Hübsch sehen Sie aus!

English translation: Get her name wrong

19:27 Dec 20, 2018
German to English translations [PRO]
Cinema, Film, TV, Drama
German term or phrase: Hübsch sehen Sie aus!
Hi everyone,

I'm subtitling a TV movie in which two strangers decide to spend Christmas Eve together and pretend to be a couple.

He wants his kids to have a proper "family" Christmas - his wife is dead - and she wants to show her parents
that she does actually have a boyfriend.

The only problem is that they use the "Sie" form when talking to each other, so they decide to use "Du" when they visit her parents. The first thing the guy says when he turns up at her parents' house and sees her looking very pretty is:

-Hübsch sehen Sie aus!

She immediately corrects him and says:

-Du. Du siehst hübsch aus.

Does anyone have any brilliant ideas how I can render this in English and make it sound as natural as possible?
The "couple" in question are in their early 30s. Each utterance is about two seconds long, so it can't be too wordy.

Looking forward to hearing your suggestions.

Thanks.

Dez
Desmond Graal
Local time: 15:59
English translation:Get her name wrong
Explanation:
You haven't answered my question about how long they've known each other, but I thought I'd post this anyway.

This might work best if he got her name slightly, rather than completely wrong - for example if he called her Katrin instead of Karin, or another name with the same first letter.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 hrs (2018-12-21 17:08:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It's probably irrelevant how long they've known each other. I was still calling my second wife by my first wife's name years after I remarried :-)
Selected response from:

philgoddard
United States
Grading comment
This is a tough one without actually seeing the film. Thanks to all those who suggested options.
2 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5You look lovely Ms. ...
Tabitha Ashura
4 +3Get her name wrong
philgoddard
3 +1You look very nice/pretty/gorgeous/lovely, dear/honey/babe
Ramey Rieger (X)


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


14 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
You look lovely Ms. ...


Explanation:
I would have him call her Ms. last name, and have her correct him to use a first name most likely.

Tabitha Ashura
United States
Local time: 10:59
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
Notes to answerer
Asker: I think saying "Ms." sounds a little forced. The two characters have already spoken to each other quite a bit. And, as I mentioned, they're in their early 30s, so saying "Ms." doesn't sound completely natural to me.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Kevin Fulton: One way to get around the issue
17 mins

neutral  philgoddard: I don't think this really works, because English speakers don't tend to use titles except in very formal situations, whereas German does.
23 mins

agree  Michael Martin, MA: Some (but not many) English speakers will use titles in informal situations even if they know your first name, so this is fine.
1 hr

agree  Eleanore Strauss: Yes, Ms... ahem dear. LoL
7 hrs

agree  franglish
13 hrs

agree  Thayenga: This is a good way to distinguish between formal (Sie) and informal (du).
17 hrs
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21 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Get her name wrong


Explanation:
You haven't answered my question about how long they've known each other, but I thought I'd post this anyway.

This might work best if he got her name slightly, rather than completely wrong - for example if he called her Katrin instead of Karin, or another name with the same first letter.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 21 hrs (2018-12-21 17:08:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

It's probably irrelevant how long they've known each other. I was still calling my second wife by my first wife's name years after I remarried :-)

philgoddard
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 18
Grading comment
This is a tough one without actually seeing the film. Thanks to all those who suggested options.
Notes to answerer
Asker: I think that this is the most credible option... and it's quite amusing. It shows that they don't really know each other. The character in question is called Pauline, so it sort of makes sense if he calls her Paula, for example.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  TonyTK: Exactly what I was thinking (I've been married 30 years but I've very occasionally had the same "problem").
4 hrs
  -> :-)

agree  Ramey Rieger (X): Good one, it only needs to be "Marge' instead of 'Maria"
17 hrs

agree  Catherine Demaison-Doherty: Or use the full name Pauline first, and then change to a nickname, if there is one, e.g. Line afterwards.
2 days 8 hrs
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50 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
You look very nice/pretty/gorgeous/lovely, dear/honey/babe


Explanation:
Same idea as Tabitha and Phil, but he uses her name. She corrects him:
Honey/dear/babe. You look beautiful honey/dear/babe/darling, etc.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 14 hrs (2018-12-22 10:16:24 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

You look lovely, Margret!
Honey. You look lovely, honey.

Ramey Rieger (X)
Germany
Local time: 15:59
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 25
Notes to answerer
Asker: I think this is probably a slightly better option, although I'm not sure he knows her surname and calling someone by their first name is hardly a reason for someone to correct you. ;-)


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  philgoddard: I agree with Desmond.
20 hrs

agree  Lonnie Legg: If she wants demonstrate intimacy, she might indeed take objection to being called by her name.
1 day 15 hrs
  -> Thanks Lonnie, particularly if they're putting on a show for her parents.
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