hehän (-hän)

English translation: hehän = After all, it was they,...

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Finnish term or phrase:hehän (-hän)
English translation:hehän = After all, it was they,...
Entered by: Diana Takehana

17:33 Jan 6, 2009
Finnish to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Finnish term or phrase: hehän (-hän)
Hi,
I always have an issue when translatins those particles (-han/hän, -pa/pä), makes me a bit confused. Could anyone help with this sentence please?
In the text, the writer is narrating a surgical process. Here goes the sentence:

"Hehän sen mahan avasivat ja solmun selvittivät"

Thanks a lot!
Diana Takehana
Finland
hehän = After all, it was they,...
Explanation:
Hehän sen mahan avasivat ja solmun selvittivät

After all, it was they, who opened the stomach and unravelled/opened the knot
Selected response from:

Erkki Pekkinen
Finland
Local time: 17:13
Grading comment
Thank you very much, Erkki, as well everyone who added some information to the question. Much appreciated.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +3hehän = After all, it was they,...
Erkki Pekkinen
4it is self-evident that
Alfa Trans (X)
3They're the ones who...
Owen Witesman


  

Answers


7 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +3
hehän = After all, it was they,...


Explanation:
Hehän sen mahan avasivat ja solmun selvittivät

After all, it was they, who opened the stomach and unravelled/opened the knot

Erkki Pekkinen
Finland
Local time: 17:13
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FinnishFinnish
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thank you very much, Erkki, as well everyone who added some information to the question. Much appreciated.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Desmond O'Rourke: good idiomatic English
2 hrs

agree  Melina Kajander: But please note, Diana, that these particles (-han/hän, -pa/pä etc.) are usually not "translated" as such, although sometimes they do convey emphasis, like the suggestions here.
13 hrs

agree  Timo Lehtilä: This seems to be a quite appropriate interpretation here, but also slightly different interpretations are possible, depending on the wider context. After all, hAn-suffix is often meant to be multi-interpretational.
14 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
it is self-evident that


Explanation:
The suffix han/hän is used a lot, especially in questions. It has many meanings.

1) Nämähän ovat minun.
Here the suffix indicates that the situation is a surprise to the speaker.
2) Mitähän kello on?
the suffix makes the question more polite.
3) Onkohan hän suomalainen?
the suffix means 'I wonder if'
4) Ethän sinä ole lihava.
Here the suffix indicates that this is something that you know and I know and everybody knows. It is often translated 'it is self-evident that'.

The last meaning applies to your example.

after all = loppujen lopuksi, kuitenkin

So there is a slight difference in meaning.

Alfa Trans (X)
Local time: 17:13
Native speaker of: Finnish
PRO pts in category: 4
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
They're the ones who...


Explanation:
The "sen" in this sentence seems highly pertinent. It sends me in directions like:

"They went ahead and opened up his stomach and..." (similar to Marju's suggestion)
"They're the ones who opened up the stomach..." (i.e. they did it not us).

Owen Witesman
Local time: 09:13
Native speaker of: English
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