# život je jak ptáček



## Rodner

A Czech friend of mine sent me an email that contained the following sentence (which sounds like it might be a proverb or something...):

život je jak ptaček, kterého do klece nechytíš. Snaž se sebevíce, ale k ničemu to není....nic nezměníš snad jen ovlivníš (proto ho ber takový, jaký je...).

My best attempt to translate it (based on my basic Czech skills and liberal usage of slovnik.cz):

Life is like a little bird that you trap in a cage.  You/he may exert yourself/himself(?), but it is to no avail...you do not change anything, you only impress (?) (therefore he is as such (?), so it is...).

Please, can someone give me a better translation?


----------



## winpoj

My humble attempt:

Life is like a little bird that you can't trap in a cage. Try as hard as you can, it's to no avail ... you may influence something but hardly change anything (therefore take it as it is).

What a piece of wisdom, by the way!


----------



## Rodner

Thanks!  That makes much more sense now.


----------



## ldorrodli

Rodner said:


> život je jak ptáček, kterého do klece nechytíš. Snaž se sebevíce, ale k ničemu to není....nic nezměníš, snad jen ovlivníš (proto ho ber takový, jaký je...).


 
some pedantic correction


----------

