the meaning of this word, I have looked in vain in other languages for an equivalent, though I find it difficult to imagine how anyone can understand the human soul without it。” The closest definition is a state of agony and torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery。

  捷克语:米兰昆德拉说,这个词“其他语言中都无法找到对应的词语,我认为不懂得这个词语的含义的人,也就不懂得灵魂。” 最接近这个词义的解释是:一种因突然明了自身的困境而产生的痛苦感。

  小编注:“了悟”说的是这个么0. 0

  6. Kyoikumama

  Japanese – “A mother who relentlessly pushes her children toward academic achievement”

  日语:一个无情无义逼迫自己孩子学业有成的母亲

  小编注:虎妈,解释完毕。

  7. Tartle

  Scottish – The act of hestitating while introducing someone because you’ve forgotten their name。

  苏格兰语:介绍某人的时候因为忘记他的名字而犹豫的情形。

  小编注:苏格兰人记性是有多差……

  8. Ilunga

  Tshiluba (Southwest Congo) – A word famous for its untranslatability, most professional translators pinpoint it as the stature of a person “who is ready to forgive and forget any first abuse, tolerate it the second time, but never forgive nor tolerate on the third offense。”

  刚果西南部的奇卢伯语:以无法翻译著称,许多翻译大师都将这个词解释为:一个第一次受辱可以忘记、第二次可以原谅、但第三次就绝不容忍的人的思想境界。

  小编注:刚果人民有君子风范!上海话中有对应表达:过一过二不过三~~

  9. Prozvonit

  Czech – This word means to call a mobile phone and let it ring once so that the other person will call back, saving the first caller money. In Spanish, the phrase for this is “Dar un toque,” or, “To give a touch。”

  捷克语:这个词表示打某人手机,响铃一次就挂断,好让那个人再打回来,这样第一个打电话的人可以省钱。这个词在西班牙语中是Dar un toque,字面对应英语是To give a touch

  小编注:你们考虑考虑要掏电话费的那个人的心情……

  10. Cafuné

  Brazilian Portuguese – “The act of tenderly running one’s fingers through someone’s hair。”

  巴西葡萄牙语:温柔地用手抚摸一个人的头发

  小编注:穿过你的黑发我的手……

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