Beside of translating the basic meaning of words, we shall also fetch its weight, emotion, circumstance and the special atmosphere it includes.

These are some examples:

1. 他总算把记者招待会对付过去了。

Translation: After all, he survived the press conference.

Analysis: “survive” in this sentence is really a dot here, it completely express his passive even verlegenheit state in the press conference, however, “deal with” can harvest such kind of effect here.

2. 花园里花草茂盛，五彩缤纷。

Translation: The garden is carpeted with a mess of multicolored flowers.

Analysis: “be carpeted with” is much better here compared with “be covered with”.

3. 他儿子当时还是一个小不点儿。

Translation: His son was only knee-high to a grasshopper.

Analysis: “knee-high to a grasshopper” is lively and vivid. It’s so plain when translating into “only a little boy”.

Read Also: Interesting English translation(Ⅰ)

4. 公共汽车为人们去长城参观提供了方便。

Translation: Buses provide easy access to the Great Wall.

Analysis: “提供方便” can also be translated into “provide convenience for”, but it is less vivid than “easy access to”.

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5. 闻一多拍案而起，横眉冷对国民党的手枪。

Translation: Defying the pistols pointed at him by some plain-clothes men of the KMT, Wen Yiduo rose to his full height and smote the table.

Analysis: If “拍案而起” is translated into “stand up and clapped the table”, it can’t express Mr. Wen’s uphold justice.

6. 妻子问他，“你为什么回来得这么晚？干什么去了？”他说道，“难道你要限制我的人生自由吗？”

Translation: “Why back home so late? What did you do somewhere?” demanded his wife. “Do I understand you want to hamper my freedom of action?” he retorted.

Analysis: “demand” and “retort” express the air of tension with husband and wife feeling estranged, it is less good if we choose “ask”, “said” and “answer” instead.

7. 在学习中我们应该相互促进。

Translation: In our studies, we should help each other forward.

Analysis: In Chinese, the same word can be used in various kinds of situations, but in English, we shall use different words to express the meanings of the same word.

Take “促进” as an example:

1) 我们应该相互了解，促进团结。

Translation: We should promote unity by furthering mutual understanding.

2) 大学的目标应该是促进学术的发展。

The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.

3) 这项政策将促进经济的发展。

This policy will fuel economic growth.

4) 努力工作是促进他事业成功的主要因素。

Hard work is the main accelerator in his successful career.

From those example sentences above, we can see how important vividness is in English translation. One or two nice words can greatly promote the expression level in the subtle.

Thus, we should firstly figure out the exact meaning of Chinese, then choose the right word, and express in English in the right way and manner. That really matters.

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