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  3. Slang

uebermotiviert

English translation: overstretched

06:24 Feb 19, 2010
German to English translations [PRO]
Slang
German term or phrase: uebermotiviert
"Wir sind etwas uebermotiviert zur Zeit." This was given as an excuse for misspelling a name in e-mail correspondence. Stressed out? I've never met it before. Your views, as always, very welcome.
Maureen Millington-Brodie
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:56
English translation:overstretched
Explanation:
an idea
Selected response from:

William Murphy
Italy
Local time: 22:56
Grading comment
Yes, better than a more literal translation.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2overstretched
William Murphy
3 +3overzealous
Norbert Hermann
3 +1our work pace has been exceeding legal speed limits lately
Nicole Schnell
3hard pressed
Daniel Frisano
3overly exuberant
misterherrnau
2hyper-inspired
Annett Kottek (X)


Discussion entries: 3





  

Answers


2 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
hard pressed


Explanation:
a suggestion

Daniel Frisano
Italy
Local time: 22:56
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian
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32 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
overstretched


Explanation:
an idea

William Murphy
Italy
Local time: 22:56
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Yes, better than a more literal translation.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Kari Foster: This makes the most sense in the context; they are saying "things are a bit frantic here at the moment", i.e. the mistake was made because they are so busy.
1 hr
agree  philgoddard
6 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
overzealous


Explanation:
This might work :-)


overzealous - übereilig / übereifrig....

zeal·ous (zls)
adj.
Filled with or motivated by zeal; fervent.
zealous·ly adv.
zealous·ness n.

I still make that mistake from time to time); one cup of all-purpose flour ... I did approximate the measurement and could have been a bit overzealous. ...
hubpages.com/.../Budget_Recipe_Penniless_Vegan_Cornbread - Cached - Similar

19 Apr 2009 ... Kay Luo blamed human error, saying someone at LinkedIn must have been a bit overzealous in enforcing the sanctions. ...
jilliancyork.com/2009/04/19/linkedin-doing-the-right-thing/ - Cached - Similar

Norbert Hermann
Local time: 21:56
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Annett Kottek (X): Yes, this could be it! Very nice. // @ Kari Foster: 'they got carried away' is another way of saying that they were overzealous in their duty.
3 mins
neutral  Kari Foster: Doesn't really explain why they misspelt someone's name -- unless they got "carried away" and added some extra letters!
6 mins
agree  Lonnie Legg: In this case, better than "gung-ho", another option.
3 hrs
agree  Bernhard Sulzer: They were trying too hard, doing too much, moving too fast (in every aspect). Then it's easy to make mistakes. Maybe.
3 days 7 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
our work pace has been exceeding legal speed limits lately


Explanation:
Of course they were stressed out, however, why apologize? I would use a similar euphemism like in the original. and try to keep the same sense of humor.

Nicole Schnell
United States
Local time: 13:56
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Rosa Paredes: I agree with you interpretation, but not with proposed translation.
12 hrs
  -> I like your suggestion "in demand". Why don't you post it as an answer?
agree  Bernhard Sulzer: we've been working like crazy lately
3 days 7 hrs
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
overly exuberant


Explanation:
Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan used "irrational exuberance" to describe stock market excesses back in the bull market days. This put a positive spin on it while still getting across the message that investors were carelessly ignoring the fundamentals.

misterherrnau
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
hyper-inspired


Explanation:
Trying to be funny and to make light of an embarrassing situation? So inspired are they by their work, that even clients' names get a creative treatment. Depends, of course, what kind of business it is and on the overall tone of their correspondence. I know that in the art world for example it tends to be very friendly and informal. I've not come across this word either.

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Note added at 1 hr (2010-02-19 07:55:48 GMT)
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Whether it actually is funny is a matter for debate. Would the recipient of this email have appreciated their sense of humour? Or did they misfire?

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Note added at 3 days17 hrs (2010-02-22 23:49:16 GMT)
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Why not translate it literally as either 'hyper-motivated' or, better still, 'über-motivated' [also uber-motivated] which retains the ironic flavour? Both versions get a good number of hits on Google; and the excuse would be the same as that given for overzealousness.

Annett Kottek (X)
United Kingdom
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
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