It's for my "Guide To International Seduction."

October 11, 2008 10:37 PM

If you know a language other than English, can you tell me how you would say "May I help you remove your socks?" in that language? (I'm trying to render that sentence in as many different languages as possible.)
posted by liketitanic to grab bag (43 comments total)

Farsi: Mitunaam komaaket bokonaam ba jurabat? (literally: can I help you with your socks?)
posted by tumbleweedjack at 10:47 PM on October 11, 2008

Portuguese: Eu poderia lhe ajudar a tirar as suas meias?
posted by ig at 10:58 PM on October 11, 2008

需不需要我帮你脱袜子？ Mandarin Chinese, more literally "Do you need me to help you take off your socks?" If it was just 要我帮你脱袜子吗？it has the more the sense of "Do you want me to help...?" To me the English "may" could tend more to either of those meanings.
posted by Abiezer at 11:04 PM on October 11, 2008

Est-ce que je peux vous aider à enlever vos chaussettes?
posted by thatbrunette at 11:06 PM on October 11, 2008

Spanish: ¿Puedo ayudarle a quitar sus calcetines?
posted by Rhaomi at 11:25 PM on October 11, 2008

Or, if this situation is as informal as it sounds:

¿Puedo ayudarte a eliminar tus calcetines?
posted by Rhaomi at 11:27 PM on October 11, 2008

Italian:
Posso aiutarti a togliere i calzini?
posted by _dario at 11:29 PM on October 11, 2008

"Darf ich Ihnen aus den Socken helfen?"

that's german. it's kinda close to 'knocking one out of their socks' (as if you were asking for permission to do that) but it works.
posted by krautland at 11:36 PM on October 11, 2008

Russian : Могу я помочь Вам снять носки ?
posted by zaebiz at 11:42 PM on October 11, 2008

Hmmm for seduction purposes, maybe better as

Russian : Могу я помочь тебе снять носки ?
posted by zaebiz at 11:47 PM on October 11, 2008

I think the more common French would be "Puis-je vous aider à enlever vos chaussettes?"
posted by Help, I can't stop talking! at 12:03 AM on October 12, 2008

Japanese: 靴下を脱ぐのを手伝いましょうか？

Kutsushita wo nugu no wo tetsudaimashouka?

There are ways to say this in a much politer way, but judging from your title, I think this would do.

What a strange sentence, though...
posted by misozaki at 12:07 AM on October 12, 2008

517: ""Могу я помочь Вам снять носки ?

So that's pronounced "mory are nomoforby bam christ B hocken"?"

More like this.
posted by zaebiz at 12:14 AM on October 12, 2008

In Greek: Μάιος σας βοηθώ να αφαιρέσετε τις κάλτσες σας;
posted by Dreama at 12:45 AM on October 12, 2008

Polish: Czy mogę ci pomóc zdjąć skarpetki?
posted by barrakuda at 1:44 AM on October 12, 2008

Not a native speaker, so this is more for giggles than accuracy:
Norwegian
Kan jeg hjelper fjerne dine strømper?
posted by dance at 1:50 AM on October 12, 2008

Bulgarian: Moga li da ti pomogna da si sabuesh chorapite
Мога ли да ти помогна да си събуеш чорапите
posted by DOUBLE A SIDE at 2:02 AM on October 12, 2008

Abiezer:

Your Chinese translation seems spot on, but I think that the poster might also appreciate a translation that is not in the vernacular.

Unfortunately, though, while classical Chinese may be known for its conciseness at the sentence level, to really capture the meaning, I think we need a rambling story with a tacked-on moral message and that trope where the subject's rebuke is so wise as to immediately change the ruler's mind.

Here it is in constructed Classical Chinese. (This is a very rough work - there are many errors. Feel free to post corrections.)

寤生，鄭國人也，以勇力事周平王。周平王舉兵而攻申，令軍中有敢諫者罪至死。有功於前，不為損刑。

Wusheng was a man from Zheng who served King Ping of Zhou with bravery. King Ping of Zhou assembled his armies and attacked [the state of] Shen, commanding his troops that if there were anyone who dared remonstrate him for this action, they would be put to death. Even if that person achieved merit in the past, it would not lessen the sentence.

望見寤生大笑，周平王曰：「子何笑？」

Seeing Wusheng laugh loudly, the King asked, "What are you laughing at?"

