# Slovak: z cudzieho krv netečie



## monalisa!

Can anyone translate in English or explain the meaning of this idiom?
what is there to be understood?: "koža", or telo
Thanks


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## bibax

It translates: Somebody else's [body] does not bleed.

Mostly the meaning is that everyone usually tends to spend improvidently somebody else's money (e.g. of his parents, of his clients, of the State, etc.).

BTW, in Czech we have the same idiom: z cizího krev neteče.


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## Duya

For what it's worth, BCS version (which I happen to like) is "_Po tuđem dupetu sto batina ne boli (nije mnogo)_" -- "A hundred whips on somebody else's butt doesn't hurt (is not much)" 

I can't recall an equivalent English idiom.


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## monalisa!

thank you, I suppose there is none,
but I was wondering if it is correct to omit the noun "telo",
the original old proverb says "koza"


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## bibax

Yes, it is correct. An adjective in the neuter form without a noun denotes any thing. Like malum, bonum, etc. in Latin, or lo malo, lo bueno, lo ajeno in Spanish.


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## monalisa!

Thanks a lot!


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## monalisa!

Hi!
I wonder if we can adapt this idiom to translate another English proverb,
what do you understand by: "*z papiera krv netečie*" ?


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## morior_invictus

monalisa! said:


> what do you understand by: "*z papiera krv netečie*" ?


Hi monalisa!,
I`m afraid that it means absolutely nothing. You can`t use a proverb that has a strict meaning to express something that has probably nothing to do with it. What are you trying to say by "_z papiera krv netečie_?"

Apropos, "_z cudzieho [majetku] _'_krv_'_ netečie_" means only "_it`s easy (for someone) to spend other people`s money_."


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## Azori

morior_invictus said:


> Apropos, "_z cudzieho [majetku] _'_krv_'_ netečie_" means only "_it`s easy (for someone) to spend other people`s money_."


It doesn't neccesarily have to apply to money only.


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## monalisa!

morior_invictus said:


> Hi monalisa!,
> . What are you trying to say by "_z papiera krv netečie_?"."


I was adapting the English *"paper bleeds little*"
it means that_ its easy to cynically write about other people's sufferings,_ the same as  _it's easy to cynically waste other people's money_
If Azori is right, it conveys exacly the same idea !!


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## morior_invictus

Azori said:


> It doesn't neccesarily have to apply to money only.


Literally it means "_škoda iného nás nemrzí_" and theoretically, we might comprehend "škoda" as not only the one relating to money, but I have to admit that I have never seen this proverb used in any other meaning than the one referring to a "_mamona_." This implausible online dictionary agrees with me :


> *z cudzieho krv netečie*: _cudzí majetok ľudia obyčajne nešetria_;


Source: slovník.sk
...but OK. I agree with you as I have no plausible source that would support my argument.


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## morior_invictus

monalisa! said:


> I was adapting the English *"paper bleeds little*"
> it means that_ its easy to cynically write about other people's sufferings,_ the same as  _it's easy to cynically waste other people's money_
> If Azori is right, it conveys exacly the same idea !!


Oh, I see what you are trying to express, but "a paper" itself doesn`t tell us that it should bear the meaning of a mean of an expression of other people`s painful instances, while "z cudzieho..." tells us that it relates to somehing that belongs to other people. 
Moreover, "z cudzieho krv netečie" is a set proverb known by people while "z papiera krv netečie" would be understandable only to you. Do you understand what I`m trying to tell you?

Since "*paper bleeds little*" means "_It is easy to do something in writing, without taking account of the human factors involved_," it may be translated to "_ľahšie sa o tom píše ako hovorí priamo do očí_" / "_je ľahšie o tom písať, ako to povedať priamo do očí_" / "_ľahko sa nám píše, keď priamo nevidíme bolesť, ktorú tým spôsobujeme,_" but I would have to see a Slovak translation of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" to make a final statement.


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## Azori

morior_invictus said:


> Literally it means "_škoda iného nás nemrzí_" and theoretically, we might comprehend "škoda" as not only the one relating to money, but I have to admit that I have never seen this proverb used in any other meaning than the one referring to a "_mamona_." This implausible online dictionary agrees with me :
> 
> *z cudzieho krv netečie*: cudzí majetok ľudia obyčajne nešetria;
> 
> Source: slovník.sk


How does that dictionary agree with you?  I said "money" (peniaze in Slovak) in my post, not "property" (majetok). But if you consider money and property to be the same thing, then OK.


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## morior_invictus

Azori said:


> How does that dictionary agree with you?  I said "money" (peniaze in Slovak) in my post, not "property" (majetok). But if you consider money and property to be the same thing, then OK.


Yes, I know...
...but "money" means not only "peniaze" in Slovak, but also "majetok." Try to understand "majetok" as "zhmotnenie peňazí / výsledok minulých udalostí oceniteľný v peniazoch." Dobre, priznávam, teraz už nerozprávam ako človek.  No, ...možno ani predtým nie.  Just for illustration, here is some definition of money:


> *3. * Assets and property considered in terms of monetary value; wealth.


Source: thefreedictionary.com : money


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## Azori

morior_invictus said:


> ...but "money" means not only "peniaze" in Slovak, but also "majetok."


Interesting, I didn't know that.


