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This question was closed without grading. Reason: Other
Dec 4, 2009 09:52
14 yrs ago
3 viewers *
German term

"Am besten gut"

German to English Marketing Advertising / Public Relations
Does this has a literal meaning that will translate correctly into English ? I have a client who wants to use it as the opening phrase in his Christmas message to his customers.
Thanks
Proposed translations (English)
4 +1 (Things) couldn't be better!
4 It better be done well.
3 +1 Only good is good enough
2 +2 = am besten ist es, wenn es mir gut geht / im Idealfall geht es mir gut
3 we all want (prefer) happy holidays
3 It's good to do the best you can
References
Example sentences in German:

Discussion

SteveY (asker) Dec 8, 2009:
What we used This is what we ended up with.
When asked the question “How is Life?” a typical German reply would be “Life is best when things are good”.

Customer was very happy with this.

Many thanks to all who contributed . A Happy Easter to all ,

Steve
Jutta Scherer Dec 8, 2009:
Hi all, Interesting question! And interesting expression, which I've never heard before...
I don't know whether anyone has already written this (and if so, I apologize for having overlooked it) but what I understand this phrase to mean is: "How are you doing? - Preferably well." (which also comes close to what the customer was trying to say in English).
Maybe Steve could even continue from there?
Bernhard Sulzer Dec 5, 2009:
@SteveY Thank you!
SteveY (asker) Dec 5, 2009:
Background It is a small family run company that sell into the machine tool industry.

Am staggered at how much discussion this question has produced !

Steve
Bernhard Sulzer Dec 5, 2009:
@SteveY Thanks for the confirmation of the meaning. Can you also tell us what kind of company that is? "Doing great is best", "being worry-free is best" or "Enjoying the holidays" 'Joy during the holidays" "Having (celebrating) joyful/happy holidays" as headers of a longer Christmas message could possibly work (maybe not the first two) but by itself they wouldn't be sufficient as messages (IMO) because then you would rather turn them into direct wishes: "Happy Holidays" etc.
Uta Dittmann (X) Dec 5, 2009:
Things couldn't be better Paul's translation seems the most appropriate one here to me, too. How about wrapped in something like:

'When we ask people how they are, we don't always get a an answer like "Things couldn't be better." For the festive season we only wish for that: all the best things in life to your and your family, some beauiful days at the turn of the year....'
British Diana Dec 5, 2009:
self-deprecating Might I just hazard another thought on this:
Could the rarely-used expression "am besten gut" (which most of us are not familiar with) be a bit like the self-deprecating British answer to "How are things" - "Could be better" ? (they don't directly say they feel good, according to the Client)
Paul Cohen Dec 5, 2009:
"things are good" but not "only good things" Yes, Annett, "things" is something that we could definitely use. I'd buy your suggestion for 'Life is best when things are good'. That somehow sounds like a Christmas sentiment to me (but I'm Jewish, so you can take that with a grain of salt). At any rate, it sounds good to this native ear. ;-) The German goes on to say "Das wünschen wir Ihnen und Ihre Familie auch". I'd say something like, 'We hope you and your family are also enjoying the best things in life: We wish you all the best ... '. But there are plenty of ways to skin a cat and I’m sure other translators would phrase it differently, although I wouldn’t say “we wish you only good things” – that sounds like a placating remark, along the lines of 'we really have your best interests at heart here, believe us!'
Annett Kottek (X) Dec 5, 2009:
I like it, Paul. Just one small thing: to the question 'How's life?' I'd reply with 'Life is best when things are good', because that could then tie in with 'This is why we wish you and your family only good things for the New Year' (loosely translated). There has to be a connection between first and second sentences, IMO, and 'things' would do that nicely. How does that sound to the native ear?
Paul Cohen Dec 5, 2009:
We normally say "How are you doing? ... … and the normal response (in English, at least) would be to talk about the HERE and NOW. It would be highly unusual in this context to talk about one's general preferences in life. The only solution I can think offhand to make this work here would be to re-phrase the question and make it slightly more open. Instead of using the present continuous, we could perhaps write "How's life?" (i.e., short for “How’s life treating you these days?”) which would leave the door open to a slightly more philosophical response like "Life is at its best when I'm feeling good/great/wonderful" etc.
Ulrike Kraemer Dec 5, 2009:
@Annett: That's a (rather free) interpretation but not what the source text is saying, which is "Wie geht es IHNEN?" The person asking the question wants to know how the person in question feels, not how things are going in general.
Annett Kottek (X) Dec 5, 2009:
@ LittleBalu Maybe the question 'Wie geht es Ihnen?' should be translated as 'How are things going?' To which some people might reply ‘They go [well] so long as the good things in life could not be better.’ Or something to that effect? The speaker could then continue with: 'And that is why we wish you and your family only the best [i.e. joy, health, success, etc.]'.
SteveY (asker) Dec 5, 2009:
I asked to the customer to clarify Client’s Comment: “preferred good” in the meaning that some people don’t directly say they feel good, but say the best is when they feel good or they prefer to feel good.
Ulrike Kraemer Dec 5, 2009:
@Annett: Have you read the additional context (see below): Auf die Frage „Wie geht es Ihnen?“ antworten manche Menschen: „Am besten gut.“
Annett Kottek (X) Dec 5, 2009:
How about? '…The good things in life cannot be better.’
And so we wish you and your family
Only the best for the New Year…'

