# אני לבד ורע לי



## huadini

this is a part of lyrics of the israeli song 'ani lo yodea eich lomar lach' by Ran Danker.

i loved this song so much, so i've learned some hebrew and now i'm trying to translate it into english(or my language).

but i'm stuck here.. 'אני לבד ורע לי'.[ani levad ve'ra li]
i know the meaning of the words, but i can't connect them into one sentence.

in the dictionary, 'levad' means 'alone(adverb)', 'only' and etc...
and 'li' means 'for me', 'to me', or 'mine'.

so in literal translation, it is 'I alone and evil to me'.. 
it doesn't make sense to me. did I misunderstand something?

how can i translate 'אני לבד ורע לי' into correct english?


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## origumi

"I'm alone and bad to me" = I'm alone and feel bad.


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## huadini

origumi // i finally finished my translation. thanks!


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## Ilya Kogan

huadini said:


> this is a part of lyrics of the israeli song 'ani lo yodea eich lomar lach' by Ran Danker.
> 
> i loved this song so much, so i've learned some hebrew and now i'm trying to translate it into english(or my language).
> 
> but i'm stuck here.. 'אני לבד ורע לי'.[ani levad ve'ra li]
> i know the meaning of the words, but i can't connect them into one sentence.
> 
> in the dictionary, 'levad' means 'alone(adverb)', 'only' and etc...
> and 'li' means 'for me', 'to me', or 'mine'.
> 
> so in literal translation, it is 'I alone and evil to me'..
> it doesn't make sense to me. did I misunderstand something?
> 
> how can i translate 'אני לבד ורע לי' into correct english?



Just to give proper credit: Ran Danker covered this song, but the song was written and first performed by the great Shalom Hanoch back in the 70s, as part of the Tamuz band. Look for "תמוז - אנ'לא יודע איך לומר לך" in YouTube.


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## Vendula

Hi, I also love this song very much. That is why I have tried to translate it with a help of my teacher of Hebrew from Hebrew into English. I know it performed by Shalom Hanoch. I do not know who is the original author.
Here is my translation: 

I don’t know how to tell you 

I don’t know how to tell you  
Words don’t say anything
I am just a young man who sings to you
Songs don’t say anything

I don’t know what this is eternity
Words don’t say anything
I am just one
Who definitely doesn’t know anything

Maybe there is no way tonight
There is just a wound and pain
I don’t know how to tell you
How much I love you

I don’t know what happened to me
Words don’t say anything
And I am alone and I am feeling bad
And you are saying nothing

I am sitting here
Waiting for you 
Waiting for you and writing you
Because I don’t know how to tell you
How much I love you

Best wishes 
Vendula




huadini said:


> this is a part of lyrics of the israeli song 'ani lo yodea eich lomar lach' by Ran Danker.
> 
> i loved this song so much, so i've learned some hebrew and now i'm trying to translate it into english(or my language).
> 
> but i'm stuck here.. 'אני לבד ורע לי'.[ani levad ve'ra li]
> i know the meaning of the words, but i can't connect them into one sentence.
> 
> in the dictionary, 'levad' means 'alone(adverb)', 'only' and etc...
> and 'li' means 'for me', 'to me', or 'mine'.
> 
> so in literal translation, it is 'I alone and evil to me'..
> it doesn't make sense to me. did I misunderstand something?
> 
> how can i translate 'אני לבד ורע לי' into correct english?


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## Albert Schlef

It's interesting to compare this song with Bialik's היא יושבה לחלון. Of course, the songs are different, but there are at least 3 or 4 ideas common to the two.


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## arbelyoni

> "I'm alone and bad to me" = I'm alone and feel bad.



In colloquial speech, the structure of adjective/adverb plus preposition ל (to) signifies a state (physical or mental):
חם לי - I'm hot (I feel hot)
קשה לו - it's hard for him
כואב לה - she's hurt (she feels pain)
כיף לנו - we're having fun

This is a very common structure in Modern Hebrew, inherited from Yiddish.


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## origumi

arbelyoni said:


> In colloquial speech, the structure of adjective/adverb plus preposition ל (to) signifies a state (physical or mental)
> ...
> This is a very common structure in Modern Hebrew, inherited from Yiddish.


It's a Biblical construct: ועשה משפט וצדקה אז *טוב לו* (Jeremiah), כי *טוב לו* עמך (Deuteronomy).


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## arbelyoni

> It's a Biblical construct: ועשה משפט וצדקה אז *טוב לו* (Jeremiah), כי *טוב לו* עמך (Deuteronomy).



Thanks for the correction, I take it back


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