Pedroski Posted August 22, 2014 at 12:53 AM Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 12:53 AM 故事表现了一个男人感情生活当中的种种困惑、尴尬和茫然。 '种种困惑、尴尬和茫然。' = ' all kinds of confusion, embarrassment and ignorance' Is that about right?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
浅浅兔 Posted August 22, 2014 at 01:43 AM Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 01:43 AM 茫然，in the dark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedroski Posted August 22, 2014 at 02:00 AM Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 02:00 AM Thanks, but that doesn't really fit. But if you are 'in the dark' you are ignorant of something, don't you think?? .......故事.......表现了..一个男人感情生活..当中..的..种种........困惑、尴尬........................和.....茫然。 This story shows a man's emotional life in 的 all kinds of confusion, embarrassment and in the dark ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPhillips Posted August 22, 2014 at 02:19 AM Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 02:19 AM I think 茫然 describes the feeling of not knowing what to do--I'm racking my brains to think of a single word translation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedroski Posted August 22, 2014 at 02:27 AM Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 02:27 AM Thanks! Keep racking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPhillips Posted August 22, 2014 at 02:36 AM Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 02:36 AM 茫然 ＝ "lack of direction" perhaps (sounds very American though). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
浅浅兔 Posted August 22, 2014 at 02:36 AM Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 02:36 AM yes. MPhillips is right.So I think "in the dark"is fitter than " ignorance" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedroski Posted August 22, 2014 at 02:52 AM Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 02:52 AM How about a translation with 'in the dark' then? For all that brain racking, here's a joke: Need any animals moving?? I Noah guy! dj.iciba.com/茫然 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPhillips Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:14 AM Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:14 AM "The story explores all the confusion, embarrassment and lack of clarity in a man's emotional life". Even if you don't like "lack of clarity" it's still grist for the mill. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altair Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:16 AM Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:16 AM 故事表现了一个男人感情生活当中的种种困惑、尴尬和茫然。 How about: "The story demonstrates various ways of being perplexed, awkward, and at a loss within a man's emotional life." I think 茫然 conjures up the feeling of being in a vast blur of water or grass where you can't make out anything clearly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedroski Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:20 AM Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:20 AM Thanks! I like both versions better than my own! The text is talking about a 2007 film '爱情呼叫转移‘ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
浅浅兔 Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:21 AM Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:21 AM I'm just though,if you are in the dark,you will can't find the exit,and you will feel loss,that feeling it's like Chinese word"茫然“. sorry,I 'm not a speak English woman,so I use my Chinese brain to think the English word means. I think " ignorance"is more like: you are nothing to know...idiot... is that right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedroski Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:26 AM Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:26 AM 不客气，没事。我认为中国女士脑子比英国男士脑子远远更好！很感激您的贡献哦！ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPhillips Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:27 AM Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:27 AM Based on Altair's explanation ("茫然 conjures up the image of being in a vast blur of water") some suitable English words include "adrift", "at sea", "unmoored" "rudderless", the problem is making nouns of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedroski Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:35 AM Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:35 AM Hey, that's easy: adriftness, at-sea-ness, unmooredness, rudderlessness Stick that in your OED! 也许茫然 = 迷茫自然 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MPhillips Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:54 AM Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 03:54 AM I just didn't know how bookish you wanted your translation to sound--also I vote for Altair's "awkwardness" over "embarrassment". BTW another expression that's somewhat similar to 茫然 is 不知所措. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
陳德聰 Posted August 22, 2014 at 05:58 AM Report Share Posted August 22, 2014 at 05:58 AM 困惑 and 茫然 are pretty similar to me in this context. 茫然 = 一无所知的样子, so "ignorance" is not far off, it just doesn't have the right connotation in English. I'd say perplexity, awkwardness, and confusion. All three have an element of not really knowing what to do. This 尴尬 is not the embarrassment one but the awkward one. Leaves me thinking of a person standing there just simply not knowing what they should do, so they do nothing, and it's awkward as can be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michaelyus Posted August 23, 2014 at 12:09 AM Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 at 12:09 AM I'd go for "perplexity", "haziness"/"haze" (the latter would require a bit of tweaking with adjective-noun combinations) or even "listlessness" (good example where connotation fits better than denotation) for 茫然 here myself, although I quite like "lack of direction" in this context. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
浅浅兔 Posted August 23, 2014 at 01:00 AM Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 at 01:00 AM Posted Yesterday, 11:26 AM 不客气，没事。我认为中国女士脑子比英国男士脑子远远更好！很感激您的贡献哦！ not 不客气。。。you should say..没关系。。ha ha ha .. If I say 谢谢，you can say 不客气。。 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pedroski Posted August 23, 2014 at 01:19 AM Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2014 at 01:19 AM 好的，明白，就谢谢！ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.