I think what they're trying to say is that the best things in life are not such superlatives as wealth and fame. They have more modest ambitions: joy, health, vitality, success, etc. and those things they wish their client also.
British Diana Dec 5, 2009:
doing the best one can ? @ Paul, Tony and Cilian,
it would seem that I (together with other "wild guessers") have put my foot in it. I'm sorry if the sort of comment/suggestion I made here sheds a bad light on KudoZ as a platform for professionals.

Perhaps my approach to KudoZ is indeed not as professional as others (my profile will tell you why); indeed the proportion of "questions answered" to "KudoZ points achieved" is not very favourable, which shows that I am often not completely sure about what I say.

Nevertheless I maintain that even misguided suggestions or comments can often help an Asker along who is struggling with a rather cryptic or indeed faulty source text. Thus I am prepared for anything I post to be still read in years to come.
Bernhard Sulzer Dec 5, 2009:
still not clear First, it's supposed to be a Christmas message.
What somebody means when they answer with "am besten gut" is that "it would be best if I did alright/okay = (If I were) doing well, that would be best.
I was thinking "good is best /"worry-free is best" - although a slightly more Christmasy version might be called for: "a good holiday is best" (I don't recommend using "would" - it indicates unachievability).
BUT - what kind of company is that and what will any slogan convey because of it??
Paul Cohen Dec 4, 2009:
What happens when people start wildly guessing Thanks for the extra context, Steve. That puts us in the picture! It also sheds light on what happens when a group of people start wildly guessing with nothing to go on but a seriously faulty source text. The results are ludicrous, slightly humorous, but also a little sad, to be honest. Professionals don't fire randomly in the dark. They ask for more context. I would advise people to be slightly more circumspect in the future. Remember, this forum is public and people will be able to see it for years to come.
Andrea Flaßbeck (X) Dec 4, 2009:
??? I have never ever heard anyone answer the question "Wie geht's?" with "Am besten gut". This doesn't make any sense to me but maybe I'm just too tired. Perhaps he wanted to keep it short and meant something like "am besten geht es mir, wenn es mir gut geht" (in any case, imo none of the shots in the dark below work for your cryptical sentence). Since the letter goes on with "Das wünschen wir Ihnen ... auch" I'd suggest you write something that fits into that context or you ask your customer to provide an explanation (in which I'd be really interested ;)).
SteveY (asker) Dec 4, 2009:
Here is the phrase in context (It is part of a Xmas/New Year Newsletter)

Sehr geehrter Herr Munstser,

auf die Frage „Wie geht es Ihnen?“ antworten manche Menschen: „Am besten gut.“
Das wünschen wir Ihnen und Ihrer Familie auch:
Alles Gute für das neue Jahr, schöne Tage zum
Jahreswechsel, viel Freude, Kraft und natürlich
Gesundheit und Erfolg!

