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ちがう　（See sentence below)

English translation: extreme, a different level of (depending on context)

06:19 May 15, 2009

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

Japanese term or phrase: ちがう　（See sentence below)

「なるほどなににさわっても冷たさがちがうよ。」

Sterk KudoZ activity Questions: 583 (2 open) (27 closed without grading) Answers: 0 Ukraine
Local time: 17:33

English translation:extreme, a different level of (depending on context)

Explanation:
Since you gave more context, here is how I would translate it:

"Is it really so cold that you have to dress like that?"
"Yeah, we have to get ready for winter already. After it snows, the night before a sunny day is when it especially gets cold. Tonight it's probably already below freezing."
"No wonder! No matter what I touch, the coldness is biting."
"Last year, the coldest it got was twenty-something below freezing."
"What about snow?"
"I dunno... Normally it's about 78 feet, but when it gets deep, it's probably more than 23 feet over 1 joh"
[1 joh = 10 shaku = 10 feet approximately]

I applaud your efforts to wade through a book in another language! Good luck!

Selected response from:

Tina Wooden
United States
Local time: 10:33

Grading comment

ありがとうございますティナさん。分かりました。その話し合いに参加した皆さん、ありがとうごさいます。私はまた質問があるかもしれないので、よろしくお願いします。
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

3 +4

No comparison.

Yumico Tanaka

4 +1

extreme, a different level of (depending on context)

Tina Wooden

different

Gertraud K.

Discussion entries: 7

Answers

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

No comparison.

Explanation:
It means;
The cold climate here is outstanding, far different from other places.

In Japanese, ちがうmeans 1) wrong 2) different
and in this case it's 2) from 格が違う meaning
it belongs to a different level/rank.
Other related expressions for the same meaning
are 格別 and 格段.

Yumico Tanaka
Australia
Local time: 01:33
Works in field
Native speaker of:

Japanese
PRO pts in category: 16

2 hrs confidence:

different

Explanation:
Translation:I see;whatever I touch, they feel different cold.

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Note added at 6 hrs (2009-05-15 13:08:53 GMT)
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Sorry, after the context, I would like to change my Translation to"especially cold"
Thank you

Gertraud K.
Japan
Local time: 00:33
Works in field
Native speaker of: