Glossary entry (derived from question below)
German term or phrase:
Ganz schön krank
English translation:
Feeling peaky
- The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2017-05-22 12:54:08 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
May 19, 2017 10:17
7 yrs ago
3 viewers *
German term
Ganz schön krank
German to English
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
As the title of a book, what comes to mind as an English equivalent?
Proposed translations
(English)
3 +4 | Feeling peaky |
Alison MacG
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3 +3 | Ill? Who? Me? |
BrigitteHilgner
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4 | You have to be sick to do this |
Michael Martin, MA
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2 +2 | Pretty sick |
gangels (X)
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3 | Rather ill |
Willem Dubelaar
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3 | Sickly Sweet |
ortholingua
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Proposed translations
+4
2 hrs
Selected
Feeling peaky
A suggestion based on the particular context. You could say Feeling peaky again / Still feeling peaky to get across the rediscovering idea.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Lancashireman
: "Type 1 diabetic who from his illness rediscovered his love of trekking" and presumably bagging peaks: http://www.upadowna.org/2011/09/01/a-beginners-guide-to-peak...
11 mins
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Thanks, Lancashireman
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agree |
Julia Burgess
: "Peaky" may not be understood by non-Brits, but judging from my position as a native Brit and in the absence of the CRUCIAL info from the asker/his client about the intended audience, I love this solution!
1 hr
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Many thanks, Julia
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agree |
Daniel Gray
3 hrs
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Thanks, Daniel
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neutral |
Michael Martin, MA
: I doubt a world audience would understand UK English better than US English but it's fine, if asker has a preference for UK English
6 hrs
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Thanks for your comment, Michael. Any one of the possible translations offered for the phrase taken in isolation might work. On the other hand, they might all be wildly inappropriate. We just don't know enough about this book.
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agree |
franglish
8 hrs
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Thanks, franglish
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neutral |
Susan Welsh
: As a native AE speaker, I have no idea what it means.
1 day 22 hrs
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Thanks for your comment, Susan - further illustrating the risks of translating in isolation the title of a book aimed at an unknown readership
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neutral |
gangels (X)
: Me neither
2 days 4 hrs
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Thanks for your comment, gangels (see my reply to Susan above)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
10 mins
Rather ill
I think it serves the understatement, saying one is a little ill, but actually very sick.
1 hr
You have to be sick to do this
Nice 'double meaning'. Seems to fit
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Siegfried Armbruster
57 mins
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Thanks, Siegfried!
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disagree |
AllegroTrans
: to do what? do we even know?
2 days 9 hrs
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To me, it seems wrong to be more specific than the original unless an English language rule compels me to. The resulting ambiguity is probably intended by the author and better than reading something into the title that's not there.
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+3
2 hrs
Ill? Who? Me?
I've been translating material about diabetes and diabetics for 25+ years and I am still facinated by the fact that many diabetics (especially type-1-diabetics) more or less openly deny that they are "ill". Okay, they have diabetes, so what?
I remember the case of one young woman cycling in a team across the United States (west to east, if I remember correctly) - part of a nationwide competition.
And then there was the case of the extreme climber who complained about his insulin pen leaking.
Quite a number of diabetics don't consider themselves ill.
I remember the case of one young woman cycling in a team across the United States (west to east, if I remember correctly) - part of a nationwide competition.
And then there was the case of the extreme climber who complained about his insulin pen leaking.
Quite a number of diabetics don't consider themselves ill.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Eleanore Strauss
: Interesting idea. In the US it would be sick, not ill. I would also change it to Sick? Who, me?
12 mins
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Thank you very much, Elli, particularly for your comment. Yes, I know that US-American and British English are different - I am not sure about Hong Kong. My guideline: http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ill Have a nice weekend!
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agree |
Julia Burgess
: Another nice solution, but DEFINITELY NOT SICK if for a world audience (HK likely to use British English). "Ill" is understood the same in both US and UK English, whereas "sick" introduces problems (as noted by Lancashireman in the discussion).
1 hr
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Thank you, Julia. I think "sick" is inappropriate in this case, but I am reluctant to contradict US-Americans - their version of "English" can be a bit daunting. Have a nice weekend.