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## DenisBiH

Duya said:


> For what it's worth, BCS version (which I happen to like) is "_Po tuđem dupetu sto batina ne boli (nije mnogo)_" -- "A hundred whips on somebody else's butt doesn't hurt (is not much)"
> 
> I can't recall an equivalent English idiom.



I didn't know that one, but the one I know goes _Lako je tuđim kurcem gloginje mlatiti_. An attempted English translation, for which I can't vouch, is "It's easy to thrash hawthorns with another man's dick".


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## Azori

morior_invictus said:


> Since "*paper bleeds little*" means "_It is easy to do something in writing, without taking account of the human factors involved_," it may be translated to "_ľahšie sa o tom píše ako hovorí priamo do očí_" / "_je ľahšie o tom písať, ako to povedať priamo do očí_" / "_ľahko sa nám píše, keď priamo nevidíme bolesť, ktorú tým spôsobujeme,_" but I would have to see a Slovak translation of "For Whom the Bell Tolls" to make a final statement.


This just came to my mind:

"papier znesie veľa" (lit. paper withstands a lot)

Probably not the same as "paper bleeds little" but the meaning is similar, I think. Slovak dictionaries have "papier znesie všetko" (lit. paper withstands everything):





> _papier z-ie všetko_ napísať sa dá všeličo;





> _Papier znesie všetko._ (Mňač.)


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## morior_invictus

Azori said:


> This just came to my mind:
> 
> "papier znesie veľa" (lit. paper withstands a lot)
> 
> Probably not the same as "paper bleeds little" but the meaning is similar, I think. Slovak dictionaries have "papier znesie všetko" (lit. paper withstands everything):



Wow! I`m charmed.  
Even though I would say that "_papier znesie všetko_" is a translation of Cicero`s _"Epistula non erubescit" (i.e. "paper doesn`t blush"_ - you can write lies, wild claims etc. on a paper and paper never protests  ...but the forest probably will ), it is close to the meaning of "_paper bleeds little_." I`d say that "_paper bleeds little_" is more about a written criticism of others or writing things that may hurt others in fact and "_paper doesn`t blush_" is more about a lies in a contracts etc.
But perfect!  Maybe in a novel "_Komu zvonia do hrobu,_" the "_paper bleeds little_" was translated to "_papier znesie všetko_," but I don`t have it to ensure myself.


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## Azori

morior_invictus said:


> Maybe in a novel "_Komu zvonia do hrobu,_" the "_paper bleeds little_" was translated to "_papier znesie všetko_," but I don`t have it to ensure myself.


Here: http://korpus.sk:8098/manatee.ks/do_query?query=paper+bleeds+little&in_corpus=1 in the novel "Komu zvonia do hrobu" it is translated as "Z papiera krv netečie."


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## morior_invictus

Azori said:


> Here: http://korpus.sk:8098/manatee.ks/do_query?query=paper+bleeds+little&in_corpus=1 in the novel "Komu zvonia do hrobu" it is translated as "Z papiera krv netečie."


I think I`m starting to hate that korpus. 
At least its part containing parallel ENG-SVK translations – so-called "_Paralelný slovensko-anglický korpus_," that apparently works against me.
Do you know what it means, Azori? That I should retract my words from the post #12 and prove monalisa! right that "_z papiera krv netečie_" is a perfect and well-known idiom. Erm, I would do that if there were at least two more sources containing that phrase.


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## Azori

morior_invictus said:


> I think I`m starting to hate that korpus.
> At least its part containing parallel ENG-SVK translations – so-called "_Paralelný slovensko-anglický korpus_," that apparently works against me.
> Do you know what it means, Azori? That I should retract my words from the post #12 and prove monalisa! right that "_z papiera krv netečie_" is a perfect and well-known idiom. Erm, I would do that if there were at least two more sources containing that phrase.


A search on Google returns three results for it in total, one of which is this thread and the other two are websites that have something to do with the novel "Komu zvonia do hrobu". Given that there's also "zo štátneho krv netečie", I'd say the translator of the novel just simply made up the phrase.


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## morior_invictus

Azori said:


> A search on Google returns three results for it in total, one of which is this thread and the other two are websites that have something to do with the novel "Komu zvonia do hrobu".


Oh, my mind is now enjoying its most perfect composure. And I also don`t have to renounce eating and drinking and lead a life of austere self-discipline in Tibet.  As a matter of fact, that self-discipline might come in handy. 


Azori said:


> Given that  there's also "zo štátneho krv netečie", I'd say the translator of the  novel just simply made up the phrase.


Agreed.  The same goes for "_zo štátneho [majetku] krv netečie_" which is an obvious alteration of "_z cudzieho [majetku] krv netečie_."


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## monalisa!

morior_invictus said:


> Wow! I`m charmed.
> Even though I would say that "_papier znesie všetko_" is a translation of Cicero`s _"Epistula non erubescit" (i.e. "paper doesn`t blush"_ - you can write lies, wild claims etc. on a paper and paper never protests  ...but the forest probably will ), it is close to the meaning of "_paper bleeds little_." I`d say that "_paper bleeds little_" is more about a written criticism of others or writing things that may hurt others in fact and "_paper doesn`t blush_" is more about a lies in a contracts etc.
> But perfect!  Maybe in a novel "_Komu zvonia do hrobu,_" the "_paper bleeds little_" was translated to "_papier znesie všetko_," but I don`t have it to ensure myself.


that's great, Azory, thanks a lot!


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