# Be good...



## ThomasK

What are the words you refer in your language to the quality (...) of people willing to obey others ? 

- (simply) _*good*_ in English - or _obedient_ [listening to]

- _*braaf*_ in Dutch, *brav *in German [originally referring to the quality of a brave, courageous soldier, who had the guts to be obedient to his chief and his country, so I learnt)] - or _gehoorzaam/ gehörsam_ 

- semi-universal: _*docile*_/... [willing to learn from a teacher ?]

- _*sage*_ in Frans, as in _sage comme une image_, where obedience and wisdom (_sagesse_) seem to be linked

- *fraai* in my Flemish dialect, though not common any longer [which means _beautiful_ in standard Dutch, but seems to have meant 'strong, upright, ...' etymologically]

The idea of obyeing as listening is less interesting to me than the other associations...


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## ThomasK

I found some myself (at woxikon.com), but : 
 - _recto_ in Spanish (straight, I guess)
 - _rättsinnig_ in Swedish (straight-sensed, might be linked to fair/ _rättfârtig_ ??)


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## mcibor

In Polish it's *posłuszny*, derived from słuchać - listen to


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## ThomasK

So no other variant that refers to other qualities than the listening (even some kind of evaluation, appreciation) in Polish ?


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## mcibor

Yes, be good, especially when spoken to children is translated as 

*bądź grzeczny*
meaning
bądź - be (imperative mood)
grzeczny - polite, good, corteous


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## ThomasK

Thanks, Mcibor ! But one small note: is politeness the same as obedience ? They have some traits in common, but...


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## mcibor

It's not, but when spoken to children, only be good (bądź grzeczny) is used, and when talked about a child it can be said, he's very obedient (jest bardzo posłuszny)

These two can almost be mixed in some cases.


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## ThomasK

I see, thanks !


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## ThomasK

I just noticed it would be "kalo paidi" in Greek: a "beautiful" (nice ???) kid - or has the meaning become much broader ?


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## Nizo

In Esperanto, _bona_ and _brava_ are options.


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## ThomasK

Esperanto offers no special 'perspectives' then. But thanks.


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## kusurija

In Czech:
Buď hodný./Buď poslušný.

In Lithuanian:
Būk geras {[vaikas]}.
(/Būk paklusnus./ Neišsišok)


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## ThomasK

Do those words have special meanings, Kusurija, or do they just refer to 'good', to 'obedient' or 'listening' ? (Thanks !)


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## kusurija

ThomasK said:


> Do those words have special meanings, Kusurija, or do they just refer to 'good', to 'obedient' or 'listening' ? (Thanks !)


 In Czech:
Buď tak hodný. = Be so kind vs 
Buď hodný. = Be good[obedient]
Maybe I didn't understand, what namely You asked?

Similar nuances in Lithuanian:

Būk geras [ir padaryk _kažką _= an do st. [for me]] vs
Būk geras! = Be good[obedient]


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## ThomasK

Well,my question was whether obedience was in some way linked with certain qualities like courage or wisdom (_sage_ in French and _braaf/ brav_ in Dutch/ German), be it etymologically or as some kind of homonymity, whatever... You see ?


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## greenfin1

its ferma-berdar in Urdu - English Obedient

What will you translate Character Education in Dutch.


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## ThomasK

_Karaktervorming_, _opvoeding_ (education) are words I think of. But they do not simply imply good boy/ girl training ! ;-)


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## ThomasK

Funny thing: being 'obedient' and being 'good' seem to have quite different connotations, whereas they seem to refer to the same attitude (listening, or respecting someone's wishes). *Obedience seems to refer to meekness, compliance, non-assertiveness. *
I am getting mixed up, I must admit, though I am aware of the fact that _being good/ sagesse_ is broader than obedience. That leads me to another question allowing us to dig deeper, I hope: 
 - what does being good refer to in your culture ? (No noise, obedience, helping, ... all together)
 - is obedience mostly considered negative ?