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agree |
Armorel Young
: Theresa May being a case in point.
5 hrs
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Good morning, Armorel, thank you so much for your agree and particularly your comment - that really made me laugh. Plenty of politicians of the "Who? Me?" category come to my mind. Have a pleasant weekend.
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5 hrs
Sickly Sweet
I wish I knew the tone of the piece. That would help.
Since we are talking about Diabetes with the body's inability to deal with glucose, I would opt for the title "Sickly Sweet" It is short and sweet (sorry) and a bit of a double entendre. You could also use "Sickly Sweet: my journey with Diabetes" if you want that in the title.
Since we are talking about Diabetes with the body's inability to deal with glucose, I would opt for the title "Sickly Sweet" It is short and sweet (sorry) and a bit of a double entendre. You could also use "Sickly Sweet: my journey with Diabetes" if you want that in the title.
+2
2 days 6 hrs
Pretty sick
I think it's meant in a pejorative sense, e.g. stealing a child's toy is "pretty sick". If one was truly bedridden, you'd probably say "ziemlich krank" or "ernsthaft krank", but the lines between sarcasm and medical diagnosis are fairly fluid here.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Karolin Schmidt
: Absolutely.
18 hrs
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agree |
Michael Martin, MA
: Certainly more useful than "Feeling peeky". What's more, 'pretty sick' would actually be a positive among US teenagers or millennials
20 hrs
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Discussion
I don't mind helping if someone is stuck. But providing maketing slogans or book titles is something else.
Interesting point. I am a bit confused about the asker's preference, I have to admit. The selected option would not only have a double, but triple meaning, at least in AmE (even asked my better half, who is American):
1) being ill
2) being a risk-taker
3) being perverted
If someone doesn't believe me: Look for "sick to do" in the comments section here http://mobile.wnd.com/2017/02/child-sex-abuse-ringleader-tra...
Or to quote Kim Basinger:
"There were times I was ready to quit, when I wondered if he weren't a sick human being, if we weren't all sick to do this, but in the end I faced my own fear and came through it."
http://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/09/movies/how-9-1-2-weeks-pus...
No, she was not talking about being physically ill...
I don't think this makes for a good book title.
It was indeed a memorable event, considering that I think no one was even sure what would become of Hong Kong - would it remain kind of independent or be integrated into the communist system of the PRC?
Thank you too for sharing your story. I think it's like in NZ and AUS or, to a certain extent, in India. The base variant is British English plus some locally adapted words.
@Birgit
KudoZ askers basically all provide free work samples; people have to decide for themselves whether being here is beneficial to them or not. I am more the "d-box guy," but that doesn't mean I don't get something out of all of that. I may spent considerable effort on researching a question, which doesn't mean I have an unlimited amount of time or nothing to do. Sometimes, it's just during work breaks; sometimes to provide some focus if things in RL are chaotic, and sometimes it's when I need to think about something else because I'm contemplating about a sentence and can't find a solution (not an uncommon strategy).
Besides: Unless we're talking about self-publishing, I highly doubt any publishing house is going to adopt someone's recommendation verbatim...
Ill - but in the nicest possible way
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q="but in the nicest possibl...
Actually: I did know about 1997 - friends of mine were in Hong Kong for this event and sent me a postcard which I still keep as a kind of souvenir of a monumental event.
I have also done translations for an agency based in Hong Kong - that's how I know that the English used in Hong Kong differs both from British English and US-American. I've even translated a book written by an author from Hong Kong - but she is probably not typical, having studied in the USA.
Hong Kong used to be a British colony and was "handed over" to China in 1997. One year later, negotiations started for giving back Macao (Portuguese territory) to the PRC.
@deutschenglisch
You seem to have a penchant for these types of questions (I still remember the one about numbers). I just hope this doesn't have anything to do with this link here:
http://www.ganz-schoen-krank.org/galerie.html
@Julia
I doubt "peaky" is going to be understood overseas:
http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/peaky
However, it is not unusual to have a British and American name for a book, movie, etc.
For a(n incomplete) list, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_works_with_different_t...
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/ill
My spontaneous idea: this makes me puke!
This suggestion might be utterly inappropriate.