Jul 19, 2007 13:34
16 yrs ago
German term
PoveyTrans (X)
Wehe über mich
German to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
Es war der Vater, der eben aus der
Synagoge vom Abendgebet kam und die
Tochter mit dem Unbekannten traf. „Wehe
über mich, meine Tochter treibt Buhlschaft
mit einem Sohne Edoms!“
This is from a fairytale...
Synagoge vom Abendgebet kam und die
Tochter mit dem Unbekannten traf. „Wehe
über mich, meine Tochter treibt Buhlschaft
mit einem Sohne Edoms!“
This is from a fairytale...
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +10 | Woe is me |
Steven Sidore
|
| 4 +1 | Oy vay / (oy) vay iz mir! |
Paul Cohen
|
| 4 | Take pity on me |
Courtney Sliwinski
|
Change log
Jul 19, 2007 14:13: Steffen Walter changed "Term asked" from "Wehe ueber mich" to "Wehe über mich"
Proposed translations
+10
4 mins
German term (edited):
Wehe ueber mich
Selected
Woe is me
Standard fairy tale saying
Note from asker:
| Thanks all for your thoughtful and entertaining answers. This is indeed a series of Jewish stories being translated from German into English. This particular one is set 'hundreds of years ago' so whether Jiddisch is appropriate is perhaps a question to Paul! Thanks again. |
| Thanks Stephen - I had to go for Paul's answer as this was more appropriate in the context. Thanks again. |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Friderike Butler
: Just a tad bit faster than me ;-) http://www.answers.com/topic/woe
0 min
|
| agree |
Marcelo Silveyra
: also "woe unto me"
1 min
|
| agree |
Nicole Schnell
4 mins
|
| agree |
BrigitteHilgner
: Also popular in old folksongs.
19 mins
|
| agree |
Caro Maucher
: Oder auch "Woe be unto me"
20 mins
|
| agree |
Rebecca Garber
35 mins
|
| agree |
Erik Freitag
: Also heard "woe betide me"?//So is the German source ;-) Thanks.
45 mins
|
|
now that's old school
|
|
| agree |
Stephen Sadie
58 mins
|
| agree |
franglish
1 hr
|
| agree |
Hilary Davies Shelby
: i'd say "woe is me" (i read a lot of fairy tales ;-)). I think "woe betide" would be something you'd say to someone else, e.g. "woe betide you if you ever darken my door again" ;-) it's more of a warning!
21 hrs
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
40 mins
Courtney Sliwinski
Native in English
Specializes in field
The right words for the right price
Native in: English 
Works in: German to English, English to German
Take pity on me
another option. If the character is speaking to someone else, this is how he might express his anguish to them.
Note from asker:
| Thanks all for your thoughtful and entertaining answers. This is indeed a series of Jewish stories being translated from German into English. This particular one is set 'hundreds of years ago' so whether Jiddisch is appropriate is perhaps a question to Paul! Thanks again. |
+1
3 hrs
Paul Cohen
Greenland
Greenland
Native in English
Works in field
Greenland
Will work for blubber
Native in: English
Works in: German to English, French to English, Danish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
26
Oy vay / (oy) vay iz mir!
I don't want to kvetch or kvell, but take it from a Jew, this doesn't sound to me like your standard English fairytale.
Call me meshuggah, but since the father has just left the synogogue following evening prayers, it only stands to reason that he's Jewish and his sudden cry of anguish and dismay would characteristically plotz in Yiddish (and not in ye-olde antiquaited English - that's just a big mishegoss).
http://www.hollywoodsapphiregroup.com/yiddish.html
http://www.translationdirectory.com/dictionaries/dictionary0...
Check out this description of Edom:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edom
Call me meshuggah, but since the father has just left the synogogue following evening prayers, it only stands to reason that he's Jewish and his sudden cry of anguish and dismay would characteristically plotz in Yiddish (and not in ye-olde antiquaited English - that's just a big mishegoss).
http://www.hollywoodsapphiregroup.com/yiddish.html
http://www.translationdirectory.com/dictionaries/dictionary0...
Check out this description of Edom:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edom
Note from asker:
| Thanks all for your thoughtful and entertaining answers. This is indeed a series of Jewish stories being translated from German into English. This particular one is set 'hundreds of years ago' so whether Jiddisch is appropriate is perhaps a question to Paul! Thanks again. |
| Thanks Paul |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Damian Harrison (X)
: Definitely.
33 mins
|
|
Thanks, Damian.
|
|
| neutral |
Hilary Davies Shelby
: (neutral because I don't have a clue whether it's correct or not ;-)) - i think you're right - this should probably be a German to Yiddish question!
17 hrs
|
|
Yup - context, context!
|
Discussion