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منطقة عقارية
الزواج العرفي
May 15, 2006 09:04
18 yrs ago
5 viewers *
Arabic term

لا تكن يابساً فتكسر ولا تكن ليناً فتعصر

Arabic to English Other Poetry & Literature Proverb
What I need is the closest English equivalent proverb. Thanks!
Proposed translations (English)
3 +3 Be flexible but firm
5 +1 Do not be so rigid to the extent of breakage nor so lenient to the extent of liquidation
5 Don't be so flexible then you will be pressed, and don't be so rigid then you will be broken
5 Safety lies in the middle course
5 A course between dry and wet saves one from regret.
5 Do o not be too hard, lest you be broken; do not be too soft, lest you be squeezed.
4 “Whatever you do, do it in moderation”
4 Do not go to extremes in your behavior / A balanced behavior is best
2 +1 similar Thai & Chinese proverbs
1 You are a green, wet stick; had you been dry, you would have been broken long ago

Proposed translations

+3
19 hrs
Selected

Be flexible but firm

Not very poetic but concise and to the point. Hope it helps. Here are some examples:

Accounting Firm Development Center - [ Traduzca esta página ]Be flexible but firm. Keep in mind that your accounting firm as a “local firm” can be much more flexible that the “BIG TWO” so there is opportunity. ...
www.afdcenter.com/IndustryOpportunities/ GreatPayrollOpportunity/PayrollPg18.asp - 13k - En caché - Páginas similares


ALIEN - The Gavin Beschen Abduction - SURF Magazine - [ Traduzca esta página ]"You gotta be flexible but firm, and keep on movin' along with your head up." "I don't like to see what's straight in front of me-I like to take a step ...
www.transworldsurf.com/ surf/article/0,19929,342146,00.html - 41k - En caché - Páginas similares


60-Second Guide to Collecting Payment | Finance & Accounting ... - [ Traduzca esta página ]Be flexible, but firm; and don’t hesitate to follow up. 0:15 Take Stronger Action. Related Articles. How Current Are Credit Reports? ...
www.allbusiness.com/articles/ FinanceAccounting/2714-32-1780.html - 30k - En caché - Páginas similares


[PDF] Celebrating childcareFormato de archivo: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Versión en HTML
Be flexible but firm in your. negotiations. Don’t agree to anything. you’ll later regret. If you have a choice, it’s better to ...
www.daycaretrust.org.uk/mod/ fileman/files/childwise_issue12.pdf - Páginas similares

Peer comment(s):
agree Nesrin : As you said, concise and exactly to the point. Better than producing awkward translations or trying to find proverbs which don't exactly reflect the meaning.
4 hrs
Thanks a million Nesrin
agree ahmadwadan.com
1 day 4 hrs
Thank you Ahmad
agree Mona Helal : exactly, concise and to the point, well done!
1 day 19 hrs
Thank you Mona
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Many thanks!"
+1
9 mins

Do not be so rigid to the extent of breakage nor so lenient to the extent of liquidation

IF YOU REVIEW THIS ARABIC SAYING ,YOU WOULD GO THROUGH THE MOST SUBSTANTIAL CORE OF THE MEANING WHICH SIMPLY MEANS MODERATION LINE OF LIFESTYLE AND ATTITUDES.
Reference:

http://http:/[email protected]

Peer comment(s):
neutral Ala Rabie : is this a proper english proverb?
8 mins
neutral algtranslator : That still sounds Arabic, we need to come up with the equivalent in the other culture ;-)
33 mins
agree ghassan al-Alem : you cannot have two negatives. Neither be .. Try to rephrase
1 hr
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1 hr

You are a green, wet stick; had you been dry, you would have been broken long ago

a Zulu "izaga" (proverb) is literally translated to English: "You are a green, wet stick; had you been dry, you would have been broken long ago" (no. 120 in the list found here: http://www.antiquarian.co.za/Zulu Proverbs.htm.

in many cases the translator provides the English equivalent saying/proverb, the absence of which in no. 120 indicates that it didn't actually ring a bell in his mind.

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Note added at 1 hr (2006-05-15 10:49:09 GMT)
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the valid web address: http://www.antiquarian.co.za/Zulu Proverbs.htm

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Note added at 1 hr (2006-05-15 10:52:16 GMT)
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also there is an afghani proverb, rendered here: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Afghanistan_proverbs#J
as "If a forest catches fire, both the dry and the wet will burn"
Peer comment(s):
neutral ghassan al-Alem : Not exactly. This calls to be soft only whilst the Arabic calls to stand on the middle grounds.
4 mins
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2 hrs

“Whatever you do, do it in moderation”

the overall meaning of the proverb is to handle life moderately.

