to be or not to be, that is the question

Spanish translation: Ser o no ser, ésa es la cuestión

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

English term or phrase:	To be or not to be, that is the question
Spanish translation:	Ser o no ser, ésa es la cuestión
Entered by:	Andrea Bullrich

11:29 Sep 6, 2001

English to Spanish translations [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary

English term or phrase: to be or not to be, that is the question

shakespeare's romeo & Juliet

Joseph Neeson

ser o no ser, ésa es la cuestión

Explanation:
That is the traditional rendering, a newer translation is "ser o no ser, ésa es la pregunta".
It's not Romeo and Juliet, though, it's Hamlet.
HTH

Selected response from:

Andrea Bullrich
Local time: 20:18

Grading comment

Graded automatically based on peer agreement. KudoZ.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

na +7

ser o no ser, ésa es la cuestión

Andrea Bullrich

na +2

See explanation

Blanca Rodriguez

na +1

How many times have you asked the same question?

Bertha S. Deffenbaugh

Answers

2 mins peer agreement (net): +7

ser o no ser, ésa es la cuestión

Explanation:
That is the traditional rendering, a newer translation is "ser o no ser, ésa es la pregunta".
It's not Romeo and Juliet, though, it's Hamlet.
HTH

own experience

Andrea Bullrich
Local time: 20:18
Native speaker of: Spanish
PRO pts in pair: 1650

Grading comment

Graded automatically based on peer agreement. KudoZ.

7 mins peer agreement (net): +2

See explanation

Explanation:
I absolutely agree with AIM, but would like to add my two cents.

There are voices claiming that the famous "ser o no ser" is a big mistranslation, as Shakespeare probably used the verb "to be" as a synonym of "to exist". Therefore, the proper translation would be "existir o no existir", which is, by the way, more philosophic.

:-)

Blanca Rodriguez
Local time: 01:18
Native speaker of:

Spanish,

Galician
PRO pts in pair: 23

9 mins peer agreement (net): +1

How many times have you asked the same question?

Explanation:
I have already answered this question three times.

And, again, it is not Romeo and Juliet but "HAMLET, Prince of Denmark."

Please, be careful.

Regards,

BSD

Bertha S. Deffenbaugh
United States
Local time: 16:18
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in pair: 743

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to be or not to be, that is the question

Spanish translation: Ser o no ser, ésa es la cuestión

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to be or not to be, that is the question

Spanish translation: Ser o no ser, ésa es la cuestión

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