(Sorry for delay, I was stuck in a boring meeting all afternoon)
Ulrike Kraemer Dec 4, 2009:
With Tony, Cilian and Paul Please provide context.
Lonnie Legg Dec 4, 2009:
@Cilian and Tony I agree about snubbing as a means to discipline lazy askers. But as I'm in a generous sporting mood this afternoon, I'll follow Diana and toss my coin in too (see answer posted).
Cilian O'Tuama Dec 4, 2009:
@Diana So far it's been the Asker who hasn't provided context, not his client. No one's "forced" to do anything. We should "force" askers to provide context by refusing to answer otherwise.
British Diana Dec 4, 2009:
@Paul and Tony You can't translate what you don't understand, right. But in spite of this fact , translators are unfortunately sometimes forced to think up something meaningful themselves if the client cannot or won't explain an cryptic utterance.
Pooling ideas here is only part of this process.
Paul Cohen Dec 4, 2009:
I'm with Tony on this I also learned years ago that you can't translate what you don't understand. But, hey, don't let me rain on anyone's picnic!
Uta Dittmann (X) Dec 4, 2009:
German "am besten" - best, perhaps in this phrase comparable to e.g.
"Wir fahren am besten frueh los" - We best leave early or
"Wir machen das am besten so." - We best do it this way.
So my literal understanding of "Am besten gut" is "Best [done] well."
TonyTK Dec 4, 2009:
Diana - one of the first things I tell my ... ... students is "Read - Understand - Write. If you don't understand it, you can't translate it." We could conceivably have 20 answers on the board, all of which might not fit the context. I just don't see the point ...
British Diana Dec 4, 2009:
@Tony You are right to be puzzled about this appartent inconsistency, but on the other hand, the "answers" are not really that, they are more - at least in my own case - just possibilities.
TonyTK Dec 4, 2009:
No one knows what it means - but we already ... ... have three answers. Only on ProZ.
Cilian O'Tuama Dec 4, 2009:
What does your client want it to mean? ?
Courtney Sliwinski Dec 4, 2009:
Is there any more context? Is this the entire sentence, or is this somehow a reference or tied to something else?

Proposed translations

1 hr
German term (edited): \"Am besten gut\"

It better be done well.

This is how I understand it literally, without any context.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Cilian O'Tuama : Am besten wartet man auf Kontext vom Fragesteller// kein Problem, manche Fragesteller müssen erzogen werden
1 hr
Sorry, bin neu hier und hatte nicht gesehen, dass Antworten und Diskussion hier getrennt werden.
Something went wrong...
+1
4 hrs

Only good is good enough

Assuming the client is praising himself, by saying the equivalent of "only a good job is a job worth doing".
Or: "Good is the best way / (only) good way..."
Peer comment(s):
agree AngelikaJP : I like "Only good is good enough". Captures the meaning.
1 hr
Something went wrong...
+2
16 hrs
German term (edited): Am besten gut

= am besten ist es, wenn es mir gut geht / im Idealfall geht es mir gut

other possibilities, IMO, considering the better-late-than-never context :-)

I've never heard it before either.
Peer comment(s):
agree Annett Kottek (X) : That’s how I read it, too. They advocate a good life without extremes of excess (cf. also ‘good food’, ‘good wine’, ‘good company’). And plain and simple goodness is therefore what they wish Herr Munstser and his family: ‘Alles Gute’.
5 hrs
agree Ulrike Kraemer : "am liebsten gut" is more common than "am besten gut"
6 hrs
can't say I've ever heard either, but if you say so :-)
neutral Paul Cohen : Considering the context we have, what would you suggest in English? / Pls. see my "How's life?" "Life is..." suggestion added after I read the asker's latest contribution.
8 hrs
your "life is..." is not unlike my suggestions
Something went wrong...
+1
10 hrs

(Things) couldn't be better!

Thanks for the extra context, Steve. That cleared things up nicely.

How's it going? Things couldn't be better!

The German text ("Am besten gut") is absolute poppycock. Ignore it. Or, depending on your relationship to the customers, inform them that they might want to revise it -- that is if they haven't already sent the card to the printers (*oops*).

As you know, it's best to be diplomatic in such situations.

"Am besten gut" ... I can only imagine that the author wanted to write "Bestens" (great!) and then spilled some coffee on the keyboard and then the phone rang and then ... well, you get the idea.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day1 hr (2009-12-05 11:26:14 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

For the sake of clarity, I’ve collected these comments from the asker that were entered in the discussion box and are somewhat “buried away”:

Here is the phrase in context

(It is part of a Xmas/New Year Newsletter)

Sehr geehrter Herr Munstser,

auf die Frage „Wie geht es Ihnen?“ antworten manche Menschen: „Am besten gut.“
Das wünschen wir Ihnen und Ihrer Familie auch:
Alles Gute für das neue Jahr, schöne Tage zum
Jahreswechsel, viel Freude, Kraft und natürlich
Gesundheit und Erfolg!

I asked the customer to clarify

Client’s Comment: “preferred good” in the meaning that some people don’t directly say they feel good, but say the best is when they feel good or they prefer to feel good. <i/>

I’ve translated quite a number of German Christmas cards. In general, they are short, like this one, they convey a sense of joy and serenity, and they look to the year ahead with optimism and wish people all the best. They are meant to express a short but touching sentiment, and show that the company in question cares about its customers. That is the tradition and that is what most people expect from a card like this. I’d say the average reader spends no more than 15 seconds reading a card like this before it joins the rest of the well-wishing messages in this year’s collection!

Considering that this is a Christmas card, the message should be crystal clear, in my opinion. That is obviously not the case here. We even have native speakers of German on this site who say “This doesn’t make any sense to me” and we have plenty of translators who are still scratching their heads.