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Note added at 2 hrs (2006-05-15 11:48:02 GMT)
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All things in moderation and moderation in all things
http://www.englishforums.com/English/ThingsModerationModerat...
Reference:

http://en.thinkexist.com/quotation/whatever_you_do-do_it_in/174084.html

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+1
2 hrs

similar Thai & Chinese proverbs

I know you're looking for an English proverb, but I've seen these Thai and Chinese proverbs quoted quite a few times on the internet (which seems to suggest that there is no similar English proverb, but who knows?):

Thai proverb, "the tree that bends with the wind is the tree that survives the storm". The ever so wise Thai kings of the Ayutthayan period offered small ...
www.csmngt.com/thailand_history.htm

The old Thai proverb, that the tree that bends with the wind is the tree that survives the storm, was indicative of the Thai mentality. ...
www.j-aircraft.com/research/jan_forsgren/j-aircraft_royal_t...

Ziniewicz on Confucius
The tree that bends with the wind will not break. The tree that is rigid and hard will not stand. Compare this view to Western views. ...
www.fred.net/tzaka/confuc.html

In Chinese philosophy there is a saying, "The tree that sways with the wind never breaks." That is also good advice for a Web designer. ...
www.design-agency.com/project/jimmy/design_4th.html

"To bend like the reed in the wind, that is the real strength" -- Taoist proverb. I was introduced to the Chinese philosophy of Taoism after reading The Tao ...
chronicle.com/jobs/news/2006/05/2006050401c/careers.html
Peer comment(s):
agree ahmed ismaiel owieda
8 hrs
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11 hrs

Don't be so flexible then you will be pressed, and don't be so rigid then you will be broken

Baker suggests 4 strategies for dealing with culture bound (or culture-specific) expressions:

1 - Using an idiom of similar meaning and form
2 - Using an idiom of similar meaning but dissimilar form
3 - Translation by paraphrase
4 - Translation by omission

We don't have 1 or 2, so 3 is OK. I found this translation (by paraphrase) on the web.
Reference:

http://www.jeddawy.com/vb/archive/index.php/t-2157.html

Mona Baker, In Other Words: A Coursebook on Translation (London: Routledge, 1992)

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4 hrs

Do not go to extremes in your behavior / A balanced behavior is best

It was suggested that staff and faculty could also be influential in modeling balanced behavior for students—which would require that they convincingly ...
www.smith.edu/planning/contact_notes2-20.php - 29k - Cached - Similar pages

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Note added at 12 hrs (2006-05-15 21:28:25 GMT)
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a bow that is bent too far will break

Italian Proverb. Extremes and Extremists · A bow that is bent too far will break. Rating: Not Rated, Rate: 1 2 3 4 5 · Values ...
www.cybernation.com/quotationcenter/ quoteshow.php?type=author&id=7246 - 88k - Cached - Similar pages


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Note added at 12 hrs (2006-05-15 21:36:24 GMT)
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wine is one thing, drunkenness another

Aliud vinum, aliud ebrietas.
Posted in Proverbs on September 14th, 2005
Aliud vinum, aliud ebrietas.

Wine is one thing. Drunkenness is something else.

(Anonymous)

(Pron = ah-lee-ood wee-noom, ah-lee-ood ay-bree-ay-tahs)

This proverb has many expressions: balance in all things; avoid extremes; the middle way; vital balance;
Reference:

-

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13 hrs

Safety lies in the middle course

A PROVERB
Reference:

http://humanities.byu.edu/elc/student/idioms/idiomsmain.html

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19 hrs

A course between dry and wet saves one from regret.

Surely, an explanation is required in both Arabic and English since the two sentences rely heavily on fifgures of speech. Perhaps, a more aggressive translation away from the exact words of the text could be to say that one has to take a middle course or act or behave moderately.
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6324 days

Do o not be too hard, lest you be broken; do not be too soft, lest you be squeezed.

من الأقوال المأثورة للإمام علي بن أبي طالب رضي الله عنه

لا تكن ليّناً فتُعصر ولا قاسياً فتُكسر
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