Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Chinese term or phrase:
錯事/壞事
English translation:
mistake/wrongdoing
Added to glossary by
Roddy Stegemann
Apr 3, 2006 14:49
18 yrs ago
Chinese term
United States
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Native in: English 
Works in: German to English, Japanese to English, French to English, and 3 more.
做錯事 and 壞事
Non-PRO
Chinese to English
Other
Education / Pedagogy
Grammatical Analysis
Sentence: 沒有人是十全十美的，誰都會做錯事，也會不知不覺做了壞事。
1st Attempt: No one is perfect. He who makes an innocent mistake, can also unconsciously perform a serious wrong.
Problem: I am having trouble with the interpretation of 錯事 and 壞事. Have I captured there meaning here correctly?
http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/contents.html
or simply Google for "tsong kit"
1st Attempt: No one is perfect. He who makes an innocent mistake, can also unconsciously perform a serious wrong.
Problem: I am having trouble with the interpretation of 錯事 and 壞事. Have I captured there meaning here correctly?
http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/contents.html
or simply Google for "tsong kit"
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +4 | accurate interpretation |
CHEN-Ling
|
| 3 +2 | more on 壞事 |
matias
|
Proposed translations
+4
16 mins
Selected
accurate interpretation
我的理解可能有些片面，供你参考
错事：是无意的，危害较小，大都因非主观原因引起 －mistake
坏事：有意而为，危害较大，大都有主观预谋 -wrong/wrongdoing
错事：是无意的，危害较小，大都因非主观原因引起 －mistake
坏事：有意而为，危害较大，大都有主观预谋 -wrong/wrongdoing
Note from asker:
| I like the word wrongdoing; it is far better than what my online dictionary offered -- namely, misdemeanor. I added the adjective innocent to mistake for two reasons; one, a serious wrong is a mistake by default; and two, an innocent mistake and serious wrong offer aesthetic balance with no change in probable intended meaning. Would it be wrong to translate 壞事 as a serious wrong? By the way, I will not post the exact location until I have finished the entire page. It is simply too bothersome to do otherwise. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
anastasia t (X)
: No need for "innocent".
4 mins
|
| agree |
Justin Lai
1 hr
|
| agree |
licullen
1 hr
|
| agree |
Wilman
8 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "I have entered the translation as: "No one is perfect. Those who make simple mistakes can also commit serious wrongs unaware." I find this to be more fluid English with no change in the author's intended meaning.
Matias' entry has provided me with the confidence I required to retain the expression "serious wrong". Simple and serious provide both good parallel construction and alliteration.
Thank you everyone for your contribution."
+2
33 mins
more on 壞事
1.a bad or evil thing; wrongdoing; evildoing
2.to cause the failure of; to ruin
2.to cause the failure of; to ruin
Discussion