We can debate whether or not this is an effective Christmas card message until Christmas and New Year’s and Easter, but the bottom line is: ‘What does the customer want?’

“Preferred good” – “prefer to feel good”. The only thing I can think of is “I like to feel good”, but that just doesn’t work in English.

If someone asks someone else “How are things going?”, the typical response in English is to say how things are going NOW – not to start talking about one’s preferences in life.

The only thing I can think of here is that we need to find a different translation for “Wie geht es Ihnen?” that will match the response. Here’s an idea:

“How’s life?” “Life is best when I’m feeling great.” Or “Life is best when I’m on top of my game” or something that is appropriate for the company in question (who knows, maybe they make golfing equipment!).

NOTE: The German word “gut” can sometimes be translated as “great”. I’ve translated a number of company surveys where the highest rating was “sehr gut”. This was not “very good” in English. It would be “excellent” or “outstanding”. So we could conceivable translate “gut” as “great” here without going too far out on a limb. I could think of other examples where “gut” alone can be translated as “great”.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day1 hr (2009-12-05 11:28:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

P.S. Sorry about all the italics. I wanted to put the asker's comments in italics and leave mine in normal font, but I messed up with the HTML code and now I can't correct it.
Peer comment(s):
agree TonyTK : Yep, I've never heard anyone say "am besten gut" in response to "Wie geht's?". I suppose it could be some kind of regional thing. What you tend to hear a lot is "Schlechten Menschen geht's immer gut", which loses its appeal after the 100th time.
22 mins
I can't imagine that the people who wrote this card wanted to raise eyebrows with balderdash, even if it is based on some obscure German dialect. Every German I talked to couldn't make head or tail of "Am besten gut"!
neutral Cilian O'Tuama : cleared up nicely? i think you're sticking your neck out. it's still guesswork (like my own suggestions).
5 hrs
It's supposed to be a Christmas/New Year's card, not a Chinese puzzle. I still haven't seen a suggestion (in English!) from anyone else that wouldn't make people start scratching their heads.
neutral Ulrike Kraemer : Maybe poppycock but common nonetheless, Paul. Many people say "am liebsten gut" or "am besten gut" in response to "Wie geht's?" Cilian's explanation is pretty accurate. // See my comment to Andrea below ... ;-)
12 hrs
I've never heard "am besten gut" (or "am liebsten gut") as a response to "Wie geht's" and, frankly, I wouldn't know what it meant if someone said it. It sounds very mysterious to me, even after Cilian's initial explanation (in German!).
Something went wrong...
1 day 6 hrs

we all want (prefer) happy holidays

as a message sympathizing with the customers' feelings

or:
wishing for happy holidays
we all wish for happy holidays

more literally:
Everybody wants to do well (variation: we all want...)
Everybody wants to do great (variation: we all want...)
But these would have to be followed up with/built into some longer message/explanation.

Wishing for happy holidays
Enjoying the holidays
Everybody wants/We all want to enjoy the holidays

or, more as a plain wish/message:
Joy during/for the Holidays!
Joyful/Happy Holidays!
Enjoy the Holidays!



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day6 hrs (2009-12-05 16:30:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

one more:

we all wish (prefer) things go well

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day6 hrs (2009-12-05 16:35:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

or, along Annett's suggestion - "Life is best when things are good" - which should also be considered as is :

We all wish (prefer) that things are good (great).
Something went wrong...
10 mins

It's good to do the best you can

Could it be this sort of exhortation? I must say it isn't very logical.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day7 hrs (2009-12-05 17:25:55 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

This initial idea of mine has been superseded by a lot of better entries, so please read the discussion.
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

23 hrs
Reference:

Example sentences in German:

"Wie geht's?" - "Am besten (ist es, wenn es mir) gut (geht)."
"Wie geht's?" - "Am besten (wäre es, wenn es mir) gut (ginge)."
"Wie geht's?" - "Am liebsten (wäre es mir, wenn es mir) gut (ginge)."
Peer comments on this reference comment:
agree Andrea Flaßbeck (X) : Die kurze Version habe ich noch nie gehört :-).
1 hr
"Am liebsten gut" is the standard response of my father-in-law when asked "Wie geht's dir?" ;-)
agree Paul Cohen : Interesting. I also have a (German) father-in-law who uses the occasional odd phrase that I don't understand, mixing philosophy with small talk. Some sayings are used so often that people forget just how philosophical they are, especially to foreign ears!
2 hrs
agree Cilian O'Tuama : if I had my way / if i were a rich man... my NN understanding too
19 hrs
Something went wrong...
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