# już nie żyje



## wolfbm1

Witam.
Mówie o osobach na zdjęciu:

To jest mój brat. On już nie żyje.
Jak to wyrażić po angielsku?

1 This is my brother. He doesn't live any more.
2 This is my brother. He's already dead.
3 This is my brother. He has already passed away.
4 1 This is my brother. He's not with us any longer.

Myśle, że zdania 2-4 można powiedzieć ale zdanie pierwsze nie bardzo. Może zamiast he doesn't live należałoby powiedzieć he's not alive any more. Mam rację?


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## NotNow

_He's no longer alive _is probably the best way to say it.  _He died _sounds better than _He's already dead_.  Perhaps _He's already dead _can be used immediately after his death 
in a clinical setting, for example, but it sounds rather insensitive.  The third and fourth sentences are commonly heard, but some people think they are slightly silly because they are euphemisms.


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## wolfbm1

Thank you, NotNow, for your interesting comment.


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## LilianaB

He passed away (some time ago). I find this one the most natural.


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## Ben Jamin

Sentence nr 3 is also quite insensitive. English "already" functions actually in a different way than Polish "już". It suggests somehow that the event that already happened was waited for.


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## wolfbm1

LilianaB said:


> He passed away (some time ago). I find this one the most natural.


Thank you, Liliana. I could say that with a sad expression an my face.


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## wolfbm1

Ben Jamin said:


> Sentence nr 3 is also quite insensitive. English "already" functions actually in a different way than Polish "już". It suggests somehow that the event that already happened was waited for.


Thank you, Ben Jamin, for pointing this out. No, I didn't mean nareszcie.


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## LilianaB

wolfbm1 said:


> Thank you, Liliana. I could say that with a sad expression an my face.


Well, I personally don't find anything funny in this expression. It is commonly used.


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## radosna

I think Liliana's suggestion of "He passed away some time ago" and NotNow's suggestions, "He's no longer alive" are your best options. I might also add, "He's no longer living" which is probably closest to your original Polish sentence but not as colloquial in English.

I, personally find the expression "he died" rather abrupt in the context of explaining who's who in photos.  It would also be more like "On już zmarł." I don't know... Would you say that in Polish in describing who people are in the photos (presuming your listener is seeing this for the first time)?  To me, it's a bit terser.


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## Roy776

I think "He passed away some time ago" and "He's not with us anymore" are the best choices here. I could imagine myself saying "Unfortunately, my aunt is no longer with us. She died when I was a teenager." And that's also when you might be able to say "He/She died". You have to add some more context to it, like when or how they died, otherwise it just sounds insensitive.


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## wolfbm1

LilianaB said:


> Well, I personally don't find anything funny in this expression. It is commonly used.


No, I didn't mean anything funny. I just meant that a sad expression on my face would say how I feel about the fact. And I wanted to translate the word juz to say that it had happened too early.


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## wolfbm1

Thank you, all, for your interesting comments.


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## dreamlike

Let me chime in. You've asked for the translation of "Już nie żyje" which in itself is not a very sensitive and considerate way of saying it. 
"He's no longer with us" translates into Polish as "Nie ma go już z nami".
"He has passed away" translates as "On odszedł".

So, if we were to adhere strictly to the original sentence, neither of the sentences would work. I do agree, though, that these are the best options.


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## Ben Jamin

dreamlike said:


> Let me chime in. You've asked for the translation of "Już nie żyje" which in itself is not a very sensitive and considerate way of saying it.



I don't agree with this opinion. In my ears "On już nie żyje" doesn't sound insensitive. It's a straightforward constatation of a fact, with a dash of sorrow, where "Już" means about the same as "not any more". 
"Nie ma go już z nami" sounds formal and official, good for a speech, not for an ordinary conversation.


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## dreamlike

My point was that translating "Już nie żyje" into English as "He's no longer with us" is simply deviating from the original sentence, whatever the motives we're driven by. 

This might be merely stating the facts, but it could well be abrupt and abbrasive, if said in an improper fashion.


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## LilianaB

dreamlike said:


> Let me chime in. You've asked for the translation of "Już nie żyje" which in itself is not a very sensitive and considerate way of saying it.
> "He's no longer with us" translates into Polish as "Nie ma go już z nami".
> "He has passed away" translates as "On odszedł".
> 
> So, if we were to adhere strictly to the original sentence, neither of the sentences would work. I do agree, though, that these are the best options.



No, Dreamlike. It does not translate like that, only if you did a word for word translation, which is not really the way things are translated. _He passed away_, means: _Zmarł_. And I agree with Ben Jamin with some of the things he said.  

"Nie ma go juz z nami" sounds slightly awkward, or at least unusual, or overly formal in Polish, but its English equivalent sounds natural. The Polish phrase might just be good for a eulogy, I think.


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## dreamlike

I'm afraid I can't agree with you on this, Liliana. "He passed away" is a euphemism for "He died" and "On już nie żyje" is not euphemistic.


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## LilianaB

Whatever you call it -- it is the expression commonly used to say that somebody _died_ --just like in Polish -- _zmarł_. Anyhow, I think I said all I wanted to say about this subject.


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## dreamlike

Yes, there's no denying that it's common. But it's euphemistic at the same time, those two qualities are not mutually exclusive. Let's see what Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary makes of that:



> . People say ‘pass away’ to avoid saying ‘die’_His mother passed away last year_source



But let's give it a rest.. how does it matter anyway...


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## wolfbm1

dreamlike said:


> Let me chime in. You've asked for the translation of "Już nie żyje" which in itself is not a very sensitive and considerate way of saying it.


Hello dreamlike. What would you say in Polish in a similar situation?


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## dreamlike

wolfbm1 said:


> Hello dreamlike. What would you say in Polish in a similar situation?


Hello. I could include "niestety" to make it sound more considerate.


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## wolfbm1

dreamlike said:


> Hello. I could include "niestety" to make it sound more considerate.


Yeah. That's a good option. 
Actually I said only: This is my brother. When asked how old he was I answered that he wasn't alive anymore.


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## dreamlike

Oh, I see.


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