# takot na takot



## tagalogstudent

"Distraught," in the English language, means that you were distracted from something that you should have been focused on, but the _reason_ you were distracted is because you were sad or upset about something.

"Distraught" translates into Tagalog as "takot na takot."

"Takot" means "fear."  Ok, that's simple enough.

However, "na," as a conjunction, means either "that" or "lest."  I am assuming that it means "lest" in this context.

So, "distraught" means "fear lest fear."  That, basically means, "I'm scared, but without actually being scared."

That doesn't make sense.  That's basically saying "one minus one."  You're right back where you started.

Can someone quell my confusion?


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## DotterKat

First of all, I wouldn't translate *distraught* as "takot na takot", but rather as *balisa, tuliro *or _*naguguluhan ang isipan/isipang naguguluhan.

*_Setting that aside for the moment, however, you are referring to the use of _*na *_as a linker in a construction of adjective intensification.

Adjectives in Tagalog can be intensified in many ways.  One way is by adding an adjective intensifier before or after the adjective to be intensified, with a linker (na or ng) between the two, as in:

_Masyadong takot_ si Pedro sa mga aso.  _(Pedro is very/extremely fearful of dogs.)

_In the sentence above, *masyado* is an adjective intensifier, *-ng* is a linker and *takot* is the adjective being intensified.

Another way to intensify Tagalog adjectives is by repetition, with the na linker in between.  This is the use of *na* to which you refer.

_Takot na takot_ si Pedro sa mga aso. (Pedro is very/extremely fearful of dogs.)

In the sentence above, takot is an adjective intensified by repetition, with the linker _*na *_in between.

Note that there are many, many (note the intensification by repetition!) ways of Tagalog adjective intensification.


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## tagalogstudent

DotterKat said:


> First of all, I wouldn't translate *distraught* as "takot na takot", but rather as *balisa, tuliro *or _*naguguluhan ang isipan/isipang naguguluhan.*_


That's what translate.google.com gave me, so I went with that.


> Setting that aside for the moment, however, you are referring to the use of _*na *_as a linker in a construction of adjective intensification.


Huh?



> In the sentence above, *masyado* is an adjective intensifier, *-ng* is a linker and *takot* is the adjective being intensified.


So, would "masyado" roughly translate as "extremely?"

And, unlike in English, Tagalog requires these "linking" words in order to make sense?



> Another way to intensify Tagalog adjectives is by repetition, with the na linker in between.  This is the use of *na* to which you refer.
> 
> _Takot na takot_ si Pedro sa mga aso. (Pedro is very/extremely fearful of dogs.)


Could I _stack_ intensifiers?

E.g. could I say "Takot na takot na takot na takot na takot na takot na takot si Pedro sa mga aso," and it would make just as much sense in Tagalog as its translation would in English?

E.g. "I've told you over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again!"


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## DotterKat

tagalogstudent said:


> Could I _stack_ intensifiers?
> 
> E.g. could I say "Takot na takot na takot na takot na takot na takot na takot si Pedro sa mga aso," and it would make just as much sense in Tagalog as its translation would in English?
> 
> E.g. "I've told you over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again!"



That would be permissible in figurative writing, as in the fleshing out of a character who is impertinent or sophomoric or wearisome.


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