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## Encolpius

ThomasK said:


> What are the words you refer in your language to the quality (...) of people willing to obey others ?
> - _*braaf*_ in Dutch, *brav *in German [originally referring to the quality of a brave, courageous soldier, who had the guts to be obedient to his chief and his country, so I learnt)] - or _gehoorzaam/ gehörsam_ -



people? not usually children 
just because the German brav makes me think of ein braves Kind, sei brav! just like the Czech hodný, buď hodný chlapec!
but without a context it is hard to find out what you want. 

Hungarian jó [good], ein braves Kind = jó gyerek, sei brav! buď hodný! légy jó!
Italian buono [good] > State buoni se potete....


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## ThomasK

I meant what one says to children: 'Be good' --- Thanks !


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## AutumnOwl

ThomasK said:


> I found some myself (at woxikon.com), but :
> - _rättsinnig_ in Swedish (straight-sensed, might be linked to fair/ _rättfârtig_ ??)


I don't know where you have found that _rättsinnig_ would have anything to do with being good at obeying others. _Rättsinnig_ means being just or fair, you can say that king Salomo in the Bible was _"en rättsinnig man"_, his decisions were just, but he was not obedient, willing to obey others. 

Better choices:
_Lydig_ - obedient; _en lydig hund_ - an obedient dog
_bra på att lyda_ - good at being obedient; 
_bra på att följa uppmaningar_ - good at following orders
_hörsamma_ - obey, similar to the German _gehoorzaam/ gehörsam_


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## ThomasK

I am sorry, but I referred to woxikon.com, and hoped (thus tried ;-)) to elicit other answers. 

I wondered about the roots: _rätt, lyd-, manning_-... Is that something like straight or advice (_recht/ raad _in Dutch), lead, meaning? Thanks in advance.


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## AutumnOwl

ThomasK said:


> I wondered about the roots: _rätt, lyd-, manning_-... Is that something like straight or advice (_recht/ raad _in Dutch), lead, meaning? Thanks in advance.


_Rätt_ - right, correct; just; proper, depending whether it's a noun, adjective or adverb
_lyd-,  lyda_ - to obey, to abide, to comply
_(-maning,) mana (på)_ - to urge, to drive; *but* _uppmaning_ - summon, order, request; _utmaning_ - challenge, dare

Råd - advice, counsel
_Rät _- straight

(For a Swedish-English online dictionary, I think that bab.la is a good one.)


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## bibax

Czech:

The commonest adjective is *hodný* (hoden), it means worthy (hodnota = value, worth), like in "Never tell the truth to people who are not worthy of it (Mark Twain)".

Buď hodný [naší důvěry]! = Be worthy [of our confidence]!

However when telling it to children it means nearly the same like "Be obedient!" (Buď poslušný!).


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## apmoy70

In Greek:

Adj. *«υπάκουος, -η, -ο» [i'paku.os] (masc.), [i'paku.i] (fem.), [i'paku.o] (neut.)* < Classical adj. *«ὑπακουός, -ός, -όν» hŭpăkouós (masc. & fem.), hŭpăkouón (neut.)* --> _obedient_ < compound, prefix and preposition *«ὑπὸ» hupò* --> _under, below_ (PIE *upo-, _under_) + Classical fem. noun *«ἀκοὴ» ăkŏḕ* --> _hearing, sense of hearing_ (PIE *kew-/*skew-, _to notice, observe_).
The adj. *«υπάκουος» [i'paku.os]* --> _obedient_, is a cognate to the noun *«υπήκοος» [i'piko.os]* --> _person under the rule of a sovereign, subject_.
A person willing to obey orders is: 
1/ *«Φρόνιμος, -μη, -μο» ['fronimos] (masc.), ['fronimi] (fem.), ['fronimo] (neut.)* --> _well-behaved, prudent_ < Classical adj. *«φρόνιμος, -ος, -ον» pʰrónimŏs (masc. & fem.), pʰrónimŏn (neut.)* --> _prudent, sensible_ < compound, fem. noun *«φρήν» pʰrḗn* --> _mind, mental faculties_ (with obscure etymology) + productive suffix *«-ιμος» -imos*
2/ *«Εχέφρων, -ων, -ον» [eçefron] (masc. fem. & neut.)* --> _sensible, prudent_ < Classical adj. *«ἐχέφρων, -ων, -ον» ĕkʰépʰrōn (masc. & fem.), ĕkʰépʰrŏn (neut.)* --> _sensible, prudent_ < compound, v. *«ἔχω» ékʰō* --> _to have, possess_ (PIE *seǵʰ-, _to possess, hold fast_) + fem. noun *«φρήν» pʰrḗn* (see above)


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## 涼宮

In Japanese there are mainly 3 ways, two for children and one in general.

