Translation: "You are what you eat."

[hidden12345]

Any ideas? thanks~~

[elina]

http://ks.cn.yahoo.com/question/1307040200623.html

[hidden12345]

thanks! nice resource.

However, I don't think the people on that site are getting the exact flavor of the English phrase "you are what you eat". "以食见人“ means that "you can tell what type a person someone is by looking at the foods they eat." Correspondingly, it has a very 中性 flavor that would render it inherently ineffective for a slogan.

"You are what you eat" on the other hand, is a vegetarian slogan, and is one that's designed to be more harsh to meat-eaters. It basically says, "when you eat pork, you're a pig..when you eat beef, you're a cow" These traits are undesirable to describe humans, so the slogan has a biting effect to it.

My best translation was 同类相残。

[imron]

"You are what you eat" on the other hand, is a vegetarian slogan,

Is it? I would say that I most often hear it used by people encouraging others to eat more healthy foods. This page seems to support this view as the origin of the word. An interesting point is that the page mentions that the earliest known printed usage of the phrase in English is from an advert for beef

It might be used by vegetarians also, but I don't think the saying by itself has any negative connotation associated with it - it depends on who's using it, and how it's being used.

[skylee]

It basically says, "when you eat pork, you're a pig..when you eat beef, you're a cow" These traits are undesirable to describe humans, so the slogan has a biting effect to it.

I didn't know it has such a meaning. I agree with imron's view.

Also consider 人如其食, which I think can be interpreted with or without a negative connotation.

[hidden12345]

skylee, do you mean 人如其名？ I've never heard 人如其食 before.

Re: you are what you eat. Interesting find, imron. Perhaps the association I have formed with that phrase comes from hearing particularly militant vegetarian/vegan types employ it. Goes to show the strength of a truly powerful advertising slogan: so powerful, it can be used to promote a conflicting view without losing any of its original force.

[imron]

Perhaps the association I have formed with that phrase comes from hearing particularly militant vegetarian/vegan types employ it

Well, next time you hear them say that, just ask them if they realise they are using a phrase that was originally used to advertise beef.

[self-taught-mba]

1) 吃什么长什么.

2) 吃什么补什么.

First one is bad. Eat rou4 zhang3 rou4

Second one is good. (remember bu3 also has another meaning of nourish)

[lozolo]

in chinese there is saying 吃什么补什么。like you eat bones your bone could be better,but definitely it is not the same mean with what you said.i think in chinese it means 你吃什么下辈子变成什么。haha.it is not a 俗语。

[zhxlier]

Well, if it's a vegetarian slogan, I think it's too culturally specific to be translated. Personally I don't see being a cabbage to be better than being a pig.

[creamyhorror]

Heh, I've never heard of "You are what you eat" as a vegetarianism slogan - they must've co-opted it at some point. Regardless, the primary meaning is that you need to eat good food in order to be healthy (or, garbage in, garbage out) -

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/you%20are%20what%20you%20eat.html

skylee's 人如其食 is a really elegant rendering, IMO. Your 同类相残 takes interpretation a step too far, even if you were using the pro-vegetarian (?) sense of the phrase.