# It's not easy to be me



## Josh_

Sometimes the simplest sentences in English baffle me when trying to render them in Arabic.  So how would one express the idea of "it's not easy to be me" in Arabic?  Maybe I'm just over-thinking it, but I can't seem to think of a suitable equivalent in Arabic.


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## elroy

My suggestion: ليس من السهل أن أكون من أنا


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## Josh_

Yeah, that was my original thought, but it just didn't sound right for some reason.  Again, maybe I'm over thinking it.


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## Abu Bishr

Hi All

Is "it's not easy to be me" the same as "it's not easy to be myself"? If it is I'd say: ليس من السهولة أن أكون نفسي or  لا يسهُل علي أن أكون نفسي , like you would say for "Be you" or "Be yourself" كن نفسك .


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## elroy

Abu Bishr said:


> Is "it's not easy to be me" the same as "it's not easy to be myself"?


 It is not.  

It is not easy to be me. - My life is not easy.
It is not easy to be myself. - It is not easy for me to act natural.


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## coptiyah

مش سهل أكون أنا

 you could switch the mish for laysa min alsahl an Akoun ana if you want to say it in fus7a

after thinking it over you could also say:

مش سهل اني أكون أنا
  mish sahl inni akoun ana

actually I would personally use the latter

but I would use the fus7a as I wrote it:
ليس من السهل أن أكون أنا


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## Abu Bishr

coptiyah said:


> actually I would personally use the latter
> 
> but I would use the fus7a as I wrote it:
> ليس من السهل أن أكون أنا


 
The only problem I would have with this one is grammatically (at least according to the rules of fuS7a) (أنا) would be the khabar of (أكون) since its ism is ضمير مستتر , in which case the khabar would be manSuub, in which case we would have to use either (إياي) (which sounds a bit awkward) as this would be the appropriate accusative personal pronoun in this instance or simply (نفسي) . This is my only query.


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## ayed

Josh_ said:


> "it's not easy to be me" in Arabic?


 Josh ,I have been thinking of this phrase and if you have another version of the same phrase , kindly, post it here so that we could figure out the equivalent in Arabic.

Waiting for your response.


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## MarcB

ayed said:


> Josh ,I have been thinking of this phrase and if you have another version of the same phrase , kindly, post it here so that we could figure out the equivalent in Arabic.
> 
> Waiting for your response.


Maybe this will help.  The phrase as I usually hear it is ”It’s not easy being me”  It means that I have lived a difficult life. It can also be used jokingly,To mean the opposite I have lived a great life. The idea is that another person could not have the same experience.There is a book  It's Not Easy Bein' Me by Rodney Dangerfield  He talks about the good and bad meanings.


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## Abu Bishr

MarcB said:


> Maybe this will help. The phrase as I usually hear it is ”It’s not easy being me” It means that I have lived a difficult life. It can also be used jokingly,To mean the opposite I have lived a great life. The idea is that another person could not have the same experience.There is a book It's Not Easy Bein' Me by Rodney Dangerfield He talks about the good and bad meanings.


 
Well in this case I would translate it as follows:


ليس من السهل أن يعيش أحد / غيري حياتي

ليس من السهل أن يمارس غيري ما أمارسه أنا في الحياة

ليس من السهل أن يواجه غيري ما أواجهه أنا في الحياة

The way I understand it is that others don't know what it is to live my life, or it's not easy for others to be me.


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## elroy

Abu Bishr said:


> The only problem I would have with this one is grammatically (at least according to the rules of fuS7a) (أنا) would be the khabar of (أكون) since its ism is ضمير مستتر , in which case the khabar would be manSuub, in which case we would have to use either (إياي) (which sounds a bit awkward) as this would be the appropriate accusative personal pronoun in this instance or simply (نفسي) . This is my only query.


 I don't agree with your objection. أنا in this sentence would be a ضمير منفصل مبني على السكون في محل نصب خبر كان. The accusative إياي would not work here, because it cannot be used if the subject and the object refer to the same person. The reflexive نفسي, although grammatically correct, doesn't quite work as a translation of Josh's sentence. In fact, I'm not sure it makes any sense in Arabic ("to be myself" is idiomatic in English; what it means is "to act like myself").


ayed said:


> A relative of ours was absent for several years.All of a sudden, our door is being knocked.
> (we)open the door , see the visitor and say:"You!?
> (the visitor--our friend)says:"It is not easy to be me".
> We are surprised at the long-waited friend .He may answer as follows:
> *ليه ، صعب يكون أنا*
> *نعم ، أنا بشحمي ولحمي*
> *ليه* ، *مستحيل*
> *ما غريب إلا الشيطان*


 Ayed, this example is completely irrelevant to the topic at hand.  



Abu Bishr said:


> Well in this case I would translate it as follows:
> 
> 
> ليس من السهل أن يعيش أحد / غيري حياتي
> 
> ليس من السهل أن يمارس غيري ما أمارسه أنا في الحياة
> 
> ليس من السهل أن يواجه غيري ما أواجهه أنا في الحياة
> 
> The way I understand it is that others don't know what it is to live my life, or it's not easy for others to be me.


 These sentences are not incorrect, but they are needlessly complicated in my opinion. You could say something like ليس من السهل عيش حياتي.


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## ayed

It is better to be in a context, isn't it?


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## coptiyah

I always thought it's hard to be me, is like it's not easy living with myself, like in the quote:

 اذا كانت النفوس عظام   تعبت الأبدان في المنال

I don't know if I would have a problem saying to someone mish sahl inni akoun ana, in that sense. 

or in the example elroy used  something like, why would it be difficult  for it to be me?

ليه صعب انه يكون انا؟


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## WadiH

coptiyah said:


> I always thought it's hard to be me, is like it's not easy living with myself, like in the quote:
> 
> اذا كانت النفوس عظام تعبت الأبدان في المنال


 
Do you mean و إذا كانت النفوسُ كباراً تعِبَتْ في مُرادِها الأجسامُ ?


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## coptiyah

والله أنا مش عارفة. حد بعثها لي منذ دهر وأنا مش عارفة كمان مين اللى الفها . لو عارف وتقولي يبقى شكرا -هل هو مقطع من بيت شعر؟  it's one of my favourite quotes.


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## WadiH

coptiyah said:


> والله أنا مش عارفة. حد بعثها لي منذ دهر وأنا مش عارفة كمان مين اللى الفها . لو عارف وتقولي يبقى شكرا -هل هو مقطع من بيت شعر؟ it's one of my favourite quotes.


 
مش مقطع و إنما بيت كامل لأشهر شعراء العربية أبي الطيب المتنبي 
تجدين ديوانه هنا www.alwaraq.net


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