# If I could turn back time



## Rani_Author

Hi! A few weeks ago I tried to translate my work in Indonesian to English. Some Britishs said that my translations were terrible. It was just like I tried to translate them literally word by word by using any dictionaries.  This is an example: Andai waktu bisa berputar, aku ingin mencintaimu. (literally in English: If the time could return, I would have wanted so much to love you). Britishs said that it was completely wrong.  The truth is "If I could turn back time, I would have wanted so much to love you".

In Tetun, the official language of East Timor, the translation is 100 % like in Indonesian: Se tempu bele muda/ troka karik, ha'u hakarak atu hadomi o. 

Because of that matter, I'm so curious to know the translation in your mother tongue and the languages you know the most. 

Thanks a lot before.


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## ger4

Hi! German doesn't have anything interesting to offer here, it is the same as in English: _Wenn ich die Zeit zurückdrehen könnte

wenn = if
ich = I
die Zeit = the time
zurück- = back
-drehen = turn
könnte = could_


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## Armas

Hello! In Finnish we say _Jos voisin palata ajassa taaksepäin_ which literally translates "If I could return backwards in time".


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## Dymn

The most natural translations which come to my mind:
*
Catalan:*
_
Si pogués tornar enrere,_

_si_: if
_pogués_: I could (imperfect subjunctive of _poder_)
_tornar_: to go/come back, to give back
_enrere_: back, towards the opposite direction (_darrere_: behind)

*Spanish*:

_Si pudiera volver atrás,_

_si_: if
_pudiera_ (alternatively _pudiese_): I could (imperfect subjunctive of _poder_)
_volver_: to go/come back
_atrás_: back, towards the opposite direction (_detrás_: behind)​


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## Nino83

Italian: 
_se potessi tornare indietro_


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## apmoy70

Greek:

*«Αν μπορούσα να γυρίσω το χρόνο πίσω»* [aɱ͜ boˈɾusa na ʝiˈɾiso to ˈxrono ˈpiso] --> _if I could turned back time_ (lit. _if I could to turn time back_).

*-«Aν»* [an] modal particle with uncknown etymology < Classical modal pcl *«ἄν» án* --> _if._
*-«Μπορούσα»* [boˈɾusa] 1st p. sing. past continuous indicative of MoGr v. *«μπορώ»* [boˈɾo] --> _to be able to, may, can_ aphetic of Byz.Gr denominative v. *«ἐμπορῶ» emporô* (idem) < Classical nominal *«ἔμπορος» émpŏrŏs* < compound; Classical adverb and preposition *«ἐν» ĕn* --> _in, within_ (PIE *h₁en(i)- _in_ cf Lat. in, Proto-Germanic *in) + Classical deverbal masc. noun *«πόρος» pórŏs* --> _passage, ford_ < Classical v. *«πείρω» peírō* --> _to perforate, pierce, pervade_ (PIE *per- _to cross, pass_ cf Skt. परि (pári), _around_, Av. pairi- _around, about_, Lat. per).
*-«Να»* [na] MoGr particle introducing subjunctive clauses, aphetic of Byz.Gr pcl *«ἱνά» iná* < Classical Gr final conjunction *«ἵνα» hínă* --> _that, in order that_ with obscure etymology.
*-«Γυρίσω»* [ʝiˈɾiso] 1st p. sing. non-past perfective aspect of denominative v. *«γυρίζω»* [ʝiˈɾizo] --> _to turn, return, go back, return_ < Byz.Gr *«γῦρος» gûros* < Classical nominal *«γυρός» gūrós* --> _round, curved_ (with unclear etymology; connection with *gou- _hand_, *guH- _curved_ seems plausible).
*-«Το»* [to] masc. definite article in the accusative < Classical Gr *«τό» tó* (PIE *to- _the, that_).
*-«Χρόνο»* [ˈxrono] masc. accusative sing. of nominative sing. *«χρόνος»* [ˈxronos] < Classical Gr masc. *«χρόνος» kʰrónŏs* --> _period or course of time, (a definite) time, lifetime, time limit_ (with unclear etymology).
*-«Πίσω»* [ˈpiso] adverb aphetic of Classical adv. *«ὀπίσω» ŏpísō* --> _behind, at the back_ (PIE *h₁opi- _close upon, at, behind_).


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## Ghabi

*Cantonese*: jyu4gwo2 si4gwong1 ho2ji3 dou2lau4 "if time can back-flow"


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## Rani_Author

Ghabi said:


> *Cantonese*: jyu4gwo2 si4gwong1 ho2ji3 dou2lau4 "if time can back-flow"



I'm sorry, maybe it would be off-topic, but I have no idea how to pronounce your sentence. The "4, 2, 1, 3" are they the part of cantonese alphabets, too? Or just to mark about which kind of original alphabets we should use if they would be written in original cantonese alphabets?


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## Nino83

Rani_Author said:


> The "4, 2, 1, 3" are they the part of cantonese alphabets, too?


These numbers indicate tones (a Cantonese syllable can have six different tones).


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## Rani_Author

Nino83 said:


> These numbers indicate tones (a Cantonese syllable can have six different tones).



Ehi, grazie! Non ho mai imparato ancora il cantonese.


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## Nino83

It would be something like this:
*如果時光可以回流*
jyu4gwo2 = 如果
si4gwong1 =  時光
ho2ji3 = 可以
wui4lau4 =  回流 (this is another word, reflux or to flow back)
I couldn't find "dou2lau4" but maybe Ghabi can tell us how to write it! 


