# These (X) are Crazy.



## Frank06

Hi,

"These Romans are Crazy" is one of the catchphrases of Obelix, one of the main characters in the Asterix comic books.

I wonder if people here could help me with the translation of this sentence. 
*But* instead of "Romans", I'd love to have the name of the speakers of the language / inhabitants of the country (countries) in which that language is spoken.

So, in *Dutch*, that sentence would be:
"Rare jongens, die *Belgen*" 
and
"Rare jongens, die *Nederlanders*"

In *French*, the language in which Astérix was written, the original phrase is: "Ils sont fous ces _romains_". This would obviously become "Ils sont fous ces *français*".

Thanks in advance!

Groetjes,

Frank


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## jonquiliser

Hello,

In Swedish; "De är inte riktigt kloka, de där (svenskarna)!"

In Finnish: "Hulluja, nuo suomalaiset!" 

Groetjes back to you


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## Chazzwozzer

*Turkish:*
*Bu Türkler çılgın!
*
Reminds me of that popular Turkish book about the Independence War,* "Şu Çılgın Türkler"* _(Those Crazy Turks)_


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## linguist786

*Hindi:*

यह भारतीय लोग पागल हैं
_yeh bhaartiy log paagal hai_
(these Indians are crazy)

*Urdu:*

يہ پاكستانى لوگ پاگل ہيں
yeh paakistaani log paagal hai
(these pakistanis are crazy)

*Gujarati:*

આ ગુજરાતીઓ પાગલ છે
_aa gujaratiyo paagal Che_
(These Gujaratis are crazy)


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## parakseno

He he, interesting question...

Romanian:
Românii ăştia sunt nebuni.


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## irene.acler

*Italian*:
Questi italiani sono pazzi.


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## Etcetera

In Russian:
*Э*ти р*у*сские сумасш*е*дшие! / *E*ti r*u*sskiye sumassh*e*dshiye!


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## enteogénica

Spanish:
¡Estos españoles están locos!


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## Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!

Czech: "To jsou blázni, ti Češi!"

(Not completely literal, but it's the established translation for Obelix' catchphrase.)
(Edit: Looking at the French phrasing, it probably is quite literal.)


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## Whodunit

In German, we sometimes use:

*"Die spinnen, die *(Deutschen)*."*


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## Frank06

Hi,

Thanks to everybody so far!!!

Groetjes,

Frank


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## Bienvenidos

Persian:

Yâ Afqânâ diwâna astan.


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## panjabigator

Panjabi: ਏਹ ਪਂਜਾਬੀ ਲੋਕ ਪਾਗਲ ਨੇ. 
These Panjabis are crazy.


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## panjabigator

Catalan:  Aquests Catalans son boigs!


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## coconutpalm

这些中国人简直疯了！
zhe4 xie1 zhong1 guo2 ren2 jian3 zhi2 feng1 le!

Please note that I add 简直indeed/really to the translated version, because I think it would sound kinda clumsy without it.


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## J.F. de TROYES

coconutpalm said:


> 这些中国人简直疯了！
> zhe4 xie1 zhong1 guo2 ren2 jian3 zhi2 feng1 le!
> 
> Please note that I add 简直indeed/really to the translated version, because I think it would sound kinda clumsy without it.


 
My Chinese is poor and I am sorry to ask you such questions:

1- Does'nt "xie1" mean "some,a couple of" ? You seem to use it as if it is a real plural mark as opposed wih "zhe4 ge"
2- Why do you use "le" in this sentence ? Does it mean something like "Be aware or  just imagine ...
Thanks in advance.


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## coconutpalm

J.F. de TROYES said:


> My Chinese is poor and I am sorry to ask you such questions:
> 
> 1- Does'nt "xie1" mean "some,a couple of" ? You seem to use it as if it is a real plural mark as opposed wih "zhe4 ge"
> 2- Why do you use "le" in this sentence ? Does it mean something like "Be aware or just imagine ...
> Thanks in advance.


 
1. Um, the first one is a tough one  I'm not a linguist, but I'll have a try. After refering to my dictionary, 些xie1 generally means "some, a couple of" as you pointed out, except in the following examples :这么些/那么些which mean a large quantity.
When I was answering the thread, I hesitated between translating "these" and dropping it. Finally, I decided that I would translate it, because without it, the sentence中国人疯了would mean the whole lot of Chinese people are crazy, which is not meant by the orginal sentence in the first post because it does contain "these", right?  But perhaps my understanding went wrong this time because my English is far from perfect. 
2. The second one... I don't know Au fur et a mesure you'll find Chinese use 了 nearlly everywhere. A meer interjection sometimes, like in this case, but sometimes it means the event happened in the past. 

