# Too weird to live and too rare to die



## ledgianluca

Hi, I'd need the Arabic translation of this sentence:
  'Too weird to live and too rare to die. '
 thank you very much!

salve a tutti , mi servirebbe la traduzione in arabo di questa frase :
 ' Troppo strano per vivere e troppo raro per morire. ' 
grazie molte !


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## إسكندراني

Who is it referring to?
Any further explanation of the expression?
غريب على أني أعيش ونادر على أني أموت


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## ledgianluca

إسكندراني said:


> Who is it referring to?
> Any further explanation of the expression?
> غريب على أني أعيش ونادر على أني أموت



refers to a third person singular: he was too weird to live and too rare to die
 thanks a lot!


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## إسكندراني

In that case:
كان غريباً على أنّه يعيش ونادراً على أنّه يموت


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## Pospana

Is it correct to translate these "too...to..." expressions with, e.g.
(yes, it is a stupid example)
"'kaanat 'ajmal min an tabqaa fii hadhihi l-qaryati", to say "she was too beautiful to stay in this village"?

A dictionary I used to have gave this formula, but I don't remember seeing it anywhere 

edit: spelling


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## إسكندراني

Yes, the formula is fine. 
كان أغرب من أن يعيش، وأندر من أن يموت


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## Abu Talha

How about كان غريبا للغاية حتى لا يعيش، نادرا للغاية حتى لا يموت.


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## cherine

Pospana said:


> Is it correct to translate these "too...to..." expressions with, e.g.
> (yes, it is a stupid example)
> "'kaanat 'ajmal min an tabqaa fii hadhihi l-qaryati", to say "she was too beautiful to stay in this village"?


That's what I was going to suggest. أغرب من أن يعيش وأندر من أن يموت but it still sounds a bit strange in Arabic. (not the structure, but the meaning/words).

Daee, your suggestion is not very correct, sorry. But it's usually difficult to translate the "too... to..." structure anyway.


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## إسكندراني

Maybe we should rephrase the sentence - which sounds odd in meaning but never mind. 'He didn't want to live due to his strangeness, nor to die due to his rarity'.
لم يرد العيش لغرابته، ولا الموت لندرته


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## Abu Talha

cherine said:


> Daee, your suggestion is not very correct, sorry. But it's usually difficult to translate the "too... to..." structure anyway.


Thanks very much for the feedback, Cherine. 


إسكندراني said:


> Maybe we should rephrase the sentence - which sounds odd in meaning but never mind. 'He didn't want to live due to his strangeness, nor to die due to his rarity'.
> لم يرد العيش لغرابته، ولا الموت لندرته


I could be wrong but I don't think this phrase is used with his wanting to live or die. Rather he was so weird that his existence could not be called "living", while he was so unusual that he would always be remembered and thus he would never die. Maybe "لا مجال لعيشه/موته" could be used?


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## إسكندراني

daee said:


> Thanks very much for the feedback, Cherine.
> 
> I could be wrong but I don't think this phrase is used with his wanting to live or die. Rather he was so weird that his existence could not be called "living", while he was so unusual that he would always be remembered and thus he would never die. Maybe "لا مجال لعيشه/موته" could be used?


لكونه غريباً لم يحيا ولكونه فريداً لم يمت


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## cherine

I agree with Daee. Another reason this wouldn't work is because of the possible confusion غرابته could refer to the person as well as to العيش .
As for the last suggestion, I don't like it too much either -sorry- because it omits the "too" connotation and I think it changes the meaning a bit, it becomes: he didn't live because he was stange, and he didn't die because he was unique.

I say let's not try too hard with this sentence.


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## Tracer

Too weird to live and too rare to die 

It should be noted that this sentence is hardly "normal" in English.  I've never heard it, never read it and never used it.....and I've never heard anyone else use it either.

It almost sounds like a "made-up" sentence, typical of what very young people often do......but it hardly conveys a coherent idea except, perhaps, in a very restricted context specific to a very restricted situation.

Therefore, seems to me, it's somewhat unfair to ask for an Arabic (or any other language) translation of a text that hardly makes sense in the original language.  A great deal more of the "context" would have to be provided to truly understand what the speaker is trying to get across.


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## ledgianluca

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film) There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered  mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and  too rare to die.


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## إسكندراني

ledgianluca said:


> *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film)*
> 
> There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered  mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and  too rare to die.


None of that makes any sense to me. Practically gibberish.


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## Tracer

ledgianluca said:


> *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film)*
> 
> There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.



Thanks for the additional context. Unfortunately, this is one of those rare examples where providing more context clouds the issue even more (because the other parts of the quote are even "weirder" than the phrase we are considering.)

