Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Portuguese term or phrase:
antes nascer
English translation:
rather been born/better to be born
Added to glossary by
Tereza Rae
May 9, 2020 15:53
4 yrs ago
28 viewers *
Portuguese term
antes nascer
Portuguese to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
I'm not sure I understand the construction of this sentence - or perhaps it's an idiomatic expression I'm not aware of? The paragraph reads: "As pessoas são de uma imbecilidade crônica. Antes nascer todo mundo lagarta, mais sentido prático haveria." It's that second sentence that has me stumped, and I'm not sure if it's the metaphor of the caterpillar, or if I'm just not understanding the construction with "antes nascer," which would seem to conflict with that conditional in the next clause. Perhaps that "antes nascer" is being used in the sense of "rather"? Any help would be much appreciated, thanks!
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +4 | rather been born/better to be born |
Tereza Rae
|
| 4 | had everyone been born a caterpillar |
Paul Dixon
|
| 3 | For all practical purposes, they might as well have been born a caterpillar. |
Anderson Calixto
|
Change log
May 11, 2020 21:38: Tereza Rae Created KOG entry
Proposed translations
+4
8 mins
Tereza Rae
Canada
Canada
Native in Portuguese
Specializes in field
Canada
English/Portuguese translator
Native in: Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian) 
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese to English, French to Portuguese, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
rather been born/better to be born
Sugestão
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Note added at 12 mins (2020-05-09 16:05:04 GMT)
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Maybe the sentence construction should be changed around, something like: 'It would be more practical if everyone was born a caterpillar.'
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Note added at 14 mins (2020-05-09 16:07:07 GMT)
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Just to answer the asker's question: 'antes nascer' is not an idiomatic expression in (Brazilian) Portuguese, to the best of my knowledge.
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Note added at 21 mins (2020-05-09 16:14:23 GMT)
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If you prefer to maintain the grammatical structure of the original sentence, you could say: 'rather have everyone been born a caterpillar,...'
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Note added at 12 mins (2020-05-09 16:05:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Maybe the sentence construction should be changed around, something like: 'It would be more practical if everyone was born a caterpillar.'
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 mins (2020-05-09 16:07:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Just to answer the asker's question: 'antes nascer' is not an idiomatic expression in (Brazilian) Portuguese, to the best of my knowledge.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 mins (2020-05-09 16:14:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
If you prefer to maintain the grammatical structure of the original sentence, you could say: 'rather have everyone been born a caterpillar,...'
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thank you Tereza, this perfectly answers my question!"
5 hrs
Anderson Calixto
Brazil
Brazil
Native in Portuguese
Specializes in field
Brazil
Audiovisual Translator
Native in: Portuguese
Works in: English to Portuguese, Portuguese, Portuguese to English
Portuguese term (edited):
Antes nascer todo mundo lagarta, mais sentido prático haveria.
For all practical purposes, they might as well have been born a caterpillar.
suggestion
1 day 41 mins
Paul Dixon
Brazil
Brazil
Native in Portuguese
&
English
Brazil
PT/EN Translator - ABRATES Certified
Native in: English (Variants: UK, British) 
, Portuguese (Variant: Brazilian)
Works in: Portuguese to English, English to Portuguese
Related KudoZ points
:
18
had everyone been born a caterpillar
Had everyone been born a caterpillar, there would have been more practical sense.
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