趋之若鹜

English translation: to go crazy for (something)

07:07 Oct 3, 2016
Chinese to English translations [PRO]
Medical - Nutrition
Chinese term or phrase: 趋之若鹜
how to translate this sentence:
枸杞,抹茶让讲究健康饮食的德国人趋之若鹜
Haiyan GONG
China
Local time: 02:47
English translation:to go crazy for (something)
Explanation:
Instead of picking the more neutral, "be fond of", "is popular" or "crowd favorite", I might suggest going the slightly less "toned down" path. Looking at the Chinese definition of the phrase, we get the following:

像鸭子一样成群跑过去。比喻成群的人争相追逐不正当的事物,含贬义 (www.zdic.net)

Notice that it has a negative connotation, "rushing (for something) like a flock of ducks". We tend to use "sheep" as our animal of choice for illustrating this mob mentality in English.

However, I agree with Alex that using the original image of a flock of ducks is bit over the top. When I think of this phrase, I think of people going crazy for the iPhone. Using the phrase "to go crazy for (something)" maintains a slightly negative connotation without beating the reader over the head with it.
Selected response from:

daniel_healy
United States
Grading comment
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +1to go crazy for (something)
daniel_healy
5In Germany, many health-savvy consumers are fond of goji berries and macha.
alexgochenou (X)
4 -1scramble for
Alex Liu
3crowd favorite
tanglsus


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
scramble for


Explanation:
枸杞,抹茶让讲究健康饮食的德国人趋之若鹜
Chinese wolfberry and maccha are scrambled for by Germans who are particular about healthy diet.

Alex Liu
China
Local time: 02:47
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  alexgochenou (X): This is Chinglish. I've never heard of "scrambled for," and moreover the passive voice isn't used as commonly in English. 枸杞 is only called Chinese wolfberry in China. In the US/Europe they're marketed as Goji berries. 抹茶 is macha, not maccha.
16 hrs

neutral  Rita Pang: "scramble for" is definitely something that exists, but it's NOT the right choice here. I'd think OP here is using it along the lines of "quickly getting something" (before it's gone/before others get to it), but it's not used appropriately here.
2 days 16 hrs
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20 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
In Germany, many health-savvy consumers are fond of goji berries and macha.


Explanation:
This sentence requires transcreation more than a simple translation, especially for the idea of 趋之若鹜, which strikes me as a bit too dramatic for English. There are many times where an idea in the source language is best toned down a bit in the target language to avoid sounding ridiculous or corny.

alexgochenou (X)
United States
Local time: 14:47
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Rita Pang: 趋之若鹜 really has that sense of "going crazy". I hear you in terms of being "too dramatic", but depending on the source file's context (e.g. lifestyle blog etc), "going crazy for" could work just fine.
1 day 23 hrs
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21 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
crowd favorite


Explanation:
Goji berries and matcha are (popular) the crowd favorite(crowd's top choice)in Germany among those with a conscience/dedication/commitment to a healthy living.

若鹜, crowd frenzy

The Romanization systems caused the variations in spelling of 抹茶.

供参考


    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matcha
tanglsus
United States
Local time: 14:47
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
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2 days 5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
to go crazy for (something)


Explanation:
Instead of picking the more neutral, "be fond of", "is popular" or "crowd favorite", I might suggest going the slightly less "toned down" path. Looking at the Chinese definition of the phrase, we get the following:

像鸭子一样成群跑过去。比喻成群的人争相追逐不正当的事物,含贬义 (www.zdic.net)

Notice that it has a negative connotation, "rushing (for something) like a flock of ducks". We tend to use "sheep" as our animal of choice for illustrating this mob mentality in English.

However, I agree with Alex that using the original image of a flock of ducks is bit over the top. When I think of this phrase, I think of people going crazy for the iPhone. Using the phrase "to go crazy for (something)" maintains a slightly negative connotation without beating the reader over the head with it.


    Reference: http://www.zdic.net/c/b/155/340221.htm
daniel_healy
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 3

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Rita Pang: I also feel that using words like "frenzy" is a bit over the top. If the source article is a lifestyle blog or something, "going crazy for" (goji berries) might work just fine.
14 hrs
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