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gekrümmt

English translation: to not touch a hair on sb' head


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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:jemandem kein Haare krümmen
English translation:to not touch a hair on sb' head
Entered by: xxxSimonFJohnso
Options:
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- Include in personal glossary

10:07 Jul 27, 2007
German to English translations [PRO]
Poetry & Literature / Judaism, Jewish folklore
German term or phrase: gekrümmt
Legend dating back probably to biblical times. From a series of Jewish folktales.

Unkempt?

Da
sprach der Mann: „Ich will meine Seele darum
geben, um dich am Leben zu erhalten;
ich wähle lieber den Tod, als daß dir ein
Haar gekrümmt werde, denn was ist mein
Leben, wenn ich dich nicht mehr habe. Laß
nun jetzt von mir ab, ich will meine letzten
Bestimmungen treffen, dann will ich dir,
was du wissen willst, offenbaren.“ Und er
ließ bereits seine Freunde rufen, um ihnen
seinen Willen kundzutun.
xxxSimonFJohnso
United Kingdom
Local time: 15:18
s.b.
Explanation:
jemandem kein Haare krümmen (krümmen, krümmte, gekrüummt)

not touch a hair on s.o.'s head;

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Note added at 6 mins (2007-07-27 10:13:52 GMT)
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kein *Haar*, natürlich ;-)
Selected response from:

Marianne Hartz-Poseck
Germany
Local time: 14:18
Grading comment
Danke Marinne - that fits (fitted!) in just nicely.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3s.b.
Marianne Hartz-Poseck
3 +2bent, or in this context harmed
Niamh Piel
3 +1to harm someone
Manuela Junghans


  

Answers


4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
to harm someone


Explanation:
in this case
Or maybe also hurt

Manuela Junghans
United Kingdom
Local time: 13:18
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Nicole Tata: I would rather choose death than have any harm come to you. I agree that Simon should forget about the bent hairs, they don't translate! ;-)
45 mins
  -> Thanks Nicole
neutral  xxxFrancis Lee: Yes, that's what it means - but the German is more subtly phrased than simply "zu Schaden käme"/ Yes, we're all aware of that - but perhaps you're unaware that it DOES translate into English (see Niamh's suggestion)// Like it or not, it's a common phrase
1 hr
  -> Yes, but it has nothing to do with hair really, it´s just a saying that doesn´t literally translate into English./Hmmm? I might rather give in, before it gets all too hairy....
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4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
s.b.


Explanation:
jemandem kein Haare krümmen (krümmen, krümmte, gekrüummt)

not touch a hair on s.o.'s head;

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 mins (2007-07-27 10:13:52 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

kein *Haar*, natürlich ;-)

Marianne Hartz-Poseck
Germany
Local time: 14:18
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Danke Marinne - that fits (fitted!) in just nicely.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  xxxFrancis Lee: "touch" geht auch - obwohl "harm" gängiger ist
1 hr
  -> Danke!
agree  Jonathan MacKerron: harm a hair on your head
2 hrs
  -> Vielen Dank!
agree  Armorel Young: definitely need to keep the "not a single hair" idea - "than that a hair on your head should be harmed". Overtones of the Biblical "not a sparrow falls to the ground..." theme.
3 hrs
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5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
bent, or in this context harmed


Explanation:
rather than have a hair on your head harmed,

gekrümmt would usually be curved or bent, wouldn't it?

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Note added at 1 hr (2007-07-27 12:07:00 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I didn't mean that bent should be considered in this context at all. I only meant that that (or curved etc.) was the usual meaning because Simon had first suggested unkempt.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 2 hrs (2007-07-27 12:33:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

A second reason (see response to Nicole for first) why I think it’s OK to stick with “hair on your head” is because Simon says the legend is Jewish and probably goes back to biblical times. The phrase was used by Christ (himself a Jew): "You will be hated by all because of my name, but not a hair on your head will be destroyed." (Lk 21: 17-18) and it also appears in Samuel (1 Sam 14:45) But the people said to Saul, "Must Jonathan die, who has brought about this great deliverance in Israel? Far from it! As the LORD lives, (AU)not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for (AV)he has worked with God this day." So the people rescued Jonathan and he did not die.

Niamh Piel
Local time: 14:18
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  xxxFrancis Lee: "see a hair ..." would be better
1 hr
  -> I agree that "see a hair ..." would be better. Unless one wanted to keep the alliteration (consonance) of the 4 "h"s (have, hair, head, harmed)
neutral  Nicole Tata: the 'hair on your head' thing doesn't work for me at all. How about 'laying a finger on' instead?
1 hr
  -> I think it’s good to stick to hair because you can bend, twist or cut a person’s hair without causing them any pain and so that emphasises that the writer doesn’t want her to suffer even the slightest bit of harm or distress.
agree  Rebecca Garber: I would rather die than allow a single hair on your head to be harmed.
4 hrs
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