Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Dutch term or phrase:
wat de boer niet kent, vreet hij niet
English translation:
where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise
Added to glossary by
Chris Hopley
Jul 20, 2005 14:49
18 yrs ago
27 viewers *
Dutch term
Netherlands
Dutch & German to English
Native in: English (Variants: British, UK, Irish, US, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand)
Works in: German to English, Dutch to English, Flemish to English, and 1 more.
onbekend is onbemind, wat de boer niet kent...
Dutch to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
proverbs
Can anybody come up with a nice English equivalent of the Dutch proverb 'onbekend is onbemind' or 'wat de boer niet kent, vreet hij niet'? A quick trawl of the internet yields 'A stick-in-the-mud will try nothing new', but this has only four Google hits, all on sites about Dutch proverbs. I'm sure there must be something better than this... All ideas greatfully appreciated!
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Jul 20, 2005 14:50: RHELLER changed "Language pair" from "English" to "Dutch to English"
Proposed translations
+1
26 mins
Selected
ignorance is bliss
?
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks to everyone for all the good answers. Very useful! I particularly like this one, coz it reminded me of the phrase "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise", by 18th century English poet Thomas Gray. I think this nicely covers the intended meaning. Thanks!"
+1
7 mins
Henk Peelen
Netherlands
Netherlands
Native in Dutch
Works in field
Netherlands
Polytechnic school; Studio & memoQ
Native in: Dutch 
Works in: German to Dutch, English to Dutch
Related KudoZ points
:
4
unknown, unloved
Kan ook.
Internetreferentie:
On the CD Onbekend maakt onbemind ? 2 (Unknown, unloved?) was a part of his Menuet en kleine ouverture released.
Internetreferentie:
On the CD Onbekend maakt onbemind ? 2 (Unknown, unloved?) was a part of his Menuet en kleine ouverture released.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
: "Unknown is unloved" is the usual translation but is still just a translation, not an English equivalent (I don't know if there is one).
49 mins
|
11 mins
Johan Venter
Czech Republic
Czech Republic
Native in English
Works in field
Czech Republic
Related KudoZ points
:
2
What the eye does not see cannot harm the heart
I'm afraid to say that I cannot find anything to back me up, so perhaps I may be a bit off the original proverb. I thought I'd mention it anyways as it could just help you on the right track.
13 mins
Mirella Soffio
Italy
Italy
Works in field
Italy
Taking pride in a job well done
Native in: Italian
Works in: English to Italian, French to Italian, Italian, and 1 more.
what you don't know can't hurt you
maybe?
+1
11 mins
unknown, unloved -
That's what springs to mind
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Note added at 14 mins (2005-07-20 15:03:55 GMT)
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Sorry, Henk, jouw antwoord had ik niet gezien...
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Note added at 19 mins (2005-07-20 15:08:26 GMT)
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Wat de boer etc... ->
Preserve the old, but know the new
Nature hates all sudden changes.
Who leaves the old way for the new, will find himself deceived.
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Note added at 14 mins (2005-07-20 15:03:55 GMT)
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Sorry, Henk, jouw antwoord had ik niet gezien...
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Note added at 19 mins (2005-07-20 15:08:26 GMT)
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Wat de boer etc... ->
Preserve the old, but know the new
Nature hates all sudden changes.
Who leaves the old way for the new, will find himself deceived.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Henk Peelen
: ach, het ging er juist om een beetje tegenwicht te bieden aan dat stick-in-the-mud. Weten ze eigenlijk wel dat de laat-middeleeuwse, naar toenmalige opvattingen, revolutionaire ontwikkelingen in de landbouw de basis vormden voor de huidige welvaart? Grom!
47 mins
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Dankjewel, Henk! Kleine kans ;-)
|
+3
48 mins
ignorance breeds contempt/you'll never know if you don't try
onbekend is onbemind/wat de boer niet kent... (respectively)
note cute, but...
note cute, but...
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Dave Calderhead
: looks good to me :-)> Perhaps even "If you ain't tried it - don't knock it !" :-)> oops
4 mins
|
| agree |
Deborah do Carmo
: think you're the closest here ;-)
16 hrs
|
| agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
: with Dave.
23 hrs
|
1 hr
What the eye doesn't see, the heart doesn't grieve over
My knowledge of Dutch is too limited to know for sure, but I believe this is the equivalent expression in English
2 hrs
unknown, unkissed
seems to be the English equivalent. See link for millions of proverbs.
21 hrs
unknown and unloved
I just don't like that comma
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Note added at 21 hrs 31 mins (2005-07-21 12:20:46 GMT)
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In some contexts, \'Out of sight, out of mind\', could be used; that comma seems ok to me :)
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Note added at 21 hrs 31 mins (2005-07-21 12:20:46 GMT)
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In some contexts, \'Out of sight, out of mind\', could be used; that comma seems ok to me :)
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