Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
Se la llevará
English translation:
will carry her off
Added to glossary by
Robert Dunn
Jan 27, 2014 18:37
10 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Spanish term
United States
Computer/IT and Corporate Communications
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
, Spanish 
Works in: German to English, Spanish to English, Italian to English
Se la llevará
Spanish to English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Phrase
Hi everyone,
I am not 100% sure what "se la llevará" means in the context below. My best estimate given the context is "what will befall her" or "what will happen to her" but since we do not use this phrase in my Spanish-speaking country, I am unsure as to what it means and would like clarification.
Eso es lo que tuvo su hija, un accidente de coche, pero no lo que la matará. El golpe le dejó lesiones cerebrales, pero lo que ***se la llevará*** será una infección, o un encharcamiento de los pulmones, o todo a la vez, dentro de un mes o dentro de un año
Thank you for your answers (phrase is highlighted with stars below)
I am not 100% sure what "se la llevará" means in the context below. My best estimate given the context is "what will befall her" or "what will happen to her" but since we do not use this phrase in my Spanish-speaking country, I am unsure as to what it means and would like clarification.
Eso es lo que tuvo su hija, un accidente de coche, pero no lo que la matará. El golpe le dejó lesiones cerebrales, pero lo que ***se la llevará*** será una infección, o un encharcamiento de los pulmones, o todo a la vez, dentro de un mes o dentro de un año
Thank you for your answers (phrase is highlighted with stars below)
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+8
24 mins
Selected
will carry her off
I'm afraid it's more serious than befall her: it means what will kill her. "Llevarse" means to take away, and "se la llevó una infección" is a euphemistic way of saying that she died of an infection. In the equivalent, rather dated English euphemism, she was "carried off" by an infection.
"A Sonia se la llevó una infección renal hace dos años. Fue despedida entre tambores, cumbias, discursos y cantaores, y enterrada en Bogotá"
http://evaduranpalabrera.blogspot.com.es/2013_09_01_archive....
"Desafortunadamente no fue asi y luego de ires y venires a clinicas y exámenes médicos, mi bebe se la llevó una infección de la cual no pudo recuperarse."
http://animalessinhogar.naturalforum.net/t91335-abril-gatita...
Which euphemism to use is a personal choice. I don't think it would be appropriate just to say "what will kill her"; that's a bit too abrupt.
"Mary's personal life was marred by the tragic loss of Albert, who died as the result of a sledding accident, and Sheldon, who was carried off by an infection."
http://www.mariemontpreservation.org/gallery/the-founding-of...
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Note added at 25 mins (2014-01-27 19:03:05 GMT)
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I'm sorry, I got the wrong quotation for my second Spanish example; it should have been
"Hola, siento decirte que Abril falleció, la herida que tenía se le complicó y se la llevó una infección".
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Note added at 30 mins (2014-01-27 19:07:56 GMT)
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I'm finding it difficult to think of a good alternative with the right tone. "Finish her off" is what it means, but that's not a very kind way of putting it. Perhaps "what will end her life".
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Note added at 3 hrs (2014-01-27 22:17:14 GMT)
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"End her days" is a great idea, I think.
"A Sonia se la llevó una infección renal hace dos años. Fue despedida entre tambores, cumbias, discursos y cantaores, y enterrada en Bogotá"
http://evaduranpalabrera.blogspot.com.es/2013_09_01_archive....
"Desafortunadamente no fue asi y luego de ires y venires a clinicas y exámenes médicos, mi bebe se la llevó una infección de la cual no pudo recuperarse."
http://animalessinhogar.naturalforum.net/t91335-abril-gatita...
Which euphemism to use is a personal choice. I don't think it would be appropriate just to say "what will kill her"; that's a bit too abrupt.
"Mary's personal life was marred by the tragic loss of Albert, who died as the result of a sledding accident, and Sheldon, who was carried off by an infection."
http://www.mariemontpreservation.org/gallery/the-founding-of...
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Note added at 25 mins (2014-01-27 19:03:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
I'm sorry, I got the wrong quotation for my second Spanish example; it should have been
"Hola, siento decirte que Abril falleció, la herida que tenía se le complicó y se la llevó una infección".
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 30 mins (2014-01-27 19:07:56 GMT)
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I'm finding it difficult to think of a good alternative with the right tone. "Finish her off" is what it means, but that's not a very kind way of putting it. Perhaps "what will end her life".
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Note added at 3 hrs (2014-01-27 22:17:14 GMT)
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"End her days" is a great idea, I think.
Note from asker:
| wow, thank you for your suggestions. What about "end her days"? It implies death but not as directly as "kill" or "fatal". |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
ormiston
: maybe "prove fatal"?
22 mins
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That's an idea! Thanks, ormiston :)
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| agree |
Billh
33 mins
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Thanks, Bill
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| agree |
snathdag
: ormiston's suggestion is neat. If you want a more idiomatic alternative there's also "what will do for her" but it's maybe just a bit too informal for me..
35 mins
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Thanks, snathdag. I tend to agree. I think the context calls for a delicate expression that doesn't actually mention death and is not too flippant.
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| agree |
James A. Walsh
: I like ormiston's idea, too, but "fatal" is a bit strong I feel... Some variation of "succumb to" maybe? / Yeah tricky one, fully agree that a delicate expression is called for here...
2 hrs
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Something along those lines is what I'm looking for, yes. Thanks a lot, James ;)
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| agree |
Hans Geluk
: very good, including the equivalent euphemism
2 hrs
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Many thanks, Hans :)
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| agree |
Pablo Julián Davis
: Good one... (I propose a different euphemism, as bland in English as 'se la llevará' sounds to me in Spanish). ¡Saludos, tocayo!
6 hrs
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Thank, tocayo :) I think something with "end" is probably the best approach.
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| agree |
Isamar
: I like ormiston's suggetsion too. After all, when an accident kills someone, it's referred to as a fatality.
14 hrs
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True! Thanks, Isamar :)
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| agree |
Emma Plested
: I agree that this conveys both the meaning and the feeling of the original. Similar perhaps to "finish her off" (which could be a bit too flippant?) or "take her" (which I also like).
21 hrs
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Thanks, Emma :)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you very much and to everyone else too!"
-1
7 mins
Charlie Higgins
United States
United States
Native in English
United States
Commercial/Legal Language Specialist
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English
Related KudoZ points
:
7
what she'll be left with
This works as a colloquial translation, the "what" referring to "una infeccion"
-1
11 mins
what she will end up with
or even: what she will take away from it
+2
1 hr
Lisa McCarthy
Spain
Spain
Native in English
Works in field
Spain
Especialista de marketing
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, Catalan to English
Related KudoZ points
:
152
what will cause her death
Another option.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
María Soledad Jorquera
: Yes, that's exactly what it means and the option I would use :)
5 mins
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Thanks María :)
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| agree |
Hans Geluk
: good alternative, meaning is 100% correct but euphemism is not taken over to target text.
2 hrs
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Thanks, Hans :)
|
+1
7 hrs
Pablo Julián Davis
Native in Spanish
&
English
La palabra justa/The right word
Native in: Spanish , English
Works in: Spanish to English, English to Spanish, Portuguese to Spanish, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
28
Spanish term (edited):
lo que se la llevará será una infección...
the end will come from an infection...
Lisa's proposed translation is, of course, correct as to meaning, and Charles's euphemizes in a way that reflects the original (though to my ear, 'carry her off' sounds a touch more dramatic in English than 'se la llevará' does in Spanish; pero ya estamos hilvanando fino).
The shade of connotation that I'm hearing in 'lo que se la llevará', a fairly bland-sounding euphemism for death, is conveyed by 'the end came' (or 'the end will come') 'from this or that'.
www.badsey.net/past/obits.htm : "...Miss Norah Stanley died on Nov 3rd after a long illness, ... but the end came with unexpected suddenness."
archive.mises.org/.../making-kids-worthles... : "For many the end will come from avoidable or treatable illnesses (and accidents) that they can't afford to have seen to. For others the needle ..."
www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid...: "Judge J.D. Welsh (1858 - 1917) ... The end came from heart failure, after a long illness of cancerous growth on the right side of his neck just below the jaw..."
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/.../X3Ow-fOXMYcJ : "but when the end came from cancer it was shockingly quick: In just a ..."
www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record... National Academies Press : "He was still hoping to dehydrate a plant in a magnet and see the effects on roots, which had not been done before, when the end came from pneumonia..."
newspaperarchive.com/beatrice.../1922-01-2... : "...The doctors ... it is believed that the end came from a stroke of which occurred early in ..."
www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid... : "A. T. Averill Passes Away After A Long Lingering Illness. ... The end came, from heart failure, while his nurse was in an adjoining room..."
The shade of connotation that I'm hearing in 'lo que se la llevará', a fairly bland-sounding euphemism for death, is conveyed by 'the end came' (or 'the end will come') 'from this or that'.
www.badsey.net/past/obits.htm : "...Miss Norah Stanley died on Nov 3rd after a long illness, ... but the end came with unexpected suddenness."
archive.mises.org/.../making-kids-worthles... : "For many the end will come from avoidable or treatable illnesses (and accidents) that they can't afford to have seen to. For others the needle ..."
www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid...: "Judge J.D. Welsh (1858 - 1917) ... The end came from heart failure, after a long illness of cancerous growth on the right side of his neck just below the jaw..."
https://groups.google.com/d/msg/.../X3Ow-fOXMYcJ : "but when the end came from cancer it was shockingly quick: In just a ..."
www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record... National Academies Press : "He was still hoping to dehydrate a plant in a magnet and see the effects on roots, which had not been done before, when the end came from pneumonia..."
newspaperarchive.com/beatrice.../1922-01-2... : "...The doctors ... it is believed that the end came from a stroke of which occurred early in ..."
www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid... : "A. T. Averill Passes Away After A Long Lingering Illness. ... The end came, from heart failure, while his nurse was in an adjoining room..."
21 hrs
will take her
I do agree with Charles' option of 'carry her off' but I personally prefer this more direct translation.
In the UK we use this euphamism a lot for death; you can see many newspaper headlines referring to being 'taken' too young etc etc. According to wikipedia this may be linked to the idea of being taken by the Grim Reaper.
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Note added at 21 hrs (2014-01-28 16:09:00 GMT)
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You could also add the extra "what will eventually take her...", thereby emphasing even more that in the end it will be the infection that kills her.
In the UK we use this euphamism a lot for death; you can see many newspaper headlines referring to being 'taken' too young etc etc. According to wikipedia this may be linked to the idea of being taken by the Grim Reaper.
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Note added at 21 hrs (2014-01-28 16:09:00 GMT)
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You could also add the extra "what will eventually take her...", thereby emphasing even more that in the end it will be the infection that kills her.
Example sentence:
the cancer took her
he was taken at his prime
Discussion
Ah, my mistake, thanks. I’m intrigued as to whether there will be a consensus on the best option and what it will be. My latest attempt: ‘an infection will prove too much for her’.
I bet doctors have these expressions off pat. I don't often have to tell people they're going to die, thank goodness.