I hope I have explained it clearly. If not, please ask further!

Now, I have thought of two more versions to say "These Chinese are crazy", which have different emotional connotation.
这些中国人好疯呀！zhe4 xie1 zhong1 guo2 ren2 hao3 feng1 ya! generally shows exclamation and sometimes also admiration.
这些中国人太疯（了）！zhe4 xie1 zhong1 guo2 ren2 tai4 feng1 (le)! Without 了，it's less reproachful.
这些中国人真是疯狂！a mere comment
the most colloquial:这些中国人简直/真要疯死掉了（呀）！zhe4 xie1 zhong1 guo2 ren2 jian3 zhi2/zhen1 yao4 feng1 si3 diao4 le (ya)! If you're a southerner, you'll probably add 呀, which is the southerners' habit to use many interjections.


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## Thomas1

In Polish:
_Ci Polacy, oni są szaleni._
or
_Oni są szaleni, ci Polacy_.

I find the first one better to the ears.

Tom


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## Outsider

The translation used in Portugal would give:

_Estes *portugueses* são loucos._


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## Lemminkäinen

I have to confess it's been some years since I last read the comic in question, so I don't remember how the translated phrase went, but I think it was something like this:

*De er gærne, disse nordmennene*


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## J.F. de TROYES

coconutpalm said:


> 1. Um, the first one is a tough one I'm not a linguist, but I'll have a try. After refering to my dictionary, 些xie1 generally means "some, a couple of" as you pointed out, except in the following examples :这么些/那么些which mean a large quantity.
> When I was answering the thread, I hesitated between translating "these" and dropping it. Finally, I decided that I would translate it, because without it, the sentencewould mean the whole lot of Chinese people are crazy, which is not meant by the orginal sentence in the first post because it does contain "these", right? But perhaps my understanding went wrong this time because my English is far from perfect.
> 2. The second one... I don't know Au fur et a mesure you'll find Chinese use 了 nearlly everywhere. A meer interjection sometimes, like in this case, but sometimes it means the event happened in the past.
> 
> I hope I have explained it clearly. If not, please ask further!
> 
> Now, I have thought of two more versions to say "These Chinese are crazy", which have different emotional connotation.
> 这些中国人好疯呀！zhe4 xie1 zhong1 guo2 ren2 hao3 feng1 ya! generally shows exclamation and sometimes also admiration.
> 这些中国人太疯（了）！zhe4 xie1 zhong1 guo2 ren2 tai4 feng1 (le)! Without 了，it's less reproachful.
> 这些中国人真是疯狂！a mere comment
> the most colloquial:这些中国人简直/真要疯死掉了（呀）！zhe4 xie1 zhong1 guo2 ren2 jian3 zhi2/zhen1 yao4 feng1 si3 diao4 le (ya)! If you're a southerner, you'll probably add 呀, which is the southerners' habit to use many interjections.


 
Thanks a lot, it's crystal-clear ; you're right to be aware of the presence of "these" and I think I'd have wrongly proposed  中国人疯(了); so I am very interested in your explanation. What does " si 3 diao4 " ? "mortally mad or mad to death" ?


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## J.F. de TROYES

IN ARABIC:

" ! *هذا العرب هم مجانين* "   hatha-l-3rab hum majanin !

I feel a bit embarrassed about writing these words as I am not a native !
And the best is to wait for their opinion.


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## Flaminius

Japanese:
ローマ人ってやつは、気違いだ。
rōmajin tte yatsu-wa kichigai da.


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## Whodunit

J.F. de TROYES said:


> IN ARABIC:
> 
> " ! *هذا العرب هم مجانين* " hatha-l-3rab hum majanin !
> 
> I feel a bit embarrassed about writing these words as I am not a native !
> And the best is to wait for their opinion.


 
Although I'm not sure about the correct expression, I must tell you that "hadha" and "al-3arab" do not fit together. Also, I don't understand why you used "majaaniin" here. The word "majjaan" means "for free/at no cost" and is an adverb.  The ending "-iin" is used for the genitive and accusative case only, but for the nominative case it's "-uun."

In my opinion, it could be "haa2ulaa2i 'l-3arabu hum majnuunuuna" (*هؤلاء العرب هم مجنونون*).


