potatoss Posted January 3, 2012 at 05:47 PM Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 at 05:47 PM Hi guys. I'm new here and I'm from Poland so first I need to say HI! :-) and sorry for my english...;-p I would like to ask you for a help with a tattoo text translation: 什 么 不 杀 了 我 使 我 更 坚 强 It's gonna be a tattoo on my back - from up to down :-) but first I need to make sure what it really means...? :-) Thanks in advance and I'm waiting for your help :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abcdefg Posted January 4, 2012 at 12:08 AM Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 at 12:08 AM Literally, "Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger." I'm not sure how "native" it is or whether there are "more Chinese" ways of expressing the same thought. There might well be a chengyu (four character old saying or proverb) that would sound better plus get the job done with less needle time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renzhe Posted January 4, 2012 at 12:15 AM Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 at 12:15 AM No, that's not correct Chinese, it's a word-for-word translation of "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger". Each word is translated correctly on its own, but the grammar is completely wrong and the sentence is meaningless gibberish. A Chinese person will have no clue what you're trying to say. Do yourself a favour and do not tattoo that on yourself. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iriya Posted January 4, 2012 at 01:54 AM Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 at 01:54 AM Yeah, it's a word-for-word translation, it's laughable. A good Chinese equivalent would be 百折不挠. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jkhsu Posted January 4, 2012 at 02:14 AM Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 at 02:14 AM What do you want the tattoo to say in the first place? There is another saying that is related but not exactly the same: 大难不死，必有后福 I also found this one online which has the same meaning (but unverified): 杀我不死，使我更强 Disclaimer: I am a learner myself and not a native speaker. You should get verification from (hopefully a few) native speakers before you get the tattoo. Good luck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted January 4, 2012 at 03:38 AM Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 at 03:38 AM Also consider 遇強愈強 越戰越勇 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imluffy Posted January 4, 2012 at 04:47 AM Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 at 04:47 AM That is not a normal Chinese sentence. How about "千磨万击还坚劲，任尔东西南北风"? It's a very famous sentence from 郑板桥's poetry. Here is the poetry: 竹 石 （清）郑板桥 yǎo dìng qīng shān bù fàng sōng 咬 定 青 山 不 放 松 ， lì gēn yuán zài pò yán zhōng 立 根 原 在 破 岩 中 。 qiān mó wàn jī hái jiān jìn 千 磨 万 击 还 坚 劲 ， rèn ěr dōng xī nán běi fēng 任 尔 东 西 南 北 风 。 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potatoss Posted January 4, 2012 at 12:04 PM Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 at 12:04 PM Wow... Thanks for such a quick answers guys! You're the best! :-) I thought so, that something is wrong with this translation... A Chinese person will have no clue what you're trying to say.Do yourself a favour and do not tattoo that on yourself. Don't worry - now I'm sure that I'm not gonna tattoo this on myself...;-) Just as you guys noticed, I wanna get a tattoo saying: "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger". Can you suggest me the best chinese form of this sentence or some kind of chinese equivalent? A good Chinese equivalent would be 百折不挠. What it means exactly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iriya Posted January 4, 2012 at 05:13 PM Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 at 05:13 PM 百折不挠 literally means something like 'even in spite of a hundred setbacks, never give up'. For a tattoo, you'll probably want to use the traditional Chinese characters - 百折不撓. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potatoss Posted January 5, 2012 at 11:02 AM Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 at 11:02 AM 百折不挠 literally means something like 'even in spite of a hundred setbacks, never give up'.For a tattoo, you'll probably want to use the traditional Chinese characters - 百折不撓. Ok. Thanks for reply :-) Do you know any other equivalents...? I'm thinking about something more similiar to "what doesn't kill me makes me stronger". 那些杀不死我的东西，只会让我变更强。杀我不死,使我更强! What can you say about those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rezaf Posted January 5, 2012 at 12:58 PM Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 at 12:58 PM If you don't want a Chinese proverb and you are looking for a good translation of that sentence, then I guess 杀我不死,使我更强 is your best choice but personally I don't think having characters like 杀（to kill) and 死（to die) on your body would be very good. BTW if you want traditional characters then it would be: 殺我不死，使我更強 P.S. I am also just a learner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iriya Posted January 5, 2012 at 01:07 PM Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 at 01:07 PM 強 is really a vulgar variant (ム is a common corruption of 口). The orthodox variant is 强. I've really no idea why Taiwan chose 強, probably the same reason they're using 為 (正字：爲) and 裡 (正字：裏). Taiwan standard =/= Traditional Chinese. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rezaf Posted January 5, 2012 at 04:39 PM Report Share Posted January 5, 2012 at 04:39 PM 強 is really a vulgar variant (ム is a common corruption of 口). The orthodox variant is 强. If I am not mistaken the original character should be 彊. As for 強, I think it's 弘+虫 and in that case ム is not a corruption of 口 but I appreciate it if you could explain more because my knowledge is very limited. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iriya Posted January 6, 2012 at 09:41 AM Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 at 09:41 AM You are right. 说文解字 says: 从虫弘聲. I admit my mistake. Now I wonder where does 强 come from... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rezaf Posted January 6, 2012 at 11:34 AM Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 at 11:34 AM I am also confused and it seems that the two commentaries in 漢典 are in complete disagreement about which one was used in 秦刻石文：http://www.zdic.net/zd/zi/ZdicE5ZdicBCZdicB7.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potatoss Posted January 6, 2012 at 02:32 PM Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 at 02:32 PM Ok... I've no idea, what you guys are talking about...;-p Seriously...;-) I'm absolutly no-chineese-speaking guy...;-) So I have to ask you all one more time - which of sugested equivalents is most similiar to my sentence? I realy need a concrete answer...something where you are sure that there is no language mistakes and all symbols are right... Are you able to give me that answer, guys...? Thank you all for all your replies!:-) I'm very gratefull that you want to help me with this...:-) Regards for all of you ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted January 6, 2012 at 06:36 PM Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 at 06:36 PM Oh, just get the first one. It's not right, but it'll make you stronger. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renzhe Posted January 6, 2012 at 06:47 PM Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 at 06:47 PM IMHO, skylee's comes the closest, but Iriya's is a very common idiom which everybody knows. None of them express exactly what you want to say. This is the problem with translations, especially translations of cool-sounding snippets of wisdom. When you translate them, they don't sound as cool. If you find an equally cool saying in the target language, it means something slightly different. That's why I personally recommend not doing it -- the majority of people eventually regret it. But with those two suggestions, you'll regret it less than with the original one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imron Posted January 6, 2012 at 08:56 PM Report Share Posted January 6, 2012 at 08:56 PM Oh, just get the first one. It's not right, but it'll make you stronger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny同志 Posted January 7, 2012 at 02:32 AM Report Share Posted January 7, 2012 at 02:32 AM 未能滅我者，強我。 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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