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  3. General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

Да что там!

English translation: wow!

03:09 Jul 23, 2006
Russian to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Russian term or phrase: Да что там!
Yet another interjection...

Deborah Hoffman
Local time: 18:21
English translation:wow!
Explanation:
These are always my questions, too, Deborah. Elliptical Russian injections and idioms.

I would say something like: Vandy's eyes... Wow! When I...

That sounds quite natural.
Selected response from:

Henry Schroeder
United States
Local time: 18:21
Grading comment
I think this is the road I'm going down, trying to find some (1940s?) interjection...
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +5What eyes!
Libero_Lang_Lab
3 +2... Words fail! Just look ...
Olga B
4But these eyes, indeed!
Sergei Nikolenko
4What can I say [really], ...
Alexander Demyanov
3No doubt about that!
Blithe
3There is no denying it.
Andrew Vdovin
3there are no words!
sergey (X)
2 -1yea
Zoya Askarova
2 -1wow!
Henry Schroeder


  

Answers


12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): -1
yea


Explanation:
он хороший, да что там, замечательный человек
he is a good, yea, a fine man
Multitran

Zoya Askarova
Singapore
Local time: 06:21
Works in field
Native speaker of: Russian
PRO pts in category: 11

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Libero_Lang_Lab: i'm not sure that "yea" is a word in English. I guess you mean "yeah", but that sounds as if it would be the wrong kind of tone for the context...
8 mins
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33 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
No doubt about that!


Explanation:
This expression can also go like "Да что там говорить!"

Blithe
Local time: 18:21
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 3
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
... Words fail! Just look ...


Explanation:
...

Olga B
Israel
Local time: 01:21
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 28

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  sergey (X)
2 hrs
  -> Thank you, Sergey
agree  Sophia Hundt (X): this is most accurate
2 days 22 hrs
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
But these eyes, indeed!


Explanation:
But these eyes, indeed! When you look into them...

Sergei Nikolenko
Local time: 01:21
Native speaker of: Russian
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
There is no denying it.


Explanation:
There is no denying it - when you looked into those eyes...

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Note added at 3 hrs (2006-07-23 06:45:04 GMT)
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OR:

My oh my!

Well, I never!


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2006-07-23 06:50:39 GMT)
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OR:

There's no two ways about it: when you gazed at her eyes...

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Note added at 3 hrs (2006-07-23 06:51:50 GMT)
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OR:

Think of that!

Of all things!

Andrew Vdovin
Local time: 05:21
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 83
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5 peer agreement (net): -1
wow!


Explanation:
These are always my questions, too, Deborah. Elliptical Russian injections and idioms.

I would say something like: Vandy's eyes... Wow! When I...

That sounds quite natural.

Henry Schroeder
United States
Local time: 18:21
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 39
Grading comment
I think this is the road I'm going down, trying to find some (1940s?) interjection...

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Libero_Lang_Lab: Sounds quite heavily marked for modern US usage. Does it really match the time and the context of the original? Hmmm....
2 hrs
  -> Think about it in the sentence. Are you going to repeat "eyes" three times!? That's about as creative and artistic as painting a portrait without incorporating the psyche of the subject.
disagree  Evita Savicka: "Wow!" sounds as if it was a teenager who said it...
8 hrs
  -> This reeks of non-native knowledge, but I'm amused at having only negative comments and being on the right road.
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9 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
What can I say [really], ...


Explanation:
This won't be an exact-exact equivalent, but, i think, close.

Alexander Demyanov
Local time: 18:21
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in RussianRussian
PRO pts in category: 84
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25 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
What eyes!


Explanation:
I think you need to translate this in context. It basically works as an emphatic particle ie...

"... but Wanda's eyes... what eyes! Gazing at those eyes, you would barely notice anything else around you."

Something like that....

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Note added at 10 hrs (2006-07-23 13:24:40 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Obviously this is not a direct translation of the phrase itself, but it strikes me that it is precisely what is being conveyed... it is an "intensifier".

Libero_Lang_Lab
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:21
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Irene N: Hi, there... That's what I call "it's been a while"
1 hr
  -> Hi Irene... I'm just passing through. Though I'm never far away from ProZ
agree  Olga B
2 hrs
agree  Сергей Лузан
4 hrs
neutral  sergey (X): in russian it would be 'какие глаза!'
5 hrs
  -> The existence, per se, of a direct back translation, does not in itself invalidate alternatives. But if you are telling me that the meaning/effect is different from the one conveyed, then that is another matter, of course.
neutral  Alexander Demyanov: w/sergey, + The asker probably know how to avoid the "Да что там" piece and is asking how to not avooid it
8 hrs
  -> Well, indirectly, I think she was, actually....sometimes a direct translation is not the solution.
agree  Mikhail Kropotov
9 hrs
agree  Yuri Geifman: Ah, those eyes! Gazing at them, one would forget everything else (I don't think it's meant as 'anything else around you', but rather 'anything else about her', i.e. the unnatural thinness, etc.
10 hrs
  -> Now, that's the most elegant solution yet.
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
there are no words!


Explanation:
ДА ЧТО ТАМ частица разг.
1. Употр. при усилении значения последующего слова или высказывания; что там.
http://www.gramota.ru/dic/search.php?word=�� ��� ���&lop=x&gorb=x&e...

i think it's short for - да что там (говорить)!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 hrs (2006-07-23 09:10:05 GMT)
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…There are no words…
Only eyes.
In the absence of words
there is much to be said.
In void
there is much space.
In pause
there is much time.
In glancing
there is much to be seen.
In the eyes
there is much window.
In soul
there is that for one eternity
http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:CQT6BEruW9IJ:www.worldf...

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Note added at 12 hrs (2006-07-23 15:42:51 GMT)
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as you can see from the following examples "да что там" always precedes a stronger word or expression:

говорили - мечтали-

Встреча, о которой так долго говорили (да что там — мечтали*) болельщики футбольной команды -"Ростов", состоялась, 5 октябри в ДК "Ростсельмаш" [Наш анонс // "Приазовский край", 2004.10.07]

многое - все

За эти годы многое изменилось, да что там говорить, — изменилось все. [Нет перспективы, нет смысла в службе // "Солдат удачи", 2004.11.03]

часами - годами - веками
За нею можно наблюдать часами, годами... да что там — веками! [Новости красоты // "Домовой", 2002.02.04]

in your case there aren't any strong 'words' that follow, only the effect that looking at those eyes could have on people, meaning - words are superfluous!


sergey (X)
Local time: 23:21
PRO pts in category: 50
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