# Érezzem magam hibának



## Gerry905

Why is the Dative case used in this sentence: _Érezzem magam hibának_?


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## Zsanna

Hello Gerry905,

Your sentence is not a very current expression, sounds more like a joke "made up" for an occasion.
Please, note that the suffix_ -nak/-nek _is not used exclusively to mark the Dative, as it is the case here.

Nevertheless, the use of this suffix here is a typical one: it is needed as a part of an expression. (Like e.g. "to" in look forward _to_ something in English which does not appear in the same meaning as in "I wrote a letter _to_ him".)

The verb _érezni_ appears in this construction: "érezni magát valaminek" (= consider oneself something) so your sentence could be translated as: _Shall I consider myself as* a mistake?_
The same construction could also be used in a less figurative sense like in: _betegnek/gyengének/erősnek stb. érzem magam_ (= I feel ill/weak/strong, etc.)

See also this thread.

Edit: * _as_ is probably my mistake in the translation (on second thoughts) It is not needed, is it?


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## AndrasBP

Gerry905 said:


> _Érezzem magam hibának_?


I think what you mean is probably "érezzem magam hibá*s*nak"? (= at fault, responsible, to blame)


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## Gerry905

Thanks. It is a translation of an English song into Hungarian.

The full English sentences read: _Do you want the real smile or the one I practised not fo feel like a failure. _the Hungarian translation for that sounds like this: _Akarod az igazi mosolyt vagy azt amit gyakoroltam, hogy ne *érezzem magam hibának*_. Is that a correct translation?


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## AndrasBP

Gerry905 said:


> Thanks. It is a translation of an English song into Hungarian.


Who came up with this translation? It doesn't sound idiomatic to me. Where did you find it? 
OK, so it is 'hibának', not 'hibá*s*nak', but 'hiba' is not a good translation for 'failure'. 'Hiba', like Zsanna said, is a 'mistake'.

Could you provide more context, please, so we don't have to do guesswork?


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## Zsanna

I don't think it matters _really_ who did the translation.
Whatever solution there is for "not to feel like a failure" could still involve the same expression I mentioned above (with _-nak/-nek_) and if not, it could also be a question for a new thread (especially if another expression came up with the translation).


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## AndrasBP

Zsanna said:


> I don't think it matters _really_ who did the translation.


What I wanted to find out was whether the translation was done by a native Hungarian speaker.


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## Gerry905

AndrasBP said:


> What I wanted to find out was whether the translation was done by a native Hungarian speaker.



Yes, it was.



Zsanna said:


> I don't think it matters _really_ who did the translation.
> Whatever solution there is for "not to feel like a failure" could still involve the same expression I mentioned above (with _-nak/-nek_) and if not, it could also be a question for a new thread (especially if another expression came up with the translation).



After a bit of googling, what I understood is that you always use the adjective/noun in the dative, when you're feeling a certain way. Is that correct?


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## Zsanna

Yes, Gerry, "érezni magát valaminek" could also be translated "to feel a certain way".  (As in my examples in post no. 2.)


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## tomtombp

Gerry905 said:


> Yes, it was.



Strange. We would never say that. It sounds like a word-for-word translation to me.

“Hibá*s*nak“ would make more sense as AndrasBp stated even thought it means something slightly different, "at fault“.

If I had to translate “I feel like a failure“ I'd say “úgy érzem kudarcot valottam“ or “egy cs_őd_t_öm_egnek érzem magam“.

I think your original question has been answered though. "I feel myself like something“ = “Valaminek érzem magam.“


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## Fredsky

Azt hiszem, az eredetinek a jelentése az az, hogy "ne érezzem magam hibának (amit te elkövettél volna azzal, hogy velem voltál)". Hogy én egy hiba voltam, amit te elkövettél. Then the English translation would be something Iike this: D_o you want the real smile or the one I practised so as not to feel like a mistake (that I could have been for you). _I think this perhaps makes a bit more sense, considering the context, but clearly it is not Shakespeare.


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