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## doman

*Vietnamese*

_Những người Việt này điên rồi !_
These Vietnamese are Crazy !


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## coconutpalm

J.F. de TROYES said:


> Thanks a lot, it's crystal-clear ; you're right to be aware of the presence of "these" and I think I'd have wrongly proposed 中国人疯(了); so I am very interested in your explanation. What does " si 3 diao4 " ? "mortally mad or mad to death" ?


 
You're welcome! 
Literally 死掉 si4 diao4 means "dead". As I noted at the beginning of this example, this is very colloquial. 死can be used to emphasize, as "dead" does in English, like 我都要乐死了！wo3 dou1 yao4 le4 si3 le! (happy), where 死can all be replaced by 疯feng1.
In 这些中国人真要疯死掉了, 死掉si4 diao4 is used to emphasize 疯feng1, and a more southern expression I'd say, because southerners LOVE to add interjections after a sentence.


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## daoxunchang

coconutpalm said:


> 这些中国人太疯（了）！zhe4 xie1 zhong1 guo2 ren2 tai4 feng1 (le)! Without 了，it's less reproachful.[/quote]
> 
> I'd say that, without 了, the tone is more decisive, detached and, maybe more haughty.


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## J.F. de TROYES

Whodunit said:


> Although I'm not sure about the correct expression, I must tell you that "hadha" and "al-3arab" do not fit together. Also, I don't understand why you used "majaaniin" here. The word "majjaan" means "for free/at no cost" and is an adverb.  The ending "-iin" is used for the genitive and accusative case only, but for the nominative case it's "-uun."
> 
> In my opinion, it could be "haa2ulaa2i 'l-3arabu hum majnuunuuna" (*هؤلاء    العرب هم*).


 
I'd like  to answer your questions:
1-There are collective nouns (  *اسم الجنس*   ) as " *قوم    ناس    أهل  عرب*"  that are considered either  singular or plural and  the agreement of the adjectives is uncertain. That's why I have used the singular form "  *هذا*  ".
I  confess I am not sure in this sentence and you may be right here.

2- Yes, the usual plural form gives *مجنونون*    and in Egyptian this form is "magnooneen"* (*with the dialectal ending -ين instead of - ون  ) but in my dictionary I 've come across  the form *مجانين*  as the plural of * مجنون *,so I've chosen it, even if it is actually surprising  . Maybe the participle has become an independant name ?


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## elroy

Whodunit is right about point #1; J. F. Troyes is right about point #2.

The correct sentence is *هؤلاء العرب مجانين* (_Haa'ulaa'u 'l-`arabu majaaniina_).

_(The هم is not necessary and in my opinion the sentence sounds better without it.)_ 

In Palestinian Arabic, the sentence would be مجانين هدول العرب (_majaniin hadool il-`arab_) or هدول العرب مجانين (_hadool il-`arab majaniin_).


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## cherine

J.F. de TROYES said:


> IN ARABIC:
> 
> " ! *هذا العرب هم مجانين* " hatha-l-3rab hum majanin !


Your suggestion is correct, J.F., except for the use of hadha, it should be haa2ulaa2 هؤلاء . And "hum" could be left out : هؤلاء العرب مجانين .



Whodunit said:


> Although I'm not sure about the correct expression, I must tell you that "hadha" and "al-3arab" do not fit together.


You're right.
We never use the singular pronouns with العرب  ; always هؤلاء and never هذا 
It's the plural of 3arabiy عربيّ .


> Also, I don't understand why you used "majaaniin" here. The word "majjaan" means "for free/at no cost" and is an adverb.  The ending "-iin" is used for the genitive and accusative case only, but for the nominative case it's "-uun."


Majaaniin is the plural of majnuun. It follows the pattern مفاعيل , like :
mi3aad --> mawaa3iid ميعاد - مواعيد appointment
mawluud --> mawaaliid مولود - مواليد  newborn
majnuun --> majaaniin مجنون - مجانين crazy
The "iin" ending in these words is an original part of the word and doesn't change with cases : مجانينُ - مجانينَ (they're mamnuu3 min aS-Sarf, so they don't take tanwiin).
On the other hand, majnuunuun is not a commonly used form. I don't say it's incorrect, but it is not commonly used.
And it's different from majjaani مجّاني that means free (not paid), in spelling and in pronounciation, and also the root (although I'm not sure about the root of majjaan)


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## suslik

*In Estonian:*

*Need eestlased on hullud!*


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