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  3. Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

איך החמצתי את החיים שלי

English translation: missed the boat

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Hebrew term or phrase: החמצתי את החיים
English translation:missed the boat
Entered by: Mary Jane Shubow

03:36 Jul 20, 2009
Hebrew to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Hebrew term or phrase: איך החמצתי את החיים שלי
Any ideas on how to translate this into idiomatic English? I'm thinking of saying "How lIfe has passed me by." All suggestions will be appreciated. The context is
איך החמצתי את החיים שלי...יכולתי להיות רקדנית
Mary Jane Shubow
United States
Local time: 00:38
Missed out on life
Explanation:
Your suggestion is good Mary Jane.
Mine is just another option, which is also idiomatically correct.
Selected response from:

Keren Terret
Israel
Local time: 10:38
Grading comment
Thanks, in the end I translated it missed the boat but this helped me get there.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1Missed out on life
Keren Terret
4 +1How I've messed up my life
Textpertise


  

Answers


30 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Missed out on life


Explanation:
Your suggestion is good Mary Jane.
Mine is just another option, which is also idiomatically correct.

Keren Terret
Israel
Local time: 10:38
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 7
Grading comment
Thanks, in the end I translated it missed the boat but this helped me get there.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Lingopro: I think Keren's suggestion is more appropriate, and should say: **I** missed... In your suggestion the person isn't taking responsibility for the missed life (whereas in Heb she does).
4 hrs
  -> Thanks!
disagree  Yaron Dahan: Correct reasoning, but somewhat stilted translation. I think colloquially its more appropraite to say messed up or screwed up, and hit has a braoder sense than "missed out on life" which is quite narrow
8 hrs
agree  Iris Bat-Or: להחמיץ is both "turn sour" and "miss" as in miss a train, miss out on, etc.
12 hrs
  -> Thanks!
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
How I've messed up my life


Explanation:
Literally how I've soured my life.

Textpertise
United Kingdom
Local time: 08:38
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Lingopro: החמצת חיים is not "a messed or a soured life". If anything it's "missed" life
50 mins
  -> Disagree with your disagree. Comes from Chometz - vinegar.
agree  Yaron Dahan: well, actually as far as word origin, this is probably a less good explanation (I beleived it comes from missed and not soured) but as a colloquialism, It most definitely means "I screwed up my life"
4 hrs
  -> Thanks Yaron. If you let something sit, Lehacahmitz, it turns sour (ferments). Hechematzti et hachayim sheli means messed up my life through what I failed to do as opposed to what I did. Stronger than missed out on life.
agree  Yvette Neisser Moreno
5 hrs
  -> Thanks, Yvette
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