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שדה ירוק חצינו עד צואר

English translation: We crossed a field of green that came up to our necks


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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Hebrew term or phrase:שדה ירוק חצינו עד צואר
English translation:We crossed a field of green that came up to our necks
Entered by: xxxHebrew4Cheap
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15:12 May 22, 2008
Hebrew to English translations [Non-PRO]
Other / אנחנו מאותו הכפר
Hebrew term or phrase: שדה ירוק חצינו עד צואר
Hi,

It’s actually Line 6 of Naomi Shemer’s “We are from the same village”.

It just seems a bit strange to me as she seems to be saying, “Green field halfway up to our neck” – I must have misunderstood.

All the best,

Simon
SeiTT
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:53
We crossed a field of green that came up to our necks
Explanation:
שדה ירוק can be interpreted to mean "a field of green" as well as "a green field," with pretty much the same meaning. The image it evokes is of tall green grass that came to the level of the necks of those crossing the field.
Selected response from:

xxxHebrew4Cheap
United States
Local time: 05:53
Grading comment
many thanks excellent
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5We crossed a green field as tall as our neck
bbt-ruth
4In fields of green we'd walk together you and I
Ofer Grunwald
4A green field we crossed up to our neck.
Daly Gordon-Bahat
3We crossed a field of green that came up to our necksxxxHebrew4Cheap
3We crossed a green field up yp our neck
Shai Nave


  

Answers


25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
We crossed a green field up yp our neck


Explanation:
As far as I understand this sentence it means that we crossed the green field, which the height of the crops in it were about the height of our neck.


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Note added at 26 mins (2008-05-22 15:39:15 GMT)
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I mistyped. I meant "We crossed a green field up to our neck"

Shai Nave
Israel
Local time: 12:53
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in HebrewHebrew, Native in EnglishEnglish
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48 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
We crossed a green field as tall as our neck


Explanation:
the same and different

bbt-ruth
United States
Local time: 05:53
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in HebrewHebrew
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53 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
A green field we crossed up to our neck.


Explanation:
Indeed, you misunderstood, the word חצינו means here - we crossed, and not halfway.

Daly Gordon-Bahat
Israel
Local time: 12:53
Native speaker of: Native in HebrewHebrew
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
In fields of green we'd walk together you and I


Explanation:
I'm going to have to disagree with the other options raised here. Sorry guys!
The 'up to our necks' part was written for the sake of Hebrew rhyming, and isn't the point of this line.
Putting it in the translation sort of makes the height of the grass the focal point of the sentence.
I'd recommend dropping it, and trying to capture the feeling of two childhood friends losing themselves together on adventures out in the fields.
So I'd go with some variant of -

"In fields of green we'd walk together (you and I?)"

with the 'you and I' part being optional according to the rhythm of the translated text.


Ofer Grunwald
Israel
Local time: 12:53
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in HebrewHebrew
PRO pts in category: 4
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1 day1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
We crossed a field of green that came up to our necks


Explanation:
שדה ירוק can be interpreted to mean "a field of green" as well as "a green field," with pretty much the same meaning. The image it evokes is of tall green grass that came to the level of the necks of those crossing the field.

xxxHebrew4Cheap
United States
Local time: 05:53
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Grading comment
many thanks excellent
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)




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Changes made by editors
May 23, 2008 - Changes made by xxxHebrew4Cheap:
Created KOG entryKudoZ term => KOG term


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