Jan 18, 2007 14:26
17 yrs ago
1 viewer *
English term
Not a translator
to bottle a look
English to Arabic
Other
Government / Politics
UK politics
How would you translate the following:
to bottle a look at somone.
to bottle a look at somone.
Proposed translations
(Arabic)
| 2 +2 | تعبئة في زجاجة |
Nesrin
|
| 1 +1 | احتفظت بنظراته |
Zeinab Asfour
|
| 1 | أن أخفي تعبير وجه |
Shazly
|
Proposed translations
+2
5 hrs
Selected
تعبئة في زجاجة
This is a very literal translation, and I'm not saying I'm happy with it, but I just wanted to convey the meaning, then others might come up with better ideas.
As I mentioned above, I believe the sentence in your text is "I wish I could have bottled the look on his face".
This means that at this moment, the person in question had an expression on his face which was priceless, and the writer wishes he could have put this expression in a bottle to take with him, to show to others etc.
You could also say "I wish I had a camera to take a snapshot of his face", something like that.
It may not be such a bad idea to translate it literally, like
تمنيت لو استطعت أن أعبئ تعبير وجهه/ نظرته هذه في زجاجة
As I mentioned above, I believe the sentence in your text is "I wish I could have bottled the look on his face".
This means that at this moment, the person in question had an expression on his face which was priceless, and the writer wishes he could have put this expression in a bottle to take with him, to show to others etc.
You could also say "I wish I had a camera to take a snapshot of his face", something like that.
It may not be such a bad idea to translate it literally, like
تمنيت لو استطعت أن أعبئ تعبير وجهه/ نظرته هذه في زجاجة
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Mohamed Elsayed
: I agree with you regarding the camera part, but not so sure about the literal translation
19 mins
|
|
And I agree with you about that! :-)
|
|
| agree |
Iman Khaireddine
: تمنيت لو يمكنني تجميد ذاك التعبير الذي ارتسم على وجهه/تجميد تلك النظرة في عينيه --- Another option: تعليب تلك النظرة --- Never mind! It was your explanation in the first place :-)
2 hrs
|
|
I like your suggestions Imane - to be fair I strongly suggest you post them as a separate answer! :-)
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+1
1 hr
Zeinab Asfour
Jordan
Jordan
Native in English
&
Arabic
Jordan
Dead On Dealines....
Native in: English 
, Arabic
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English, Arabic
Related KudoZ points
:
20
احتفظت بنظراته
Another wild guess ;)
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Mohamed Elsayed
: استحوذت على تعبيرات وجهه
24 mins
|
|
ThaAaAaAanks a lot Mohamed :o)
|
1 hr
أن أخفي تعبير وجه
أن أتحكم في تعبير وجه
bottle
repress or conceal feelings.
To put into or as if into a bottle:
Example: wished she could bottle their energy
I wish I could have bottled the look on his face. It was the mien of one who has no idea how he is supposed to react.
bottle
repress or conceal feelings.
To put into or as if into a bottle:
Example: wished she could bottle their energy
I wish I could have bottled the look on his face. It was the mien of one who has no idea how he is supposed to react.
Discussion