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de peu

English translation: little things


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17:45 Sep 6, 2009
French to English translations [Non-PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
French term or phrase: de peu
term taken from a text where a girl reflects on her past experiences, the sentence reads" j'ai aussi mon lot de chagrin, qui n'en a pas? mais apprendre à rêver de peu, de ce qui nous entoure, c'est gratuit." i must try to translate it, keeping the language as poetic and flowing as possible., thank you for any suggestions on the sentence as a whole.
Ega
Local time: 16:05
English translation:little things
Explanation:
Build dreams on little things
Selected response from:

Emma Paulay
France
Local time: 16:05
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +5little things
Emma Paulay
4to have simple dreams
L.J.Wessel van Leeuwen
4of the little I havexxx::::::::::
3mundane, that which surrounds us
MatthewLaSon


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
to have simple dreams


Explanation:
to have simple dreams. The dreams are to be understood not as dreams but as desires / ambitions.

Sad thoughts...

L.J.Wessel van Leeuwen
South Africa
Local time: 17:05
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in DutchDutch
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9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
little things


Explanation:
Build dreams on little things

Emma Paulay
France
Local time: 16:05
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 115
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Martha Harrold: A phrase which comes to mind is 'to appreciate the little things'.
5 mins
  -> Absolutely. Thanks, Martha.
agree  Susan Nicholls: yes, this is the
1 hr
agree  etienne muylle i wallace
1 hr
agree  Euqinimod: I would rather say "small things" as in "the God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy which is "a description of how the small things in life build up, translate into people's behavior and affect their lives".
3 hrs
  -> Yes, I've read the book - but "the little things in life" cf. Martha above, is a very common expression too.
agree  · george ·
17 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
of the little I have


Explanation:
IMO

xxx::::::::::
Iraq
Local time: 16:05
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  writeaway: wouldn't the French be "du" peu in that case?
7 mins
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
mundane, that which surrounds us


Explanation:
Hello,

I think they just mean "peu de chose" (things that are just everyday)

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-09-06 19:36:48 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I mean "peu de choses" (things that are insignificant)

MatthewLaSon
Local time: 10:05
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 130
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Changes made by editors
Sep 6, 2009 - Changes made by Stéphanie Soudais:
FieldArt/Literary => Other
Field (specific)Poetry & Literature => General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters


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