Short Bruce Lee quotations in Mandarin

[CristianPoow]

Hello everyone,

 

I kind of put lots of phrases together that Bruce said back in the days. I ended up writing something simple and correctly mixed up. The problem now is translating it into Mandarin since my studies are very far from being good. The full sentence goes as follows:

 

"Don't think, feel. Be water, my friend."

 

The big deal is: first off we are facing an Imperative construction in a form of suggestion, not an order. As far as I know all Chinese verbs are infinitive no matter how or when you use it.

 

I know a Chinese guy across the street who helped me to find the right words, and we came out with this:

 

  不想, 感. 是水 (我的)朋友.  

 

As you can see, I have put the possession the way I can remove it and it will still mean the same "Be water, (my) friend.")

 

That aside, I have found the original footage from 1971 with Mandarin subtitles, and when Bruce says "Be water, my friend." in the subs I see two sinograms I don't know what the heck they are.

 

 

The problem I have had with this Chinese guy is that he doesn't get what FEEL stands for in my mother tongue (Spanish). And he doesn't speak English, so...  that's why I'm here. To find out a good translation for the verb TO FEEL and end up having a correct translated sentence.

 

BIG THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR READING THIS AND PROBABLY HELP ME OUT.

[lingo-ling]

是 isn't used in the way the imperative "be" is used in English. Instead, the Chinese often use the word 做 (do) in this sense.

是水 means "It's water."

For "don't", the verb 不要 is frequently used.

Now, I'm no expert in Chinese, and it's not my native tongue. Here's a suggestion (and I'm sure someone else will find a far better translation than I can):

不要想,要依賴感覺. 朋友,你要做水. (Don't think. You should rely on feelings. Friend, you should be water.)

[CristianPoow]

lingo-ling:  first off thanks for replying.

 

Are you directly suggesting that I have to use 作水 instead of 是水 as being imperative?

Then, if 作 stands for an imperative "do", are we saying "do water" ? does that make any sense in Chinese? I ask from my ignorance and tiny Chinese knowledge.

 

I have to clarify, this phrase goes on a tattoo. I can't fail.

[lingo-ling]

Check above... I've made some edits. 做 is better than 作, the latter usually being used in noun phrases.

[lingo-ling]

Oh, and if it's for a tattoo, my suggestion is far too pedestrian. It should be poetic, and that's beyond my scope of expertise.

[lingo-ling]

I did some Googling, and found that "Be water, my friend" is commonly translated as 做水一样的人吧，我的朋友. That means "Be a person who is the same as water, my friend."

There's also: 像水一样吧，我的朋友. - "[be] like water, my friend."

They're generic translations, like everyday speech, not poetic.

[CristianPoow]

You are helping a lot, mate. Don't say that.

 

Can you give a watch to the moment when Bruce Lee says that last phrase, so you can understand the context? I've found it subbed in Chinese, you can check out that, too.

 

http://youtu.be/vR2roxmyBJI?t=1m20s

 

He gives an explanation out of his philosophy of Martial Arts and starts talking about water, and a few seconds later he comes up with "Be water my friend". You can get why! ;)

[lingo-ling]

OK, the subtitles say 像水一样吧，朋友.

But a little earlier, when he said "Be formless, shapeless, like water", the subtitle said 像水一样 (like water).

The 吧 makes the sentence a suggestion; a mild imperative.

[CristianPoow]

That is what I couldn't get before. The "mild imperative" you are now telling me. So, we do have a correct subtitle, don't we? And my final tattoo-phrase should be: 像水一样吧，朋友.

 

This tattoo is going vertical, and given that "friend" uses two syllables in Chinese, can I use them separately or not?

 

How can I modify "Don't think, feel." with the usage of 吧 ? Let me give a shot:  不想, 感吧

[renzhe]

I'm not a native speaker, and my opinion does not mean much, but I urge you not to tattoo "像水一样吧，朋友" on yourself. It is truly corny.

[CristianPoow]

renzhe: and what about tattooing what lingo-ling suggested? Or directly get the phrase out of the subtitles on the video footage. I assume they are 100% right. And I completely change the phrase of the tattoo, ending it up in "Be formless, shapeless, like water."  It sounds way much better in any language!  - and it will also do in my right arm, of course

[lingo-ling]

"Be formless like water" might be 要像水一样無形 ("formless" and "shapeless" are, for all practical purposes, synonyms)

Subtitles are no guarantee of accuracy.

If you are going to tattoo a phrase in a foreign language permanently on your body, I urge you to consult at least two native speakers. I'm not one.