تكحلت

English translation: when I first laid eyes on her, she was approaching the forties

15:39 Sep 11, 2020

Arabic to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature / Contemporary novel

Arabic term or phrase: تكحلت

تكحلت عيني برؤيتها وهي على مشارف الأربعين، لم أدرك صورة وجهها وهي في شبابها

I understand these means 'to use kohl', but I'm imagining it's more metaphorical here? Like 'I couldn't see clearly'?

Verity Roat KudoZ activity Questions: 392 (1 open) (11 closed without grading) Answers: 6 United Kingdom
Local time: 22:23

English translation:when I first laid eyes on her, she was approaching the forties

Explanation:
It is not mentioned anywhere in this sentence, that he was happy or glad or was pleased to see her or not, he simply says that when he saw her she was almost forty.

Selected response from:

Dina Mahyoub
Norway
Local time: 23:23

Grading comment

4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +4

I was thrilled to see her

ABDESSAMAD BINAOUI

4 +2

I had the pleasure of seeing her

Aaya Tarawneh

when I first laid eyes on her, she was approaching the forties

Dina Mahyoub

It was joyful to see her

Salma Elsayed

Answers

2 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

I was thrilled to see her

Explanation:
Here is an option. It means I was very happy to see her.

ABDESSAMAD BINAOUI
Morocco
Local time: 22:23
Native speaker of:

English,

Arabic,

French
PRO pts in category: 47

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

I had the pleasure of seeing her

Explanation:
Taking the entire sentence into account, I would probably translate it as "I only had the pleasure of seeing her when she was approaching her 40s; I was too late to see her face in her youth."

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Note added at 1 day 11 hrs (2020-09-13 03:39:08 GMT)
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I forgot to mention before, this is a common expression in Arabic that means the sight brings pleasure/happiness to the eyes or otherwise adds something positive; it's kind of like saying this is the beautiful sight your eyes need, like kohl is needed to bring out the eyes' beauty

Aaya Tarawneh
United States
Local time: 16:23
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English,

Arabic
PRO pts in category: 4

1 day 19 hrs confidence:

It was joyful to see her

Explanation:
It means that he was very delighted to see her.

Salma Elsayed
Egypt
Local time: 23:23
Native speaker of: Arabic

1 day 23 hrs confidence:

when I first laid eyes on her, she was approaching the forties

Explanation:
It is not mentioned anywhere in this sentence, that he was happy or glad or was pleased to see her or not, he simply says that when he saw her she was almost forty.

Dina Mahyoub
Norway
Local time: 23:23
Native speaker of: Arabic
PRO pts in category: 4

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تكحلت

English translation: when I first laid eyes on her, she was approaching the forties

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تكحلت

English translation: when I first laid eyes on her, she was approaching the forties

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