help me translate this phrase!

September 1, 2009 8:08 AM

I am designing a poster in which i would like to include one phrase in roughly 15-20 languages, but would like to know how to say this phrase PROPERLY...

the phrase is "Love Your Body." I would like to include it in the following languages, as well as any other languages you can think of/know how to translate the phrase into:

french, german, italian, russian, mandrin, spanish, portuguese, hindi/urdu, arabic, indonesian/malay, bengali, japanese, hebrew

if anyone is a speaker of these languages and can help me out, please let me know. i do not trust online translator services, as they tend to not give 'proper' translations. thanks in advance.

posted by slograffiti to society & culture (37 comments total)

Is it

(I) Love your body
Love your body (as a command)
(you should) love your body (it's a good idea).

because you'll probably get different answers depending on what you mean.
posted by itsjustanalias at 8:13 AM on September 1

Love your Body, as in a command. it is meant to be empowering to women. ahhh. thank you! i totally forgot to include that.
posted by slograffiti at 8:15 AM on September 1

Well, I'm not quite competent enough in any of the languages you mention to give a translation I'd be confident of, but you can have it in Danish if it's any use:

Elsk din krop.
posted by Brother Dysk at 8:15 AM on September 1

French:
Aimez vos corps! (You all, love your bodies!)

or

Aimons nos corps! (Let's all love our bodies!)
posted by oinopaponton at 8:20 AM on September 1

This is a great idea! I just want to point out however some of the problems you may or may not encounter:

1. Most of these languages handle the imperative form of speech differently. You may need to decide on whether you want this formal or informal, as some of these languages have two different forms for 'commands'. Also, it may be necessary to decide whether it should be addressed to singular or plural.

2. Some of these languages have more than one writing system (orthography). There are social meanings associated with each choice.

3. Some of these languages aren't written/read left to right. You should consider how you want to address this, also based on the orthography you choose.

4. If you do this on a computer, you might have a bit of a challenge getting all of the fonts to play together and print together. Set aside some time for this.

Hope that helps!
posted by iamkimiam at 8:20 AM on September 1

Oh, also, in English the word 'body' somewhat refers to 'self'. This isn't as true in some other languages. Do you want your meaning to be closer to "Love your body (the physical thing)" or "Love your self (may or may not include body)" or a meaning that refers to both, if available.
posted by iamkimiam at 8:23 AM on September 1

iamkimiam: thanks for the the suggestions.

1. would prefer informal, singular. I would like it to be personal, speaking at the viewer.

2+3 im not sure yet how i will address this.

4. it will be hand painted and lettered
posted by slograffiti at 8:25 AM on September 1

I think you need to explain this more in English, because even though you clarified the grammar (it's a command), I can interpret the semantics in so many, many ways. Many of them are dirty, too, which you probably don't intend. But leaving those out, and just as two very different examples...

Do you mean "Be satisfied with how you look?"

Do you mean "Take care of your health?"

Or... ?
posted by rokusan at 8:26 AM on September 1

also, LOVE YOUR BODY, as in the shape, size, and color of your physical self.
posted by slograffiti at 8:27 AM on September 1

In other words, for better results: don't ask for a translation of such a loaded idiom as "love your body" which is just an invitation to many hilarious misunderstandings.

Instead, ask for a few-words way to say... (something you explain in detail in English)
posted by rokusan at 8:28 AM on September 1

I know what Rokusan is getting at, and it was slightly awkward in Spanish.
My immediate instinct is "¡Quiere y ama tu cuerpo! " cos neither Querrer or amar on it's own really do it for me. FWIW I pass for bilingual but on this one I'd want a native person exposed to current advertising campaigns in a Spanish speaking country to give a definitive answer.
posted by Wilder at 8:34 AM on September 1

Bonus ancient Greek: φιλετε τας υμων αυτας, where the "αυτας" has a double meaning of body and soul.

(I'm bad at accents on the computer, so this would in reality have an acute accent on the "i" in φιλετε, a grave accent on the α in τας, a rough breathing on the u and a circumflex on the ω in υμων, and a smooth breathing on the first α and a grave accent on the second in αυτας)
posted by oinopaponton at 8:37 AM on September 1 [1 favorite]

I am not a native speaker, so I'd wait and see if someone with a higher fluency gives a translation, but...

In German, the informal command should be, "Liebe deinen Körper!"

(It sounds kind of funny to me, but if you google this phrase, positive affirmation stuff pops up, so I think it fits what you're going for.)
posted by ElectricBlue at 8:42 AM on September 1 [1 favorite]

Malay/Indonesian. A literal translation sounds weird, but a common phrase is:

"Sayangi diri sendiri"

which means "love your self", which incorporates the physical and non-physical.
posted by serunding at 8:44 AM on September 1 [1 favorite]

if you google this phrase, positive affirmation stuff pops up

Yes, I think that's the key here. Don't just get translations: get the phrases that are currently used in those language cultures for similar affirmations wherever possible. That takes the "in different languages" bit from a pointless stunt into actual communications.
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:06 AM on September 1 [2 favorites]

One possibility for Japanese is 自分の体を大切に,
which gets lots of web hits for similar meanings.

