# A tisztaság átható ereje



## CarlitosMS

Szervusz

I would like to know the meaning of this Hungarian slogan used for detergent Omo in the 1990's: *A tisztaság átható ereje*.

Greetings
Carlos M.S.


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## francisgranada

A bad (rather literal) English translation:
_The penetrating force of the cleanness_

Let's wait for a better translation ...


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## Olivier0

"the pervasive strength of cleanliness" ?
-- Olivier


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## Encolpius

Well, well, if I understand properly the questioner is interested in the meaning and not the English translation.... 
I think, you all might *feel *it in a completely different way, that the tricky phase is the "átható erő", I personally feel a word game with átható (pervasive, pervading) - látható (visible).... (mindent) átható erő is a common (philosophical, cosmological?) collocation and I have no idea if there is a similar English counterpart at all...


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## Olivier0

Since his mother language is Spanish and he did not ask for English but for the meaning, as for collocations I think there can be such things in Spanish as _la fuerza penetrante de la palabra de Dios_ (= of God's word) or _el poder penetrante de la palabra de Dios_, and here it would just be the same phrase jokingly combined with _de la limpieza_.
-- Olivier


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## CarlitosMS

Olivier0 said:


> Since his mother language is Spanish and he did not ask for English but for the meaning, as for collocations I think there can be such things in Spanish as _la fuerza penetrante de la palabra de Dios_ (= of God's word) or _el poder penetrante de la palabra de Dios_, and here it would just be the same phrase jokingly combined with _de la limpieza_.
> -- Olivier



Dear Olivier:
Excuse me, but when I asked for the meaning, I also asked indirectly for the translation.


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## Zsanna

There was something disturbing for me in this slogan from the very beginning and I think I've found the reasons for it.

1. The wrong word (_átható_ in the meaning of _áthatoló_ - that wouldn't be any good here, either, though)
The word "átható" pretends to indicate something positive in this advert, i.e. a force (of cleanliness) so powerful that it is capable of going through the material, cleanliness is not a superficial "business" anymore... (Hello - false! - Zen, by-bye common sense! Hehehe.)

2. Negative word for a positive meaning - will it give a positive meaning?
The word (_átható_) was not a happy choice also because in its usual appearances (with voice, pain, cold, smell, look) it always has the meaning of "negatively strong", according to my dictionary of synonyms and antonyms (Magyar Szókincstár).*

E.g. átható szag = maró, szúrós, orrfacsaró... i.e. obtrusive, penetrating, sharp ... smell

So if we followed our instincts, this "penetrating"/"pervasive" cleanliness would be something that tortures the mind and the body the moment you get near it. So you wouldn't like to touch it with a barge pole if you had some sense of self-protection.

In other words, the slogan says the opposite it wants to say:
*Keep away from this washing powder, or be prepared for something really unpleasant!*

*I almost forgot: it has no affinity whatsoever with the word _cleanliness_, never appears with it in any "normal" circumstances. "Átható tisztaság" as such simply does not exist in our language.


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