Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
no caber de saber
English translation:
not be able to fathom (I couldn't fathom)
Spanish term
United States
Versatile technical translator/editor
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English, English
no caber de saber
Y entonces ***no cupe de saber*** junto a Teófilo, que imaginaba risueño la locura de decirlo, cuando era habitual para los seres del lugar contar con ello sin precisar el número ni la figura ni la cartografía: sólo líneas cruzadas en la comunidad de amores y desencuentros
I'm familiar with the expression "no caber de contento" but it doesn't quite seem parallel.
| 4 +4 | I couldn't fathom |
Jenni Lukac (X)
|
| 4 | no ser capaz de saber |
ENEIDA GARCIA VILLANUEVA FHEA MCIL IAPTI
|
| 3 +1 | [See below.] |
Robert Forstag
|
| 2 | I couldn't understand it |
Neil Ashby
|
Apr 6, 2013 08:22: Jenni Lukac (X) Created KOG entry
Non-PRO (1): AllegroTrans
When entering new questions, KudoZ askers are given an opportunity* to classify the difficulty of their questions as 'easy' or 'pro'. If you feel a question marked 'easy' should actually be marked 'pro', and if you have earned more than 20 KudoZ points, you can click the "Vote PRO" button to recommend that change.
How to tell the difference between "easy" and "pro" questions:
An easy question is one that any bilingual person would be able to answer correctly. (Or in the case of monolingual questions, an easy question is one that any native speaker of the language would be able to answer correctly.)
A pro question is anything else... in other words, any question that requires knowledge or skills that are specialized (even slightly).
Another way to think of the difficulty levels is this: an easy question is one that deals with everyday conversation. A pro question is anything else.
When deciding between easy and pro, err on the side of pro. Most questions will be pro.
* Note: non-member askers are not given the option of entering 'pro' questions; the only way for their questions to be classified as 'pro' is for a ProZ.com member or members to re-classify it.
Proposed translations
I couldn't fathom
Information about fathom in the free online English dictionary and encyclopedia. ... interpret, get to the bottom of I couldn't fathom what he was talking about.
United Kingdom
ENEIDA GARCIA VILLANUEVA FHEA MCIL IAPTI
English, French & Catalan into Spanish
Native in: Spanish (Variant: Standard-Spain)
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, French to Spanish, and 2 more.
no ser capaz de saber
I think that definition 5 and "fraseología" will help you understand the meaning of "caber" in this context:
http://enciclopedia_universal.esacademic.com/80855/CABER
I hope that this helps
Eneida :0)
| Thanks, Eneida, your link really is helpful. |
| neutral |
AllegroTrans
: Hi, you need to put the EN suggestion in the answer box, not the Spanish - that's because answers are glossarised in a searcheable DB
34 mins
|
|
I was helping with the meaning of "caber" not giving a translation
|
Spain
DrNeil TechTrans, Precision & Clarity
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, English
I couldn't understand it
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 23 mins (2013-03-29 12:04:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
couldn't get my head round it, couldn't fathom it out, etc....(these are more colloquial) or more formally...it was incomprehensible....
United States
Translating words, preserving meaning
Native in: English
Works in: Spanish to English, English
[See below.]
=
I then found myself at a complete loss, along with Teófilo, who smiled as he thought of how outrageous it would be to actually admit how clueless we both were.
***
I don't see how "I couldn't fathom" fits into the sentence, and I think "I couldn't understand" doesn't quite capture the cluelessness being projected in the original.
Suerte.
| Thanks, Robert. Your take on the second half of the sentence is also helpful. |
Something went wrong...