# Serbian (BCS): No regrets



## JustAnotherWolf

Hey there, I'm working on my next tattoo idea. At the moment I want it to be a phrase in serbian, I am 50% but unfortunately I have no family left that speaks it. Now I know that there are plenty of translation websites out there but with those I'm only able to translate each individual word and I realize that putting multiple words together can change the overall meaning or spelling. So I'm hoping someone can translate my desired phrase into the correct serbian word/spelling for me. Right now I'm pretty set on no regrets. If someone can help me out I'd greatly appreciate it.

Oh and there's no need for any tattoo critics to be throwing in there 2 cents about whether they think it's a dumb idea or not, if I was worried about what people thought of me I wouldn't be getting tattoo's in the first place, ha ha


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## Bojan

"No regrets" would translate to "bez žaljenja" or "nema žaljenja" in Serbian.


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## Majalj

Nema kajanja.


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## Bojan

That is the problem, as far as I know, regret can be translated in two ways. If he wants the meaning of "remorse", then it would be "žaljenje".


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## Duya

JustAnotherWolf said:


> Oh and there's no need for any tattoo critics to be throwing in there 2 cents about whether they think it's a dumb idea or not, if I was worried about what people thought of me I wouldn't be getting tattoo's in the first place, ha ha



However, do be aware what can happen if you decide to make a permanent skin inscription in a foreign language:

http://www.tattooique.com/info/prank-tattoo-lettering-the-artists-riot/


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## Majalj

Duya said:


> However, do be aware what can happen if you decide to make a permanent skin inscription in a foreign language:
> 
> http://www.tattooique.com/info/prank-tattoo-lettering-the-artists-riot/


I'd also rather have a Winnie the Pooh... 

When translated (either as "kajanja" or "žaljenja") "No regrets" does not have the same strength as in English... I'd choose another phrase.

If you still decide to go for it, I'd opt for "nema kajanja" as it can be seen as a part of "posle je.anja nema kajanja" idiom.


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## Duya

Yes, "nema kajanja" sounds better/stronger to me, too.

НЕМА КАЈАЊА, if you prefer Cyrillic (though it contains only one letter -- Њ -- whose shape is not already in Latin alphabet).


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## JustAnotherWolf

Yeah I was afraid there might be different versions or differences in strength, but thanks again for the help at least now I've got the two versions nema žaljenja and nema kajanja to do some research on and figure out which would be the best choice.


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## Athaulf

JustAnotherWolf said:


> Yeah I was afraid there might be different versions or differences in strength, but thanks again for the help at least now I've got the two versions nema žaljenja and nema kajanja to do some research on and figure out which would be the best choice.



However, before you proceed, be aware of the following facts.

If the tattoo artist isn't familiar with Cyrillic, the letters might end up looking very lousy, even if they're technically correct. Note especially that letters that are more or less the same in the Latin and Cyrillic alphabet often look subtly different in well-designed Cyrillic fonts, so just substituting the similar-looking Latin letter can look ugly and sloppy. 

Furthermore, you must be aware that many Slavic phrases will sound odd or ridiculous to speakers of different Slavic languages. For example, _nema kajanja_ will likely sound to Slovenians like _nema kajenja_ ("no smoking," if I'm not mistaken). Unless you speak all Slavic languages, you'll never be sure if someone will be laughing behind your back.


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## Athaulf

Duya said:


> However, do be aware what can happen if you decide to make a permanent skin inscription in a foreign language:
> 
> http://www.tattooique.com/info/prank-tattoo-lettering-the-artists-riot/



That story is a hoax. (And a pretty apparent one -- do you really believe that someone like that would dare to mess with prison gangs? He'd be dead in a second.) For some authentic examples, however, see http://www.hanzismatter.com/. (My favorite is this one.)


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## sokol

Athaulf said:


> For example, _nema kajanja_ will likely sound to Slovenians like _nema kajenja_ ("no smoking," if I'm not mistaken). Unless you speak all Slavic languages, you'll never be sure if someone will be laughing behind your back.


Exactly!
(Or - not quite exactly: "nima kajenje" would be Slovenian wording and would be quite awquard as it means rather "there is no smoking" - I think that in Slovene it'd be rather "Ne kadite!" idiomatically, not sure though but that's not the point anyway.)

You could be laughing stock in other Slavic nations; I think that in Slovenia most still would recognise that "nema kajenja" should be BCS (and read it correctly), but that doesn't mean that one can recommand to burn this phrase into your skin forever.


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## JustAnotherWolf

_Furthermore, you must be aware that many Slavic phrases will sound odd or ridiculous to speakers of different Slavic languages. For example, nema kajanja will likely sound to Slovenians like nema kajenja ("no smoking," if I'm not mistaken). Unless you speak all Slavic languages, you'll never be sure if someone will be laughing behind your back._

That's good to know too, how about nema žaljenja does that have any different meanings in other slavic languages?


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## Majalj

It just does not have the same strength, even the meaning as "no regrets".  I would never have it written on my high-school notebook, let alone skin.  Try to find a phrase with the meaning you like that is already in Serbian - translating them this way is ridiculous.


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## Athaulf

Majalj said:


> It just does not have the same strength, even the meaning as "no regrets".  I would never have it written on my high-school notebook, let alone skin.  Try to find a phrase with the meaning you like that is already in Serbian - translating them this way is ridiculous.



Yes, I heartily agree with this. Trying to find a fully accurate translation in a foreign language for any emotionally laden phrase is a futile task. Whatever you end up with, it's overwhelmingly likely that it won't convey the exact same message.

Also, as a general rule, it's extremely stupid to get a tattoo in any language in which you're not: (1) a native speaker or at least with 5+ years of fully fluent everyday practice, _and_ (2) active in everyday practice and current on the popular culture trends. Anything else, and there's a high probability that people won't see the same message in it as you intended, possibly with very embarrassing results.


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