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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

es kann nicht sein, was nicht sein darf

English translation:

Things that are not allowed are not possible

Added to glossary by Emma Grubb
Aug 19, 2008 07:48
16 yrs ago
4 viewers *
German term

es kann nicht sein, was nicht sein darf

German to English Law/Patents Law: Patents, Trademarks, Copyright
From patent-related legal documents:

Man könnte fast den Eindruck erhalten, dass das Bundespatentgericht hier nach dem Leitsatz „es kann nicht sein, was nicht sein darf" eine „übliche Praxis" postuliert, um seine bereits zuvor gezogenen, unrichtigen Schlussfolgerungen zu stützen.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +4 if it isn't allowed, it isn't possible
2 +3 It cannot be what cannot be allowed to be
2 +2 that which must not, can not be
3 +1 What is not permitted (allowed) is prohibited (forbidden)/(That which is not...)
3 things that shouldn't happen don't happen
3 What is not allowed/permitted, may not be done
3 What cannot be may not be
3 what mustn't be cannot be

Proposed translations

+4
8 hrs
Selected

if it isn't allowed, it isn't possible

posted by popular demand ;-)
Peer comment(s):
agree Trudy Peters : Plain and simple
37 mins
agree Paul Cohen : And, on the other end of the spectrum, "impossible is nothing" (to quote a famous sporting goods ad campaign)
3 hrs
agree Helen Shiner : Just sounds most natural of all the alternatives.
3 hrs
neutral Lancashireman : Sorry, Ken. A bit too ‘natural sounding’ (i.e. chatty) for the context, IMO. The optimum rendition needs to retain something of the stilted Germanic phrasing (whilst still conforming to English grammatical structures, of course).
3 hrs
OK, then 'anything that is not allowed is not possible' -- is that formal enough?
agree EC Translate
4 hrs
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3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks to everyone for the valuable input. In the end I decided to go with a slight variation of Ken's answer and, based on the surrounding context, chose to use the phrase "Things that are not allowed are not possible". Thanks again for all your help!"
25 mins

things that shouldn't happen don't happen

to start the ball rolling
Something went wrong...
+2
40 mins

that which must not, can not be

An option? See the poem Die unmögliche Tatsache
by Morgenstern and the translation by Max Knight.

Und er kommt zu dem Ergebnis:
Nur ein Traum war das Erlebnis.
Weil, so schliesst er messerscharf,
nicht sein kann, was nicht sein darf.

And he comes to the conclusion:
His mishap was an illusion,
for, he reasons pointedly,
that which must not, can not be.

http://www.alb-neckar-schwarzwald.de/morgenstern/morgenstern...
Peer comment(s):
neutral Nesrin : I think the "can not" is only used to emphasize the "must not" bit here: "that which must not - can not - be".
15 mins
agree Ulrike Kraemer
2 hrs
agree hazmatgerman (X) : Der Bezug auf die "Verweigerungshaltung" des Gerichts kommt hier unterschwellig ("must not, and I say so") gut raus.
1 day 40 mins
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+3
51 mins

It cannot be what cannot be allowed to be

One "be" too many for my ears, but found here:

Germans have an expression what would characterize their attitude at the time: Es kann nicht sein, was nicht sein darf("lt cannot be what cannot be allowed to be")
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hY48tTWtFL8C&pg=RA1-PA235...
(Toward a History of American Linguistics By E. F. K. Koerner)
Peer comment(s):
agree Ulrike Kraemer
1 hr
agree Ken Cox : or 'if it isn't allowed, it isn't possible' -- a very characteristic attitude of older generations of Germans
3 hrs
Thx Ken, your answer seems to be popular with my disagreers - perhaps you should post it as a separate answer.
agree Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
4 hrs
neutral Armorel Young : I think this takes literal translation too far - it is grammatically incomprehensible to someone who can't follow the structure of the German - would need rephrasing as "What cannot be allowed to be, cannot be", or Ken's very clear version
4 hrs
Thx Armorel, I just suggested to Ken that he post his suggestion as a separate answer.
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1 hr

What is not allowed/permitted, may not be done

Another option
Peer comment(s):
neutral Ulrike Kraemer : The German saying is about things that are not allowed to be, not about things that are not allowed to be done.
1 hr
Something went wrong...
5 hrs

What cannot be may not be

My suggestion...



1.
Influential quotations from Augustine’s writings « Standing My Ground
De Ascensione); “Hope has two lovely daughters, anger and courage: anger so that what cannot be, may not be; and courage, so that what must be, will be. ...
http://cramminus.wordpress.com/2007/03/11/influential-quotat...

Between Sorrow and Strength: Women Refugees of the Nazi Period - Google Books Result
edited by David Lazar, Sibylle Quack, Christof Mauch - 2002 - History - 390 pages
... dialogue and in terms that express distance between Germans and Jews: "Weil nicht sein kann, was nicht sein darf ' (because what cannot be, may not be). ...
books.google.com/books?isbn=0521522854...
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+1
6 hrs

What is not permitted (allowed) is prohibited (forbidden)/(That which is not...)

I took a gander around the web, there aren't tons of matches, but there are a few that allude to standard Army practice as well a life in Germany.

I realize it's a bit of a loose translation, but it just might fit the bill - and it has the sound of a proper maxim.

so, the choices would be:
What is not permitted is prohibited
What is not permitted is forbidden
That which is not permitted is prohibited
That which is not permitted is forbidden
and
Replace "permitted" with "allowed" ad nauseum. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Good luck!
Reference:

http://www.bsi.bund.de/english/gshb/manual/s/s05111.htm

http://www.infoworld.com/article/03/07/11/27FErrcompart_1.html?s=feature

Peer comment(s):
agree Lancashireman : Reminds me of a great joke: “In Russia everything is prohibited. In Germany, that which is not permitted is prohibited. In England, that which is not prohibited is permitted. In Italy, even that which is prohibited is permitted.”
46 mins
Hehe, cool! (if I may use the vernacular)
neutral hazmatgerman (X) : @Swift re Germany: Constitutional Court has ruled 'that which is not expressly prohibited is allowed'. No joke, I'll give you the ref. if you want. Regards.
18 hrs
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8 hrs

what mustn't be cannot be

two cents' worth
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