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  3. General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

es belügt sie, wen man ansieht

English translation: whoever you look at, he will lie to her

11:28 Feb 15, 2008
German to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / 19th century novel
German term or phrase: es belügt sie, wen man ansieht
I'm proofreading a pre-existing translation of a 19th century novel and this section seems to have been mistranslated. I know the general meaning of this phrase but I'm not sure exactly how to express it.

"Ich sag's ja immer, die Frau Fürstin ist schlimm daran,
**es belügt sie, wen man ansieht**", meinte der Förster, mit Herrn Prosek und dem Müller in die Stube zurückkehrend.
Rachel Ward
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:44
English translation:whoever you look at, he will lie to her
Explanation:
Grammatically this is the only possible interpretation in my opinion. The meaning being: You can look at whomever you want, they are all lying to her.
Wen immer man auch ansieht, er beluegt sie.
'Es' is here not equal to 'das', but is the ancillary subject for 'beluegt sie'.
Selected response from:

Joern Gaedcke
Singapore
Local time: 19:44
Grading comment
Thanks Joern!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +10whoever you look at, he will lie to her
Joern Gaedcke
3her looks belie her
Ingeborg Gowans (X)
2it belies her, whom one respects or views
babli


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
her looks belie her


Explanation:
if I understand this correctly it means that even though she is suffering you can never tell by looking at her

Ingeborg Gowans (X)
Canada
Local time: 08:44
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: German
PRO pts in category: 31

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  BrigitteHilgner: Hallo Inge, das ist ein Missverständnis. Es soll heißen: Jede Person, die man (an-) sieht, belügt die Fürstin (d.h. niemand sagt ihr die Wahrheit). Schlimm, schlimm! Grüße aus dem kalten Wien (ins vermutlich kältere Kanada)! :-)
53 mins
  -> oh. oh hab ich total falsch verstanden, wie peinlich
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22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +10
whoever you look at, he will lie to her


Explanation:
Grammatically this is the only possible interpretation in my opinion. The meaning being: You can look at whomever you want, they are all lying to her.
Wen immer man auch ansieht, er beluegt sie.
'Es' is here not equal to 'das', but is the ancillary subject for 'beluegt sie'.

Joern Gaedcke
Singapore
Local time: 19:44
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: German
PRO pts in category: 8
Grading comment
Thanks Joern!

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jalapeno: Exactly. Everyone is lying to her.
4 mins
agree  Thorium: You are right. This phrase sounds a bit awkward but it is indeed the only possible translation.
9 mins
agree  LegalTrans D
14 mins
agree  Karin Seelhof
16 mins
agree  hazmatgerman (X): Unübliche Konstruktion, absolut korrekt interpretiert.
30 mins
agree  Katarina Peters: yes, but skip the "he", it's unnecessary
54 mins
agree  franglish
1 hr
agree  Ulrike Kraemer
1 hr
agree  MyHovercraft
2 hrs
agree  Rebecca Garber
3 hrs
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
it belies her, whom one respects or views


Explanation:



I think this is the literal translation. Ansehen here means to respect, to view.


    beolingus
babli
Local time: 17:14
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in HindiHindi
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