Rani_Author said:


> Ehi, grazie! Non ho mai imparato ancora il cantonese.


Prego! Neanch'io, ma dev'essere una lingua molto musicale e cantata (6 toni!)


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## 810senior

In Japanese, I'd say 時間を巻き戻せたら(lit. if I could wind back time).


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## Karton Realista

Polish:
Gdybym mógł cofnąć czas.
If I could turn back time. 
The word cofnąć has many meanings and doesn't really have direct English translation in this context. It means here  "to make a movement backwards", but isn't limited to movement. If such English word existed, I would translate it as "to backward (the time)" .


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## Messquito

Nino83 said:


> I couldn't find "dou2lau4" but maybe Ghabi can tell us how to write it!


It would be 倒流 dao4 liu2: 如果時光可以倒流
回流 is less used in this sense, it is more like "to flow back to one place after leaving it".
Another possibility in Chinese:
如果時間可以倒轉 If time could turn back
時光 is better collocated with 倒*流* (時＝time,光＝light, which could be connected to the* flow *of the light)
時間 is better collocated with 倒轉 (時＝time, 間＝interval)

時光 and 倒流 are more figurative which could make the context more aesthetic.


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## 810senior

We have as well the way of saying _flow back the time_(時間[じかん]を遡[さかのぼ]るjikan-wo sakanobor-u), saka(back-, counterwise)+nobor-u(to go up, steam up, climb, ascent).


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## mataripis

Kung maibabalik ko Lang ang dating Panahon ay maipapahayag ko sa iyo ang pag Ibig ko. This is my translation in Tagalog. (If ever I can turn back the previous time I   Will be able to prove my love for you) next my attempt in Dumaget- Te on nakatakeg a adyiw ey male wet matowd man mahayeg Dekaw on pebeot ko.


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## merquiades

*Français
*
Si je pouvais retourner / revenir en arrière.
Si je pouvais remonter dans le temps.

Literally:
If I could (imperfect indicative) return (return / come again) backwards.
If I could (imperfect indicative) climb up again in time.
re- is a prefix meaning "once again"


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## ktdd

Nino83 said:


> It would be something like this:
> *如果時光可以回流*
> jyu4gwo2 = 如果
> si4gwong1 = 時光
> ho2ji3 = 可以
> wui4lau4 = 回流 (this is another word, reflux or to flow back)
> I couldn't find "dou2lau4" but maybe Ghabi can tell us how to write it!


如果 jyu4wo2 / rúguǒ = if
時光 si4gwong1 / shíguāng = time
可以 ho2ji5 / kěyǐ = can
倒流 dou3lau4 / dàoliú = flow backwards (倒 has two readings in Cantonese as well as in Mandarin)
=====
And you can speak Cantonese! Interesting, very interesting! 
=====
Probably off topic, but the title of this thread strongly reminds me of a line from a movie:
如果上天能夠給我一個再來一次的機會，我一定會對那個女孩子說三個字“我愛你”，如果非要在這份愛上加一個期限的話，我希望是一萬年。


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## Nino83

ktdd said:


> And you can speak Cantonese!


No no, I said I can't!  
Thanks for your answer.


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## ilocas2

Serbian:

Da mogu da vratim vreme.


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## Men_deurXD

mataripis said:


> Kung maibabalik ko Lang ang dating Panahon ay maipapahayag ko sa iyo ang pag Ibig ko. This is my translation in Tagalog. (If ever I can turn back the previous time I   Will be able to prove my love for you) next my attempt in Dumaget- Te on nakatakeg a adyiw ey male wet matowd man mahayeg Dekaw on pebeot ko.


I think, in a more specific way, it could translate in Tagalog like "Kung puwede lang maibalik ang nakaraan, gustong gusto kong ipakita ang tunay na pagmamahal ko sa iyo" I guess this is more accurate and precise translation but your translation is also good, though. Big thumbs up sa iyo kababayan!👍👍


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## Awwal12

Rani_Author said:


> This is an example: Andai waktu bisa berputar, aku ingin mencintaimu. (literally in English: If the time could return, I would have wanted so much to love you). Britishs said that it was completely wrong.  The truth is "If I could turn back time, I would have wanted so much to love you".


Potentially both variants are possible in Russian, in the most general sense at least.
1) Если бы я мог повернуть время вспять (Yésli by yá móg povernút' vrémya vspyát') - "If I could turn the time backwards"; 
2) "если бы можно было вернуть то время" (yésli by mózhno býlo vernút' tó vrémya") - "If it were possible to return that time" (note "that", and I'd say that stylistically it's not quite perfect anyway);
3) "если бы то время могло вернуться" (yésli by tó vrémya mogló vernút'sya) - "if that time could return" (stylistically imperfect; moreover, putting "that time" in the rhematic position in the end of the clause would make it even worse, and it would sound in a positively non-native fashion - an impersonal sentence of the type (2) would be the only real option).


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## AndrasBP

Hungarian: *ha vissza tudnám fordítani az időt* /hɒ ˈvisːɒ ˈtudnaːm ˈfordiːtɒni ɒz ˈidøːt/

ha = if
vissza = back
tudnám = I could
fordítani = to turn
az = the
időt = time + accusative suffix -t


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