對曰：「臣有夙笑。臣鄰家夫至舍之時，脫屨戶外，其妻助之，以莫不和。其妻愛之，視之為利家。﹍

To which Wusheng replied, "I remembered a funny story. When a neighbour of mine would arrive home, he would take his socks off outside, and his wife would help him, so that all would be harmonious. His wife loved him and saw this as benefiting the household. ...

﹍ 夫死之因，不止冬寒而已，又由妻以為利家之助。臣笑其過也。」

... That her husband is now dead is not just because the winter's cold, but also from the help she believed was benefiting their house. I am just laughing at her mistake."

周平王曰：『今吾伐國殺國，是吾助子脫屨也。』

King Ping said, "To-day, I killed attacked a country and killed a country. It is I who helped you take of your socks!"

於是罷師而歸。

And with that, he disbanded his armies and returned home.

子曰：『勿問於其國，『子欲吾助脫其屨呼？』』

(Commenting on this,) Confucius said, "Never ask your country, 'Do you want me to help you take off your socks?'"
posted by Sangermaine at 2:37 AM on October 12, 2008 [16 favorites]

Finnish: Haluatko apua ottamaan sinun sukat pois? (literally, "would you like help taking your socks off?")
posted by Pyry at 2:40 AM on October 12, 2008

Urdu:

meiN aap kii jaraabeeN utaarnee meeN madad karuuN?

Pronunciation guide to this idiosyncratic transcription:

- N = nasalise the previous vowel.
- What I've represented as meiN rhymes with 'man' said with an exaggerated drawl.
- doubled vowel = long vowel. Thus ee rhymes with day.
- all t and d sounds are dental versions of the English equivalent. That means say the sound as you would in English, but make your tongue hit the back of your teeth rather than your palate. For the most elite pronunciation of 'Pakistan' use pronounce the t like this.
posted by tavegyl at 2:46 AM on October 12, 2008

I think we need a rambling story with a tacked-on moral message and that trope where the subject's rebuke is so wise as to immediately change the ruler's mind.
It was enormously remiss of me not to realise this myself and I can only thank you for making up for my failure so spectacularly, sangermaine.
posted by Abiezer at 2:56 AM on October 12, 2008

dance: "Not a native speaker, so this is more for giggles than accuracy:
Norwegian
Kan jeg hjelper fjerne dine strømper?"

Not totally accurate no ;) but a good effort! That translation is more akin to "Can I helps you remove your stockings?"

Norwegian:
Kan jeg hjelpe deg med å ta av sokkene? or
Får jeg hjelpe deg med å ta av sokkene? (which is technically more of the "May I" persuasion, but I doubt anyone would actually say that)
posted by esilenna at 3:02 AM on October 12, 2008

Hungarian: Segíthetek le venni a zokniaidat?
posted by atmosphere at 3:49 AM on October 12, 2008

klingon: jIH SoH lIj .

Though I don't believe they wear socks.
posted by roue at 4:47 AM on October 12, 2008

Frisian:
Kin ik jo helpe jo hoazzen út te lûken? [nursde mode]

Lit my dy út dyn hoazzen helpe. [colloquial]
posted by ijsbrand at 4:48 AM on October 12, 2008

Czech: Mohu vám pomoci sundat ponožky
posted by FunGus at 5:18 AM on October 12, 2008

In Portuguese:

"Posso te ajudar a tirar suas meias?"
posted by Zé Pequeno at 5:42 AM on October 12, 2008

Woops... Should have said:

"Posso ajudar a tirar suas meias?"

For what it's worth, ig's translation is grammatically incorrect but widely used in the street. Sorry for being such a pedant...
posted by Zé Pequeno at 5:48 AM on October 12, 2008

Icelandic:

"Má ég hjálpa þér að fara úr sokkonum?"

atmosphere beat me to the Hungarian, but in Romanian it would be something like "Pot să vă ajut cu şosete?" or, more specifically, "Pot să vă ajut cu dezbraci şosete?" for removing the socks, though some other verbs might be used, dependent on the situation.
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 7:05 AM on October 12, 2008

Tagalog: Maari ko po bang tanggalin ang iyong mga medyas?
posted by drea at 7:11 AM on October 12, 2008

"Ihnen" is the formal you, and you're usually past the formal once you get to the removing of clothes

German (informal) should be something like:

"Darf ich dir aus den Socken helfen?" [may I help you out of the socks] or "Darf ich dir beim Socken ausziehen helfen?" [may I help you with the taking-off-socks]

and for equal-opportunity leches, stockings are "Struempfe"
posted by yggdrasil at 7:21 AM on October 12, 2008

I'm with Ze Pequeno: "Portuguese: Eu poderia lhe ajudar a tirar as suas meias?" is not correct, and for a native European Portuguese speaker as myself, very, very incorrect (although, yes, it's also used and it makes me cringe).