To Children:

大人しくしなさい _otona shiku shinasai_. It literally says do it obediently/docilely. (大人 means adult) 
いい子にしててね/いい子にしてなさい _ii ko ni shitete ne/ ii ko ni shitenasai_. Literally: (keep) doing it as a good kid. Both mean the same but the first one is more gentile and the second one is more direct, it uses the imperative form.

General:

優しくして _yasashiku shite_. Literally: Do it tenderly/kindly/gracefully/gently. 

In Spanish:

¡(Com)pórtate bien! (behave well!) is the commonest phrase here to children. I guess for the rest you'd say ''sé una buena persona''.


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## ThomasK

I suppose I see a link between Greek and Chinese: be wise, use your (adult) mind... ;-) And I suppose adults are the models, so...


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## arielipi

Hebrew generally doesnt see being obedient as a good thing, though to children we say:
תקשיב\תשמע (ל)מה שאומרים
takshiv/tishma (le)ma she'omrim - listen to what (adults) say (to you)

תתנהג יפה
titnaheg yaffe - behave.


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## mataripis

ThomasK said:


> What are the words you refer in your language to the quality (...) of people willing to obey others ?
> 
> - (simply) _*good*_ in English - or _obedient_
> [listening to]
> 
> - _*braaf*_ in Dutch, *brav *in German [originally referring to the quality of a brave, courageous soldier, who had the guts to be obedient to his chief and his country, so I learnt)] - or _gehoorzaam/ gehörsam_
> 
> - semi-universal: _*docile*_/... [willing to learn from a teacher ?]
> 
> - _*sage*_ in Frans, as in _sage comme une image_, where obedience and wisdom (_sagesse_) seem to be linked
> 
> - *fraai* in my Flemish dialect, though not common any longer [which means _beautiful_ in standard Dutch, but seems to have meant 'strong, upright, ...' etymologically]
> 
> The idea of obyeing as listening is less interesting to me than the other associations...


In Tagalog,  good is mabuti and  obedient is masunurin.   be good= maging mabuti   and be obedient= maging masunurin


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## ThomasK

But is 'good' simply the opposite of 'bad' or of 'evil' or of 'naughty'??? What is the root of 'masunurin'?


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## mataripis

ThomasK said:


> But is 'good' simply the opposite of 'bad' or of 'evil' or of 'naughty'??? What is the root of 'masunurin'?


the root word of "masunurin" is _Sunod meaning "follow" or 'obey".  _
the other meaning of this root word is "next".In both category of good and evil there is obedience in their specific rules.


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## eli7

In Persian(Farsi), it would be:
Bacheye khu:bi ba:sh. = بچه خوبی باش


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## ThomasK

Could you tell us more about the root of the word and the use?


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## eli7

The root of "khu:b = خوب" is "khu:b bu:dan" means "being good, acting good, having good behaviour.
bache= بچه means child.
ba:sh = باش means "Be". The root is "bu:dan".

بچه خوبی باش is used mostly when someone is talking to a child. It can have both a warning tone with the meaning of "behave! Otherwise you will be punished", or the maning of "you are a good child. So keep doing good."

Examples:
1- I told you 100 times that I will buy that bicycle for you next week, so stop asking about it. Ok? Be good (بچه خوبی باش
2- Mommy is going to go outside to see your grandmom. I asked Sarah to come and stay with you. You always listen to what I say to you and now I want you to listen to her ok? Be good. ( بچه خوبی باش


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