https://www.proz.com/kudoz/german-to-english/general-conversation-greetings-letters/1206114-wo-kann-man-spa%C3%9F-haben.html
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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Wo kann man Spaß haben?

English translation:

Where can you have fun?

Added to glossary by BrigitteHilgner
Dec 14, 2005 08:24
18 yrs ago
German term

Wo kann man Spaß haben?

German to English Other General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
What would this mean, if as a tourist I ask "Wo kann man Spaß haben?" to a German.
Does "Spaß haben" in general communication sends wrong signals?
Or does it simply mean "to enjoy/ to have fun" e.g. having fun in amusement park.
Proposed translations (English)
4 Where can you have fun
4 +3 Where can you have a good time (in this town)?
4 Can you point me toward a good time?
4 Where to enjoy entertainment
3 Where to go for adult entertainment
Change log

Dec 14, 2005 09:52: Klaus Herrmann changed "Level" from "Non-PRO" to "PRO"

Discussion

Non-ProZ.com (asker) Dec 16, 2005:
"CMJ_Trans" Answer equally good I find the option "Where can you have a good time?" by "CMJ_Trans" equally good, but i guess there is no option of selecting two answers. Therfore had to select one. ELse there is a tie between both
Cheers :)

Proposed translations

3 mins
German term (edited): Wo kann man Spa� haben?
Selected

Where can you have fun

Naturally it depends on the situation, but you might also ask:
Wo kann man sich gut unterhalten?
If you are looking for something specific, you might choose:
Wo findet man ... (Where do you find)
Wo geht man hin, um ... (Where do you go to ...)
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3 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thanks :)"
+3
6 mins

Where can you have a good time (in this town)?

Where do people go to enjoy themselves?
Peer comment(s):
agree franglish
8 mins
agree Stephen Roche : 'A good time' may also suggest 'adult' fun if this is what's intended, but without spelling it out.
20 mins
neutral Savita Bhalla : i think "Where can you have a good time" can also send wrong signals
31 mins
no - it is as ambiguous as the original - that is the whole point
agree Mandy Williams : I think asker basically wants to know whether the German could be misconstrued. It can and so could this suggestion.
46 mins
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52 mins
German term (edited): Wo kann man Spa� haben?

Can you point me toward a good time?

An attempt to capture the ambiguity--naughty or not--of the original. I'm inclined to believe naughty, but it would depend on the situation.
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22 mins
German term (edited): Wo kann man Spa� haben?

Where to go for adult entertainment

Maybe it's just me but even in general communications, this "Spaß haben" does not sound innocent at all.

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Note added at 57 mins (2005-12-14 09:21:59 GMT)
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Just for the record, I don't think there's much room for ambiguity in the German sentence, it's eindeutig zweideutig.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Stephen Roche : I think this depends entirely on the asker and the context./I agree that in certain contexts iit may suggest 'naughty' fun, but the only context we have here is that it's from a tourist. Adult ent. far too explicit IMO.
3 mins
To my ears, "Wo kann man Spaß haben" doesn't really sound idiomatic when asking for a Disney theme park. "Spaß haben" has strong connotations, and I don't have a particularly dirty mind :).//True, I've been a little more explicit to make my point ;)
neutral Savita Bhalla : Klaus, can you suggest some better way of asking"Where can one enjoy/have fun", as you yourself are a German. Because I also personally feel, that "Spaß haben" cannot always be taken in good sense.
1 hr
May I suggest that you ask this as a German-German question so you don't have to rely on my opion only, giving this question as reference/context. I'd probably say 'Wo is denn hier 'was los' or 'Wo kann ich in der Freizeit hingehen'?
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1 hr
German term (edited): Wo kann man Spa� haben?

Where to enjoy entertainment

another possibility
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