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  3. Poetry & Literature

مدبرة

English translation: times of privation

14:06 Sep 1, 2020
Arabic to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / Contemporary novel
Arabic term or phrase: مدبرة
محمد عبده يغني: ((...يوم أقبلت صوت لها جرحي القديم...))، وفي عقلي حيرة، وألف إجابة محتملة لسؤال واحد، ولا أدري أي الاحتمالات هو الأصح. كانوا يأكلون في إناء واحد كإخوة كما تذكر جدتي، وكانت الدنيا مدبرة، فقر وجوع، وحين أقبلت الدنيا أكل أحدهم الآخر. أما كان من الأولى أن يأكل أحدهم الآخر عند إدبار الدنيا لا عند إقبالها.
Verity Roat
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:47
English translation:times of privation
Explanation:
They were times of privation
https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/privation/
Selected response from:

Hassan Achahbar
Morocco
Local time: 04:47
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4was hard/difficult
Ayman Massoud
4 +1times of privation
Hassan Achahbar
3 +2frowning
Aaya Tarawneh
4Miserable
Rasha A.
4Destitute
adel almergawy
3Harsh
Dara Gomaa


  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
كانت الدنيا مدبرة
times of privation


Explanation:
They were times of privation
https://www.almaany.com/en/dict/ar-en/privation/

Hassan Achahbar
Morocco
Local time: 04:47
Native speaker of: Arabic
PRO pts in category: 36

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Aaya Tarawneh: can work as well, depending on the overall tone of the text
33 mins
  -> Thanks a lot
agree  Youssef Chabat
2 hrs
  -> شكرا جزيلا
disagree  Rasha A.: مدبرة معناه : بائسة
2 hrs
  -> I didn't say otherwise. From the link I posted اِفتِقار، بُؤس، تَجرِيد، حِرمان، شَظَف، عَدَم، عَوَز، فاقَة، فِقدان، فَقر، مَنع the question is how to render it in a literary style
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17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
was hard/difficult


Explanation:
مُدْبِرَة

When life was hard Or when days were hard/difficult

When life gets hard = إدبار الدنيا
When life gets better = إقبال الدنيا

Ayman Massoud
Egypt
Local time: 05:47
Native speaker of: Arabic
PRO pts in category: 46

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  TargamaT team
13 mins
  -> Thank you!
agree  Aaya Tarawneh: agree for getting the meaning across
18 mins
  -> Thank you!
agree  Dara Gomaa
21 mins
  -> Thank you!
agree  Yassine El Bouknify
2 days 3 hrs
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34 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
frowning


Explanation:
This could be a metaphorical translation; the Arabic word literally means that life had turned its back on them, and in English you sometimes hear "Life/Luck smiled/frowned on [person]" used in a similar way.

Aaya Tarawneh
United States
Local time: 22:47
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in ArabicArabic
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Nour Almaani: very well explained thank you!
57 mins
  -> Thank you!
agree  Mai Saleh
5 hrs
  -> Thank you =)
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55 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Harsh


Explanation:
As Muhammad Abdo was singing: "The day she showed up, my old wound started to ache", my head was teeming with confusion; one thousand possible answers for the same question, yet I couldn't tell which was the right one to pick! As my grandmother recalled, they were like siblings sharing the same table of poverty and hunger when life was harsh. But, when life started to brighten up, they turned against one another.
"Shouldn't have they done that earlier rather than now" I wonder.

Dara Gomaa
Egypt
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
PRO pts in category: 24
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Miserable


Explanation:
حياة مدبرة معناه = حياة بائسة
Miserable life


Rasha A.
Belgium
Local time: 05:47
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic, Native in FrenchFrench
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14 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Destitute


Explanation:
Poor conditions

adel almergawy
Egypt
Local time: 05:47
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
PRO pts in category: 6
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