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"сытый голодному не товарищ"

English translation: The full stomach does not understand the empty one.

12:38 Mar 22, 2011
Russian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Russian term or phrase: "сытый голодному не товарищ"
I'm translating a story with the target audience of the educated American reader in mind. The reader doesn't know the specifics of Russian culture in depth. The context of the story is one where a young man has had such a change in his life that he doesn't have anything in common with his previous group of friends. Their problems are now so different that they almost don't even speak the same language anymore. Here's a quote from the text:

Иногда к нему забегали друзья, однако сам он в гости не стремился. Говорить с ними было не о чем - "сытый голодному не товарищ".

I've got: There wasn't anything to talk about—it's hard for someone who's full to understand someone who's starving.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!
Russian to Engl
Local time: 15:40
English translation:The full stomach does not understand the empty one.
Explanation:
I found a couple of Irish proverbs that seem to be nearly exact translations of the original Russian... I can't say that I've personally heard this one before (but, although English is my native language, I definitely cannot say I've heard everything, so maybe it is used somewhere out there..) but I absolutely understand the meaning that's brought across by these phrases/proverbs..

The full stomach does not understand the empty one.
The full man does not understand the wants of the hungry.
Selected response from:

Maria Sergeeva
United States
Local time: 13:40
Grading comment
Thank you for your input!

I want to say that I really appreciate all the feedback. I'm leaning toward Maria Sergeeva's "The full man does not understand the wants of the hungry." The suggested 'Oil and water don't mix" is relevant if the two entities had never had anything in common, but the young man and his friends used to be "like peas and carrots" or "like peas in a pod". I've not been able to find an idiom in American English that succinctly conveys the idea so I may well borrow from the Irish!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +5oil and water don't mix
Ingunite
3 +3the well-fed don't understand the hungry
Nicky Brown
4 +1The full stomach does not understand the empty one.
Maria Sergeeva
4the well-fed cannot be comrade with the starving
Pierrick Jaouen, CFA
4The Have and Have-Nots won't mix/understand each other
Ocean122
3The well-fed do not understand the lean
Tal Wood


Discussion entries: 5





  

Answers


46 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
the well-fed don't understand the hungry


Explanation:
More or less the same as yours, just a little more succinct

Nicky Brown
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:40
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Natalia Tsumakova
1 hr
agree  Maria Sergeeva: I like this one too! Probably better than my suggestion! :)
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, 'thisismaria' :)
neutral  Roman Bardachev: too literal (but it's only my biased opinion)
4 hrs
neutral  rikka: i think, the Russian proverb does not imply his former friends were literary hungry or even starving, just less well-to-to, didn't get that far in life
6 hrs
agree  Sona Petrosyan: well-fed and hungry aren't in literary meanings, too
18 hrs
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53 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
The well-fed do not understand the lean


Explanation:
Another slight variation.


    Reference: http://www.special-dictionary.com/proverbs/keywords/understa...
Tal Wood
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
oil and water don't mix


Explanation:
just a saying describing incompatibilities

Ingunite
Local time: 16:40
Native speaker of: Native in LatvianLatvian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  LanaUK: I think it will better fit in the context, as ''he'' moved on and has no values to share with his friends
11 mins
  -> Thank you.
agree  svetlana cosquéric
1 hr
  -> Thank you.
agree  rikka: i think, the Russian proverb does not imply his former friends were literary hungry or even starving, just less well-to-to, didn't get that far in life
1 hr
  -> Thanks!
neutral  Maria Sergeeva: I like the idea, but I'd say it's a little stronger than the original, which is relatively neutral. Oil and water actively avoid each other, whereas hungry/full just don't have something in common.. But, given the right spin, it may work..
3 hrs
  -> I see what you mean. But I thought it was appropriate in the context, because the young man and his friends did represent two different worlds having nothing in common.
neutral  Nicky Brown: That's true - I agree with 'thisismaria'. The phrase 'oil and water' does have a certain feeling of antagonism to it
3 hrs
  -> I see what you mean. But I thought it was appropriate in the context, because the young man and his friends did represent two different worlds without anything in common.
agree  Roman Bardachev
3 hrs
  -> Thanks!
agree  daruuntje (X)
7 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  cyhul
18 hrs
  -> Thank you.
disagree  Olga Rbl: does not fit AT ALL the implied connotation! In fact, it means that "certain qualities or personalities are incompatible" but NO refernce to "hungry" or well well fed"
1 day 1 hr
  -> I understood the context to be about two entirely different ways of life, even ways of thinking and general world outlook, not just about being "hungry" or "full". I am not aware of other suitable sayings or idioms in English that would fit the bill.
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
the well-fed cannot be comrade with the starving


Explanation:
Accurate and close to the original text...

Pierrick Jaouen, CFA
France
Local time: 22:40
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  rikka: i think, the Russian proverb does not imply his former friends were literary hungry or even starving, just less well-to-to, didn't get that far in life
3 hrs
  -> Yes, it is only an image, and I kept the same image in English
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
The full stomach does not understand the empty one.


Explanation:
I found a couple of Irish proverbs that seem to be nearly exact translations of the original Russian... I can't say that I've personally heard this one before (but, although English is my native language, I definitely cannot say I've heard everything, so maybe it is used somewhere out there..) but I absolutely understand the meaning that's brought across by these phrases/proverbs..

The full stomach does not understand the empty one.
The full man does not understand the wants of the hungry.



    Reference: http://www.irishtimesphilly.com/irish-proverbs/
Maria Sergeeva
United States
Local time: 13:40
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thank you for your input!

I want to say that I really appreciate all the feedback. I'm leaning toward Maria Sergeeva's "The full man does not understand the wants of the hungry." The suggested 'Oil and water don't mix" is relevant if the two entities had never had anything in common, but the young man and his friends used to be "like peas and carrots" or "like peas in a pod". I've not been able to find an idiom in American English that succinctly conveys the idea so I may well borrow from the Irish!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Olga Rbl: agree
22 hrs
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
\"сытый голодному не товарищ\"
The Have and Have-Nots won't mix/understand each other


Explanation:
вроде бы так

Ocean122
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
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