New Members wessnipes Posted February 15, 2011 at 05:41 PM New Members Report Posted February 15, 2011 at 05:41 PM For a long time now I have been trying to get a translation of the phrase 'Trust the journey' but even my Chinese friends who speak good English and native speaks with great Chinese appear to be unsure of what symbols fit best. I have a hard time explaining that the meaning is much deeper than 'I like to travel', which is usually the best translation they can find. I wonder if it is possible to translate it with the full meaning in tact (ie trust the journey of life, allowing things to evolve as intended over time, everything will work out ok) If you have any thoughts or ideas, please let me know. Many thanks. Quote
aristotle1990 Posted February 16, 2011 at 02:07 AM Report Posted February 16, 2011 at 02:07 AM The conventional answer is 顺其自然. For something a bit more mystical, you might try 随道而行, "follow the Dao." Quote
xiaocai Posted February 16, 2011 at 03:33 AM Report Posted February 16, 2011 at 03:33 AM I don't know if 车到山前必有路 or 船到桥头自然直 would be appropriate here or not. Quote
New Members wessnipes Posted February 16, 2011 at 12:55 PM Author New Members Report Posted February 16, 2011 at 12:55 PM Thank you for the suggestions so far. I will have to speak to Chinese friends about what the characters mentioned for a full translation so that I can assess it, as google translate does not do the job! I am very interested in the 'follow the dao' phrase though as my brief online research seems to confirm that it encompasses all the meanings that I am trying to get across with my original statement. Quote
Yichao Posted February 16, 2011 at 01:58 PM Report Posted February 16, 2011 at 01:58 PM I'm a Chinese though. I think this translate is not a good one because it's too rough that i can match it to thousands of famous sayings. As for Dao, it didn't mention. Hope we can have a further talk about Chinese. Quote
Kenny同志 Posted February 22, 2011 at 05:45 AM Report Posted February 22, 2011 at 05:45 AM I would agree with 亚里士多德. 顺其自然 - let life take its own course. Quote
New Members wessnipes Posted March 23, 2011 at 06:35 AM Author New Members Report Posted March 23, 2011 at 06:35 AM It seems like the general view of my friends is that 顺其自然 is the best translation. However, they warn me that its a little simplified and said its along the lines of 'so it goes'. Is there anything that carries the same depth of meaning as my original phrase? Quote
Kenny同志 Posted March 26, 2011 at 04:23 AM Report Posted March 26, 2011 at 04:23 AM It's not that "simplified". Or are you looking for a chengyu? I think 顺其自然 is pretty close in the magnitude to a chengyu， though it's not one in a strict sense ("汉典", the online Chinese language dictionary has not included it as one). Quote
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