BaiYingying Posted April 30, 2012 at 01:00 PM Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 at 01:00 PM Hello everyone! I translated the following sentence 朱重八和别的乞丐不同，也正是因为不同，他才没有一直当乞丐（请注意这句话）。 sort of like this: Zhu Chongba was different from the other beggars and, since they were so different from each other, he didn't end up being a beggar. This is pretty much how I interpreted it. Am I wrong? Thank you for helping! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted April 30, 2012 at 01:50 PM Report Share Posted April 30, 2012 at 01:50 PM Not that they were different from each other, but that Zhu was different from all the other beggars. And, Zhu was a beggar once but he didn't go on being a beggar /end up being a beggar all his life. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shinewind Posted May 3, 2012 at 09:31 AM Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 at 09:31 AM I think you understand it well only that it will be better if you add "all his life" like Sky did to tell "Once but no longer". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny同志 Posted May 3, 2012 at 09:50 AM Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 at 09:50 AM "End up" has conveyed the idea, I mean "all his life", I think? My attempt: 朱重八和别的乞丐不同，也正是因为不同，他才没有一直当乞丐。 Zhu Chongba was different from other beggars. Precisely because of this, he didn’t end up being a beggar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roddy Posted May 3, 2012 at 10:09 AM Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 at 10:09 AM "End up" has conveyed the idea, I mean "all his life", I think? No. To end up means after some process I suppose, but not necessarily your entire life. If your company does badly you can end up unemployed, but it doesn't mean you're dead. Zhu Chongba was unlike other beggars, and so he did not remain one. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymoose Posted May 3, 2012 at 10:21 AM Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 at 10:21 AM 朱重八和别的乞丐不同，也正是因为不同，他才没有一直当乞丐。Zhu Chongba was different from other beggars. Precisely because of this, he didn’t end up being a beggar. "end up" means "(as a result of some reason), be/do (something, usually not having done it before)", so I don't think it is suitable for this sentence where 没有一直 implies that he was a beggar at one stage, but not later. You can use "end up" like this: He used to roam around on the streets, but since he had inherited a lot of money, he didn't end up being a beggar. 他曾流浪街头，但由于继承了一大笔钱，所以他并没有沦为乞丐。 He met a girl in the bar last night, and ended up not coming home. 他昨晚在酒吧里认识到一个女孩子，结果他没有回家。 (The Chinese is my own translation. I don't know if it accurately reflects the English meaning.) As for the original sentence, I agree with skylee's interpretation. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny同志 Posted May 3, 2012 at 11:09 AM Report Share Posted May 3, 2012 at 11:09 AM Thank you for explaining the phrase. I think now I have a better understanding of it. Roddy's translation is excellent - accurate and concise. Anonymoose, your translations are fine except that 认识到 should be changed to 认识了. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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