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man weiss nur, was man sieht (Cassandra)

English translation: One knows only what one sees

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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

German term or phrase:	man weiss nur, was man sieht (Cassandra)
English translation:	One knows only what one sees
Entered by:	lindaellen

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13:48 Feb 23, 2005

German to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature

German term or phrase: man weiss nur, was man sieht (Cassandra)

client has this saying as caption for a picture of a famous person that is only recognizable when the viewer steps back. I suggested "you have to see it to believe it", but client says no, any suggestions??

Jonathan MacKerron KudoZ activity Questions: 1461 (1 open) (9 closed without grading) Answers: 8995
Local time: 18:32

One knows only what one sees

Explanation:
"you have to see it to believe it" this has an element of astonishment, whereas my literal translation is more understated. Perhaps this is more to the liking of your client. There are many ways of saying this, of course.

Selected response from:

lindaellen
Switzerland
Local time: 18:32

Grading comment

Fit best for my text, thanks to all"
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +1

seeing is believing

shabda

3 +2

(believe the )evidence of your eyes

Gabrielle Lyons

4 +1

We only know what we see

Nesrin

One knows only what one sees

lindaellen

you only notice what you see

Eralp Tuna

Our knowledge is limited by what we can see

Mary Wilburn

We know only what we foresee

xxxFrancis Lee

Discussion entries: 4

Answers

2 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

seeing is believing

Explanation:
:)

shabda
Local time: 19:32
Native speaker of:

Bulgarian

3 mins confidence:

One knows only what one sees

lindaellen
Switzerland
Local time: 18:32
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

Grading comment

Fit best for my text, thanks to all"

17 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

(believe the )evidence of your eyes

Explanation:
Gets nearly 8,000 googles (including graphic antiwar sites)

alternatively, you could try

'See for yourself' ( almost 2 million googles!)if the customer prefers that ...

Reference: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=%22the+evidence+of+yo...
Reference: http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=%22the+evidence+of+yo...

Gabrielle Lyons
Local time: 17:32
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 11

26 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

We only know what we see

Explanation:
Ok - not much different from "one" or "you", but I think it sounds most natural in English when you use "We". It also fits the context best.

Kant agreed that we only know what we see (science) with the help of what we think (metaphysics), in that sense he was a father of idealism. Was he not? ...
www.able2know.com/forums/about37046-0-asc-440.html

We only know what we see and hear. Most people are only aware of
archaeology through tv and passing cultural references. ...
www.archaeologyfieldwork.com/cgi-bin/ yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=survey;action=print;num=1083202907

Nesrin
Local time: 17:32
Native speaker of: Arabic
PRO pts in category: 20

29 mins confidence:

you only notice what you see

Explanation:
or maybe your customer likes "you only recognize what you see"

Eralp Tuna
Turkey
Local time: 19:32
Native speaker of:

Turkish

1 hr confidence:

We know only what we foresee

Explanation:
Could it be that in Cassandra's case "sehen" could mean "foresee" ?

xxxFrancis Lee
Local time: 18:32
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 80

13 hrs confidence:

Our knowledge is limited by what we can see

Explanation:
I read this to mean that the power of sight conceals from us knowledge we might gain if seeing did not limit our capacity to know beyond the visible. If the Cassandra referenced is the seer in Greek mythology, the statement probably contains a riddle of some sort. That's my take on it.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 19 hrs 38 mins (2005-02-25 09:27:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Please delete \"can\" from my answer. In a dream about this question I recalled that the Greek Cassandra was herself blind. Do you know if the picture to which the quotation serves as caption is the one in Oscar Wilde\'s \"Portrait of Dorian Gray\" - I think that\'s the title - where the degeneration of the title character, a real reprobate, affects only the portrait while his person remains unmarked by his debauchery? If that is the connection, I stand by \"Our knowledge is limited by what we see.\"

Mary Wilburn
Native speaker of:

English

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man weiss nur, was man sieht (Cassandra)

English translation: One knows only what one sees

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man weiss nur, was man sieht (Cassandra)

English translation: One knows only what one sees

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KudoZ™ translation helpThe KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

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The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.