The phrase "Too weird to live, and too rare to die" is obviously a "made-up" Hollywood attempt to sound odd, invented specifically for this film. It cannot be considered normal English by any stretch of the imagination. An Arabic rendition would have to be not a translation but instead would have to be some sort of comparable phrase that would get the idea across.

The phrase, by the way, does not appear in the original book by Hunter Thompson, a writer who inhabited the fringes of the "Beat" generation of writers. The phrase is a pure Hollywood invention. As such, my original criticism of it as an object for translation not only holds true but is expanded and enhanced.


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## ledgianluca

Ah ok, thank you all for everything!


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## المستعرب

Why call this phrase a 'made-up' Hollywood invention? It's merely a form of literary expression, admittedly one that might not appeal to all tastes, but still just that: a creative way to convey the idea that the person described is absolutely unique. Isn't all literary expression 'made up'? Aren't the Arabic words ابداع (ibda3 - creativity) and بدعة (bid3a - novelty or heresy) very closely related?

The 'prototype' is too weird to be accepted by society and to live (a normal life), while at the same time his weirdness makes him a very rare bird, someone whose death would be a loss to the world. I can relate to that. It makes (a lot of) sense to me.

I think the translation كان أغرب من أن يعيش، وأندر من أن يموت is perfect. Those who object to its perceived strangeness might want to read some Arabic works by Kahlil Gibran and Mikha'il Na'ima, who use this kind of language constantly (in form and content) and who are hailed all over the Arab world as great مبدعين, as literary icons and a source of pride.


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## AndyRoo

المستعرب said:


> Aren't the Arabic words ابداع (ibda3 - creativity) and بدعة (bid3a - novelty or heresy) very closely related?



Just to clarify this a little: بدعة when referring to Islam has negative connotations (because adding new things to Islam is considered heretical), but outside of this meaning, the word إبداع has positive connotations, just as the English word "creativity".


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## suma

Tracer said:


> Too weird to live and too rare to die
> 
> It should be noted that this sentence is hardly "normal" in English. I've never heard it, never read it and never used it.....and I've never heard anyone else use it either.
> 
> It almost sounds like a "made-up" sentence, typical of what very young people often do......but it hardly conveys a coherent idea except, perhaps, in a very restricted context specific to a very restricted situation.
> 
> Therefore, seems to me, it's somewhat unfair to ask for an Arabic (or any other language) translation of a text that hardly makes sense in the original language. A great deal more of the "context" would have to be provided to truly understand what the speaker is trying to get across.



I agree with Tracer, this sounds very much like a made up phrase that some young person coined in order to sound cute or philosophical, who probably wants it as a tatoo. Nevertheless it is intentionally vague and perplexing in meaning. 
I guess he wants to say that _"I am too weird (or special) to exist in this world, but at the same time my kind is so rare that I must remain."

_Doesn't every teen or 20-something think that of him/herself?


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## Gendy

ledgianluca said:


> *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (film)*
> 
> There he goes. One of God's own prototypes. Some kind of high powered  mutant never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and  too rare to die.



The weird thing (for me) is, the mutant lives/exists and it is rare for this mutant to die.

Similar to: The weird thing (for me) is, bacteria live and it is rare for bacteria to die.

So: "Too weird to live, and too rare to die." equal to " The weird thing, he lives and it is rare for him to die"

الغريب أنه يعيش ومن النادر أن يموت


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## إسكندراني

Gendy said:


> The weird thing (for me) is, the mutant lives/exists and it is rare for this mutant to die.
> 
> Similar to: The weird thing (for me) is, bacteria live and it is rare for bacteria to die.
> 
> So: "Too weird to live, and too rare to die." equal to " The weird thing, he lives and it is rare for him to die"
> 
> الغريب أنه يعيش ومن النادر أن يموت


You have misunderstood the structure of the sentence. It cannot be interpreted in this way.


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## Gendy

If I am speaking about the palm trees which are living in hot desert without enough water for hundred years, I can say: 
"The weird thing is, the palm trees live ,and it is rare for it to die."
Or, I can say it in short: "Too weird to live, and too rare to die"
الغريب أنها تعيش و من النادر أن تموت


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## إسكندراني

Gendy said:


> If I am speaking about the palm trees which are living in hot desert without water for hundred years, I can say:
> "The weird thing is, the palm trees live ,and it is rare for it to die."
> Or, I can say it in short: "Too weird to live, and too rare to die"
> الغريب أنها تعيش و من النادر أن تموت


The part in red is not true; you can't say that.


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## Gendy

إسكندراني said:


> The part in red is not true; you can't say that.


Really, Ok sir, I am very sorry.I will not say that again.
Thank you for your very clear explanation.


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