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С ценными вещами и деньгами будь на «вы».

English translation: Treat money and valuables with respect.

16:37 Sep 3, 2011
Russian to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
Russian term or phrase: С ценными вещами и деньгами будь на «вы».
Good afternoon/evening,

I would be very grateful for your help with the above sentence. It is part of an individual's own homespun maxim. I want to do it justice, but have been unsuccessful so far. Please find below the saying in its entirety. Unfortunately, I cannot offer any further context as it came in a list of about 50 or so expressions coined by the main character of the story I have just translated.

С ценными вещами и деньгами будь на «вы». Они оказались у тебя в руках потому, что кто-то был с ними на «ты».

Thank you!

Sara
Sara Noss
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:27
English translation:Treat money and valuables with respect.
Explanation:
The reason you have them is because someone else didn't.


Also works with appreciate/value/etc.
Selected response from:

Mark Berelekhis
United States
Local time: 19:27
Grading comment
Perfect. Thank you very much, Mark.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +3Treat money and valuables with respect.
Mark Berelekhis
4 +2Treat your money with care. It's yours because it was mistreated.
Alex Marshall
4 +1Treat valuables and money with respect.
Rachel Douglas
3 +1treat/handle money and valuables with care
James McVay
4Be respectful of money and valuables.
Keren Applebaum


  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Treat money and valuables with respect.


Explanation:
The reason you have them is because someone else didn't.


Also works with appreciate/value/etc.

Mark Berelekhis
United States
Local time: 19:27
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 666
Grading comment
Perfect. Thank you very much, Mark.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Rachel Douglas: Wow, Mark, even our punctuation coincides! But you got here first, since I took time to play around with the second part.
3 mins
  -> Nice one, Rachel! I like your version, too.

agree  erika rubinstein
23 mins
  -> Thank you.

agree  cyhul
1 day 10 hrs
  -> Thank you.
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9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
treat/handle money and valuables with care


Explanation:
"You need to treat/handle money and valuables with care. You got them because somebody else was careless." That's the first thing that pops into my head.

James McVay
United States
Local time: 19:27
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Alex Marshall: Yep. Lots of ways to say the same thing.
19 mins
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10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Treat valuables and money with respect.


Explanation:
"Treat valuables and money with respect. You ended up with them because somebody else didn't."

Since we hardly have the formal/familiar distinction in the 2nd person in English any more, I wouldn't even try to get into it.

Obviously - and this was not the part you asked about here - use "ended up with" only if you like it. Alternatives would be "You have them because...", "They're in your hands because..."

Rachel Douglas
United States
Local time: 19:27
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 384
Notes to answerer
Asker: Rachel, your assistance was much appreciated.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Alex Marshall: Nice
6 mins
  -> Thanks, Alex.
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Treat your money with care. It's yours because it was mistreated.


Explanation:
...

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 15 mins (2011-09-03 16:53:18 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

OR: Treat your money WELL. It's yours now because it was mistreated

Alex Marshall
United States
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 24
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you for your help.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jinglebob
1 min

agree  erika rubinstein
18 mins
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1 day 18 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Be respectful of money and valuables.


Explanation:
another phrasing that can work

Keren Applebaum
United States
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian, Native in EnglishEnglish
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thank you, Keren.

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