# Kolik třešní tolik višní.



## kusurija

ヒ、皆さん!
There is a very dificult sentence to translate: it is classic sentence from a Czech film: "Hoď ho do stroje, Jáchyme!" (Throw him to a macine, Jack!) as a joke to get one translator out of the way, giving him translate sentence "Kolik třešní tolik višní." to Japanese. The sentence is dificult to translate to English either  ! How many (sweet) cherries - the same amount of sour cherries/morellos (cf. both means _and _friuts _and/or_ trees). To translate to Lithuanian is much more simple: Kiek trešnių, tiek vyšnių...
翻訳のでどうもありがとうご座居ました。


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## Anatoli

Does this expression have the same meaning as "What goes around, comes around"?

Also, IMHO:
翻訳のでどうもありがとうご座居ました。 -> 翻訳はどうもありがとうご座います。

I corrected your Japanese (native speakers, correct me!)
Use the present tense, the event hasn't happened yet.

In ご座います "い" is  the modified  ending (irregular) (gozaru -> gozai-masu), not a separate verb..


What is ヒ?


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## kusurija

Anatoli said:


> Does this expression have the same meaning as "What goes around, comes around"?
> 
> Also, IMHO:
> 翻訳のでどうもありがとうご座居ました。 -> 翻訳はどうもありがとうご座います。
> 
> I corrected your Japanese (native speakers, correct me!)
> Use the present tense, the event hasn't happened yet.
> 
> In ご座います "い" is the modified ending (irregular) (gozaru -> gozai-masu), not a separate verb..
> 
> 
> What is ヒ?


Dear Anatolij, thank You for corrections!
I wrote in some hurry, so I used suggestions of dictionary, which showed itself to be incorrect and I neglected it by mistake. I'm afraid, it will not be nor first, nor last case with me, so I beg Your pardon. ヒ is transcription of English "Hi!" (=~Hallo).
About "What goes around, comes around" I thing, it's slightly different.
And more: I'm afraid, that simply "třešně" = "cherry" translate to 桜[sakura] doesn't work, because that means firstly cherry as cherry blossoms and farely after it as fruits or tree.
Correct me, if my thinkings are uncorrect! Thanx...


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## Flaminius

Hello,
Cherry as fruits is サクランボ.  I am having difficulty translating your phrase because Japanese does not have a suitable word for sour cherries.  A literal translation would render "sour cherries" a subcategory of cherries (which I think is not intended in the original) and I don't think モレロ (morello) is well-understood either.


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## Anatoli

Kusurija, English words, if they are used in Japanese are normally transliterated phonetically, so Hi would be ハイ, not ヒ but not used in this meaning.


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## kusurija

Flaminius said:


> Hello,
> ...
> I am having difficulty translating your phrase because Japanese does not have a suitable word for sour cherries. A literal translation would render "sour cherries" a subcategory of cherries (which I think is not intended in the original) and I don't think モレロ (morello) is well-understood either.


Yes! That was the very point of the joke!





> ..as a joke to *get* one translator/interpreter *out of the way*, giving him translate sentence "Kolik třešní tolik višní." to Japanese.


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## Flaminius

A translator is on the way, finally.

*Kusurija*, does your rule book allow replacing cherries with peaches?

モモと同じ数だけのスモモ


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## kusurija

It seems, that the sentence is so far difficult to translate, that even through 3 years + more *no one* were able to translate it. So, it is more than perfect example of absolutely non-translatable sentence!!


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## almostfreebird

I tried Google Translate with "Kolik třešní tolik višní."

"Kolik třešní" means "How many cherries"

and

"tolik višní" means "many cherries"


There must be some witty play on words there which I can't find out.


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## kusurija

No, there is like answer to questions: How many cherries? and how many morellos? and what would be the proportion between them? Answer: as to proportion, the ammounts (number) should be equal, the same ammount of cherries and (as) the same ammount of morellos.


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