But Ze Pequeno's "Posso te ajudar a tirar suas meias?" is also incorrect. ("te" -> "tuas", não "suas").

I have to give two answers for European Portuguese, one for coloquial, familiar use, and another for formal use:

Familiar: "Posso ajudar-te a tirar as tuas meias?" but really, in the context I think you mean it, I'd go with "Precisas de ajuda a tirar as meias?" (Something like "do you need help taking your socks off?")

Formal: "Posso ajudá-la/o a tirar as suas meias?" ("a/o" = feminine/masculine)
posted by neblina_matinal at 7:41 AM on October 12, 2008

Swedish:
Får jag hjälpa dig av med strumporna?
(Får is rather stilted, like "may I", you would say "Kan jag" really, if you were to say it at all.)
Kan = offering to
Får = requesting permission to
posted by Iteki at 8:49 AM on October 12, 2008

Irish (dialect: very rusty): An feidir liom chuidiu a thabhairt duit do chuid stocai a bhaint diot?

fon-et-ic-al-lee: un fay-jir lum kid-jew a hort ditch duh khidge stucky a wont jee-ut?
posted by tiny crocodile at 9:18 AM on October 12, 2008

Hebrew: efshar la'azor lecha lehorid et ha garbaim? (to a male)

efshar la'azor lach lehorid et ha garbaim? (to a female)

(ch as in CHANUKAH, CHALLAH, or CHUMMUS)
posted by namesarehard at 11:49 AM on October 12, 2008

I am not a native speaker of Russian, but I would say "mozhno Vam pomoc' snjat noski?" (Voice raised on Mozhno, and falling for the rest of the sentence).

In Czech I would say Nemohl bych Vám pomoci sundat ponožky?
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 2:58 PM on October 12, 2008

for the French, you can also say it in the informal: "Est-ce que je peux t'aider à enlever tes chaussettes?"
or you can go for rediculously formal and stuffy: "Pourrais-je vous aider à enlever vos chaussettes?"

Alas, I didn't bring my Georgian language books with me to France, so I can't work out a translation for that. Any native Georgian speakers on here?
posted by LMGM at 4:06 PM on October 12, 2008

Rhaomi: Spanish: ¿Puedo ayudarle a quitar sus calcetines?

Maybe it's just that I grew up with a mixture of Columbian and Peruvian dialects, but I would've said:

¿Puedo ayudarle a sacar sus medias?
or, informally,
¿Puedo ayudarte a sacar tus medias?
posted by LMGM at 4:08 PM on October 12, 2008

Cantonese: 我可唔可以幫你除你對襪？
posted by monocot at 4:42 PM on October 12, 2008

yggdrasil: OP didn't indicate this was a statement aimed at people he knew personally, so "Dir" (I'd also capitalize that D here) is kinda inappropriate. you're right about "beim Socken ausziehen helfen" being a better solution.
posted by krautland at 6:11 PM on October 12, 2008

For Russian, I'd modify that to use "mozhno" instead of "mogu" and drop the "ya." So it'd be "Mozhno vam pomoch' snyat' noski" (Sorry...no cyrillic on this computer). Whenever I heard it used in Russia, "Mozhno vam pomoch'?" works sort of like a store clerk asking "May I help you?" or somebody asking "Can I help?" when you're carrying a big box. "Mogu ya pomoch' vam" seems to me to be more like "Am I capable of helping you?" which feels wrong. It's been a while since I've spoken Russian with any frequency, though...
posted by msbrauer at 9:19 PM on October 12, 2008

Dutch:

If you are using "may" to ask for permission to help the other person:
"Mag ik je helpen om je sokken uit te trekken?"

If you are using "may" to make it explicitly formal:
"Kan ik u helpen bij het uittrekken van uw sokken?"

If I'm totally wrong about attaching any importance to "may" in your sentence and all you want to do is ask a person if they need help in removing their socks:
"Zal ik je helpen om je sokken uit te trekken?"
posted by Skyanth at 1:20 AM on October 13, 2008

People. This went over like gangbusters. GANGBUSTERS.
posted by liketitanic at 5:23 PM on November 17, 2008