Need help to translate a sentence

[vincent123]

Please help to translate this:

仰望着的时间长河从我指隙间流逝

Especially this: 我指隙间流逝

Thanks.

[monto]

仰望着的时间长河从我指隙间流逝

The long river of time I was looking up ran away through my finger gaps.

[vincent123]

Thank you very much, monto.

The long river of time could be means as the very long time in Chinese? I translate this to Vietnamese. Now I understood; this sentence was really hard to get its meaning without your help. Thanks again.

[monto]

The long river of time could be means as the very long time in Chinese?

Yes. Chinese have a long history of relating the time to river:

子在川上曰:

逝者如斯夫!

Confucius, standing by a river, said,

“Time passes on just like this"!

[HashiriKata]

I translate this to Vietnamese. Now I understood; this sentence was really hard to get its meaning without your help.

I wouldn't envy you in this. When you translate from one language to another, you need something meaningful to translate, but this is not it. (It's a mingle of big words & cliches which even the author probably has little idea of what it means either )

[monto]

When you translate from one language to another, you need something meaningful to translate, but this is not it. (It's a mingle of big words & cliches which even the author probably has little idea of what it means either )

It's quite to the point.

The original sentence is "做作"(affected or, say unnatural) some way, and not quite logical. It is water or something similar that runs through gaps between fingers, not a river.

comparison:

三十八年过去，弹指一挥间。

[vincent123]

仰望着的时间长河从我指隙间流逝

The long river of time I was looking up ran away through my finger gaps.

With the monto's English translation, I suddenly understood I was able to translate to my language like "poetic", as means in Vietnamese: the long river of time = the endless string of time, and ran away = flow forever; because of endless, I must used forever.

The endless string of Time has flowed through my finger gaps forever.

as in Vietnamese:

Dòng thời gian bất tận mà tôi ngước trông cứ theo khe hở tay trôi mãi!

[imron]

Like sand through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.....

[vincent123]

Like sand through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives....

Oh! imron, please give me its Chinese characters.

[HashiriKata]

With the monto's English translation, I suddenly understood I was able to translate to my language like "poetic"

If it's supposed to be "poetic", then it can be forgiven

So, let me try :

仰望着的时间长河从我指隙间流逝 =

Dòng sông thời gian mà tôi ngưỡng vọng cứ theo kẻ hở của bàn tay trôi mãi...

[vincent123]

If it's supposed to be "poetic", then it can be forgiven

So, let me try :

仰望着的时间长河从我指隙间流逝 =

Dòng sông thời gian mà tôi ngưỡng vọng cứ theo kẻ hở của bàn tay trôi mãi...

No, no! It is "mechanic".

Thanks. You really have the sense of hurmor, don't you? Nice to know you.

[imron]

please give me its Chinese characters.

Sorry, but that's the opening line of the credits of a long-running American soap opera called "Days of our Lives", I've never watched the show myself, but that opening line is very well known and all this water through the fingertips reminded me of it. It's not originally a Chinese phrase, but I'm sure it could be translated into Chinese, however I will leave that to native Chinese speaker.

[vincent123]

Hello friends,

I have a sentence with a couple words 连睹 that gave me confusing.

就像不眠下休的连睹十日十夜，而结果还是输个精光

From Yahoo translate I got,

Looks like Lian Du who under the dormancy does not rest on tenth ten nights,

but the result loses none remaining

The translation ok?

连睹 means watch continuous or just the name of a person?

输 = lose or carry? moving? lose what?

The paragragh tells about a guy tried to run away and exhausting. Please help me to explain these words.

And how to translate this 自懂事后

Thank you for your help.

[skylee]

就像不眠下休的连睹十日十夜，而结果还是输个精光

1st, 连睹 is not a fixed term. 2nd, there is a typo. It should be 连賭, the radical on the left being 貝, not 目. 3rd, you can regard this term as a short form of 连续赌博, i.e. gamble continuously. 4th, 输 = to lose.

The sentence means, "It is like having gambled for 10 days and 10 nights without sleeping or resting and still everything is lost at the end."

[vincent123]

Thank you, skylee.

Ah! all because of wrong spelling and how about: 自懂事后 means after self-understanding?

[monto]

自XXXX后 -------- since......, or after.......

懂事 ------- (to be aged enough) to understand things

自懂事后, so actually means "ever since one's childhood"

[skylee]

懂事 ~ understanding / knowing the ways of the world

自懂事后 ~ from that time on

[vincent123]

Thank you very much for your help, monto and skylee.

Wow! isn't it dangerous to study by using-dictionary-as-teacher?

[HashiriKata]

isn't it dangerous to study by using-dictionary-as-teacher?

It is! Have you tried using dictionaries only as a tool and yourself as a teacher?

[monto]

Wow! isn't it dangerous to study by using-dictionary-as-teacher?

Not exactly.

The dictionaries are good advisors.

The problem is some times they offer so many pieces of advice that you could not decide which to pick up.

Here 自 means FROM

自始至终 ———— from the beginning to the end.