# Bulgarian: You can't measure someone else's happiness



## chifladoporlosidiomas

Hi everyone! 

I was wondering if you guys could help me with a translation.
Two problems arise, however:

1. I don't know how to use impersonal constructions such as "one"
2. I'm not 100% sure if някой becomes някого after prepositions.

What I'm translating:
You can't measure someone else's happiness
(Sp. No se puede medir la felicidad ajena
Fr. On ne peut pas mesurer le bonheur d'autrui) (just so you guys have an idea of the type of construction that I'm aiming for)

My attempt in Bulgarian:
Не можем да мерим щастието на някого друг.

All comments and advice are welcome.


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## Arath

1. There are several ways to do that:
1.1 Use the second person singular (as in English) - *Не можеш да мериш щастието на някого другиго*. (You can't measure someone else's happiness.)
1.2 Use the passive voice:
1.2.1 with the *се*-construction (as in Spanish) - *Не може да се мери щастието на някого другиго*. (Someone else's happiness can't be measured). Here however it's sounds better to use one of the alternative translations: *Не може да се мери* *чуждото щастие*.
1.2.2 with the participial construction: *Чуждото щастие не може да бъде мерено*. (Someone else's happiness can't be measured).
1.3 Use the first person plural - _*Не можем да мерим*_ *чуждото щастие*. (We can't measure someone else's happiness)
1.4 Use the pronoun *човек*, which corresponds to the English "one", although in English it's fairly formal and mostly used in official situations, in Bulgarian it's neutral with respect to formality. - _*Човек не може да мери*_ *щастието на някого другиго*. (One can't measure someone else's happiness).

2. In the standard language, *някой* inflects for case only when it refers to male human beings and when it's used on its own, not modifying a noun. So, we have *на някого* (of/to someone), *с някого* (with someone), but *на някой приятел* (of/to some friend) *с някой приятел* (with some friend). In the everyday spoken language it's pretty common not to inflect *някой* at all.

*някой друг* (someone else) inflects in the following way - *някого другиго* (accusative), *някому другиму* (dative, very rarely used).

*Щастието на някого другиго* is a perfectly valid translation of "someone else's happiness", but here are some alternative translations: *чуждото щастие* (the adjective *чужд* corresponds perfectly to the Spanish *ajeno*), *нечие друго щастие*.


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## osemnais

някому, другиго, другиму are all archaic - not only that you'll never hear them in speech, but they're also rare to find in books. някого is not so archaic, but still is not used in spoken language. Instead of them друг, някой are used.
I'd say*
чуждото щастие не може да се премери
чуждото щастие не може да бъде премерено
не можеш да премериш чуждото щастие*
depending on context

p.s. impersonal 'one' sentences are best translated without a subject and the verb in 3p sg. always with the reflexive particle *се*


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## Arath

osemnais said:


> някому, другиго, другиму are all archaic - not only that you'll never hear them in speech, but they're also rare to find in books. някого is not so archaic, but still is not used in spoken language. Instead of them друг, някой are used.


Yes, but if you use the accusative form of *някой*, you have to use the accusative form of *друг *as well. So either *на някой друг* or *на някого другиго*, but definitely not *някого друг*.


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## xpictianoc

Are you sure there should be used accusative insted of genitive? (I know that in that case gen.=acc.)
I firs time see the form of другиго... много интересно. Аз за съжаление вече много забравих българския, ами ако си добре помня, никога не съм чул "на никого другиго" но само "на никой друг".


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## osemnais

> Are you sure there should be used accusative insted of genitive? (I know that in that case gen.=acc.)


Do you mean нечие?
*Не можеш да премериш нечие щастие* is completely fine and correct, although чие/чия/чий/чии are not really used anymore and has somewhat different meaning than the sentence in OP


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## xpictianoc

Genetive answers the question "of whom", - of whom is the happiness? - someone else. 
ген. = кого, (чего?)
акуз. = кого, какво 
Аз зная че в българския ням разлика между генетив и акузатив понеже съществуват май само два падежи т.е. винителен и дателен падеж. Винителен ако добре разбрах = генетив и акузатив, дателен = датив, нали?


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## osemnais

генитив е родителен
акузатив е винителен
датив е дателен
да, някои хора говорят за агломеративен падеж, който е смесица от винителния(акузатив) и родителния (генитив), но този агломеративен падеж по-често се нарича просто винителен
доколкото знам така стоят нещата:
кой = именителен
кого = винителен или агломеративен
кому = дателен
чий = някъде прочетох, че това е родителният падеж на "кой"; на английски чий е whose


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## xpictianoc

Не разбирам се добре в вългарската граматика ама мисля че на въпрос "чий" отговарат Притежателни местоимения. 
Например: 
Моята книга = Книга на мен(?)
Неговата книга = Книга на него(?)
и така нататък...


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## Kartof

Ако въпроса е "Чия книга е?"
Отговорите са "Моята книга/Книгати ми" или "Неговата книга/Книгата му"

Не може да се каже "Книга на мен" или "Книга на него"


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