The Devil Made Me Do It!

[giraffe]

So I learned a new word today: 魔鬼 which made me think of the old Flip Wilson line "The devil made me do it!" and I wondered how I would translate that into Chinese. I'm only at the beginner/elementary level so it's a little bit of a fun challenge for me.

Anyway, I came up with "魔鬼强迫我做了!" and was wondering whether the syntax and wording was anywhere near right.

Also I noticed in my dictionary, that there's another word 鬼魔 which is supposed to refer to the Christian devil but it doesn't seem nearly as common in a Google search.

Thoughts anyone?

Maybe I should get this as a tattoo.

[renzhe]

I'd say 是魔鬼逼了我干的.

But I'm wrong about 70% of the time, so....

Incidentally, the word "mogwai", used in the movie "Gremlins" and by a Scottish rock band of the same name, comes from the Cantonese pronunciation of 魔鬼.

Edited September 22, 2009 at 09:20 PM by renzhe

[sebhk]

I have come across the phrase "the devil made me buy it" 是魔鬼叫我买的 (Traditional Chinese: 是魔鬼叫我買的) several times. So maybe you could say 是魔鬼叫我这么做的.

[sebhk]

Incidentally, the word "mogwai", used in the movie "Gremlins" and by a Scottish rock band of the same name, comes from the Cantonese pronunciation of 魔鬼.

I remember watching a dubbed German version of Gremlins as a kid where the voice actors pronounced "mogwai" as "mog-wai"

[muyongshi]

In terms of tone, Renzhe's translation does the best job. However I think the 干 could be a 做 no issue. Just the 逼 carries the best meaning here.

[Guoke]

I'd say 鬼迷心窍

我一时鬼迷心窍，就....

"是魔鬼叫/逼我这么做/干" sounds hilarious to Mandarin speakers.

[in_lab]

I wouldn't call it hilarious, but I think the original phrase is intended to be amusing, so that might mean it is a good translation. What do you find funny about it?

[Guoke]

Imagine a dialogue between two Mandarin speakers:

A: 你为什么那么做？你怎么可以做出那样的事情？

B: 我也不想啊，是魔鬼逼我那么干，我才会这样......

[muyongshi]

I agree. I think the 逼我做 is a good translation because it isn't meant to be serious. IMHO. Yeah it's not 地道 but I think that is what allows it to maintain its humor.

[Guoke]

OK.... I'm wrong again. The "魔鬼逼我干" is much better than my translation. That's fine with me.

Everything I say always seems to be wrong. That's the feeling I get whenever I post anything on this forum. I wonder if it's just me or it simply happens to everyone else.

[muyongshi]

Well it's not that you're wrong. Your translation is 100% accurate- it just doesn't communicate what at least we perceive the OP's meaning to be. I agree that it sounds hilarious to native speakers and that is why I think it is a good translation. It's one of those it'

such a ludicrous statements that you should only laugh at it.

[Little Tina]

I guess it should be 鬼迷心窍 or 鬼使神差

鬼迷心窍 means, to follow some strange feelings, I dn't know why I did it, but just did it. Actually, it's more likely as a perfect reason to explain your behaviors. not really blame the devil (or 鬼, ghosts), even more, you did not have to believe whether the devil really exists.

鬼使神差 adds another actor to charge and conclude all becuse of the calling both from ghosts and gods.

[Scoobyqueen]

If you didnt do so already you could check the Chinese bible for references. The devil has several names from Lucifer to Satan. A good general reference might be the first time he is mentioned in Genesis 3 and then the temptation in the wilderness Matthew 4.

[renzhe]

"Devil made me do it" is almost a set phrase in English. Here is some background.

So of course you can't really translate it, with all the connotations. But the way I understand it, there has to be a Devil, and he has to force you to do it, otherwise it's not funny.

Guoke, don't take it personally, we're just discussing, that's all.

I wonder if it's just me or it simply happens to everyone else.

No, I'm wrong all the time too

Edited September 23, 2009 at 11:52 AM by renzhe

[xianhua]

That's the feeling I get whenever I post anything on this forum. I wonder if it's just me or it simply happens to everyone else

I know exactly what you mean, but isn't that what internet forums are about: people proving each other wrong?

[Scoobyqueen]

Devil made me do it" is almost a set phrase in English

That is true. But unfortunately also for some believers.

Incidentally after the devil had “made” Eve eat the apple and Adam had done his deed too, Adam infers that the woman made him do it.

[kurii]

Colloquially, one may say 见鬼了! How I like it as it's of Jackie Wu's mannerism which you often hear on his show.

[trien27]

魔鬼逼我干的 would seem more than correct for "The devil made me do it" than anything else. But reminder: 干 as a character has many meanings when it's simplified. If Traditional, it should be 幹, which is simplified to 干 and altered to 乾 or 榦.

Incidentally, the word "mogwai", used in the movie "Gremlins" and by a Scottish rock band of the same name, comes from the Cantonese pronunciation of 魔鬼.

Wrong. Mogwai from Gremlins movie is from Cantonese for 魔怪, not 魔鬼.

Edited September 24, 2009 at 02:32 AM by trien27

[Guoke]

Guoke, don't take it personally, we're just discussing, that's all.

Don't worry! I wasn't serious. I just wanted to see what response I'd get.

I know exactly what you mean, but isn't that what internet forums are about: people proving each other wrong?

I have to agree.

[renzhe]

Wrong. Mogwai from Gremlins movie is from Cantonese for 魔怪, not 魔鬼.

Looks like you're right. I remembered wrong. It's interesting that they use different characters for Cantonese and Mandarin on that page, though, 魔怪, and 魔鬼.

Edited September 24, 2009 at 11:19 AM by renzhe