It means something more like "Take good care of your body/treat your body importantly." You could never use anything like "love" in this context in Japanese and have it mean what you want it to mean.
posted by zachawry at 9:10 AM on September 1 [1 favorite]

Also:

hindi/urdu

If you're going to include one of those languages, you should include the other as well, just out of courtesy. It's not really an either/or.

indonesian/malay

Although these languages are very closely related, they are not the same, so I'm not sure that even such a short phrase would read as both perfect Indonesian and perfect Malay. Probably best to get a translation in each and compare.
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:11 AM on September 1

"hindi/urdu If you're going to include one of those languages, you should include the other as well, just out of courtesy. It's not really an either/or. indonesian/malay"

Maybe you should include Tamil as well!
posted by lungtaworld at 9:20 AM on September 1 [1 favorite]

Mandarin: 爱你的身材！(love your body!) although this sounds like "I love your body" - maybe 爱你自己的身体 - love your own body?
(not a native speaker)
posted by Curiosity Delay at 9:49 AM on September 1

My immediate instinct is "¡Quiere y ama tu cuerpo!

Although correct, it seems overkill to have both words for loving. "Ama tu cuerpo" is correct and sounds more personal and direct. If you google it, you'll find it used for slogans too. The exact translation is "(you) love your body" and it's in the informal mode.
posted by clearlydemon at 10:14 AM on September 1

Norwegian: Elsk kroppen din!
posted by widdershins at 10:22 AM on September 1

Completely didn't occur to me, since I'd already given it in Danish, but here it is in Swedish:

Älska din kropp.
posted by Brother Dysk at 10:30 AM on September 1

Perhaps worth noting (if it isn't obvious from the three translations) that the Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish are mutually comprehensible.
posted by Brother Dysk at 10:31 AM on September 1

Native Spanish speaker here.

I think ¡Ama a tu cuerpo! fits the bill fine.
posted by DrGirlfriend at 10:44 AM on September 1

ElectricBlue: "I am not a native speaker, so I'd wait and see if someone with a higher fluency gives a translation, but...

In German, the informal command should be, "Liebe deinen Körper!"

(It sounds kind of funny to me, but if you google this phrase, positive affirmation stuff pops up, so I think it fits what you're going for.)"

Yeah, it's correct, I'd only change one tiny thing: even though it's fallen out of favor somewhat I was taught to use capitalization when using Du / Dir / Dein in letters, emails, or postings; it's a small nuance, but it reads a tiny bit better / more personal that way. So
"liebe Deinen Körper"
when used as a sentence fragment or
"Liebe Deinen Körper!"
as whole sentence.
posted by PontifexPrimus at 11:53 AM on September 1 [1 favorite]

爱你的身体 is fine for Chinese. 身材 puts (undue) emphasis on one's figure.
posted by of strange foe at 12:27 PM on September 1

Swahili:

Upende mwili wako! (You should love your body)

Alternately

Ujipende! (you should love yourself)
posted by ChuraChura at 1:55 PM on September 1

For French, itsjustanalias used formal/plural.
Singular informal would be :
Aime ton corps!
posted by domi_p at 2:04 PM on September 1

More pedantry on the french side of things: "Aimez vos corps" is technically correct if you're addressing a group of people, but it sounds like something you'd tell Jeffrey Dahmer (Love your bodies) if you're talking to a single person. The correct form for second person plural would be "Aimez votre corps". Domi_p is exactly right for second person singular, but I'd expect to see second person plural on a poster.

The verb "aimer" doesn't carry the same weight as "to love": it's more "to like". If you'd want to convey the proper sentiment, I'd go for something like "Adorez votre corps" (Adore your body) or "Jouissez de votre corps" (Delight in your body)

In italian, on the other hand, you'd want "ami il tuo corpo" for second person singular, because the polite form (ama il suo corpo) wouldn't really be found on a poster
posted by Mons Veneris at 3:06 PM on September 1

Mons Veneris has it right for Italian, save the verbs are inverted: "ama il tuo corpo" is the second person singular.
posted by _dario at 3:21 PM on September 1

Must respectfully disagree with Zachawry. There are plenty of Google hits for 自分の体を愛してand the sentiment is clearly the same. 自分の体を愛してあげて is popular too (sort of anthropomorphizes the body into a conscious being deserving of love). The sentiment isn't as common in Japan and there may be (semi-intentional) misunderstandings, but the same applies to English (hur hur self-love).

大切に means to value your body, take care of your body, respect your body, but not to love it.
posted by No-sword at 4:34 PM on September 1

In Arabic:

ﺣﺑّﻲ ﺟﺴﻤﻚ
posted by JV at 8:15 PM on September 1

I think ¡Ama a tu cuerpo! fits the bill fine.

Don't know about the "a" in there. ¡Ama tu cuerpo! sounds right, to me.
posted by signal at 9:01 PM on September 1

No-sword: You are right, I was wrong!

Either phrase is OK, I guess. Mine is more about taking care of yourself, while yours is more about mental state.
posted by zachawry at 11:44 PM on September 1

Please only take advice from native speakers. I can cobble together a translation in a few languages based on my decent ability, but I would not dare take on such a loaded phrase.
posted by rokusan at 4:25 AM on September 2

In Finnish it's either "Rakasta ruumistasi" or "Rakasta kehoasi".

The first one sounds a bit better to my ears, but I would probably use the latter because the word "ruumis" can also mean a dead body and has that association for me; "keho" is always a living body. I'm a native speaker of Finnish.
posted by severiina at 4:56 PM on September 2

In Portuguese:
Ame o seu corpo
That might be more pertinent to Brazilian Portuguese, where the second person singular is rarely used (at least not properly).
You could also use "Ame o teu corpo" (in Portugal they might say "ames o teu corpo", not sure)
posted by Neekee at 10:07 AM on September 5