Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
You want
Spanish translation:
es preciso / es necesario / hay que / conviene
Added to glossary by
Nityeshwari
Feb 1, 2018 20:45
6 yrs ago
10 viewers *
English term
You want
English to Spanish
Other
Philosophy
Religion, meditation, alt
I'm translating a book on meditation.
My question is: does one use "you want" as a polite way to say, "you have to" or "you should"? I feel that in some cases it doesn't mean "wanting" but that it is an idiomatic expression. Thank you!
Example 1.- "When you do prāṇāyāma wisely and well, it affects the entire body, not just the lungs or the diaphragm or the abdomen. You want to do it so well that the energy flows and moves throughout the body."
Example 2.- "Nature, God, has made us to always remember.
What you want to do is not remember everything at the forefront of your mind. Over time, I’m sure some things can subside."
My question is: does one use "you want" as a polite way to say, "you have to" or "you should"? I feel that in some cases it doesn't mean "wanting" but that it is an idiomatic expression. Thank you!
Example 1.- "When you do prāṇāyāma wisely and well, it affects the entire body, not just the lungs or the diaphragm or the abdomen. You want to do it so well that the energy flows and moves throughout the body."
Example 2.- "Nature, God, has made us to always remember.
What you want to do is not remember everything at the forefront of your mind. Over time, I’m sure some things can subside."
Proposed translations
(Spanish)
| 4 +1 | es preciso / es necesario / hay que / conviene |
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
|
| 3 +1 | debes / tienes que llegar a hacerlo |
JohnMcDove
|
| 3 | pretendes |
Robert Carter
|
| 3 | tu intención es |
Chema Nieto Castañón
|
Proposed translations
+1
12 hrs
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
Spain
Spain
Native in Spanish
Works in field
Spain
Golf, Literature and Religion Specialist
Native in: Spanish 
Works in: English to Spanish, French to Spanish, Spanish
Related KudoZ points
:
116
Selected
es preciso / es necesario / hay que / conviene
En realidad son formas impersonales aunque estén redactadas en segunda persona (tú/usted).
Recomiendo una traducción distinta para cada contexto. Pongo algunos ejemplos:
En el primer caso:
"Es preciso hacerlo tan bien..."
"Hay que procurar/intentar hacerlo tan bien..."
"Hay que conseguir hacerlo tan bien..."
En el segundo caso:
"Lo que no hay que hacer es recordarlo todo..."
"No conviene recordarlo todo..."
"Hay que procurar/intentar no recordarlo todo..."
Recomiendo una traducción distinta para cada contexto. Pongo algunos ejemplos:
En el primer caso:
"Es preciso hacerlo tan bien..."
"Hay que procurar/intentar hacerlo tan bien..."
"Hay que conseguir hacerlo tan bien..."
En el segundo caso:
"Lo que no hay que hacer es recordarlo todo..."
"No conviene recordarlo todo..."
"Hay que procurar/intentar no recordarlo todo..."
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Chema Nieto Castañón
: Hola Bea; tu lectura es perfecta. Diría, no obstante, que la fórmula you want to do this right tiene la potencia de una sugerencia hipnótica y que, utilizada en este contexto en particular, tal vez no debiera perder ese matiz en la traducción. Saludos!
6 hrs
|
|
Bien visto, pero aquí entra en juego el tono general de la traducción, que desconocemos. Saludos.
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "It gave me a whole new view on this expression. It appears on the book at least 10 times :)"
+1
13 mins
debes / tienes que llegar a hacerlo
2 informal with infinitive
Should or need to do something.
‘you don't want to believe everything you hear’
Synonyms
should, ought, need, must
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/want
En el segundo ejemplo quizá: ... lo que tienes que llegar a hacer...
Creo que hay varias opciones en español, pero dependerá de todo el tono que uses en el resto de tu traducción.
Yo me inclinaría por un "Tienes que poder hacerlo tan bien que..."
Me parece más positivo que "Deberías hacerlo tan bien que..."
Aunque un "Tendrías que poder hacerlo tan bien..." sería también educado, me parece mejor dar una instrucción positiva, sin ser brusco, pero tampoco "blandengue"...
Saludos cordiales.
Should or need to do something.
‘you don't want to believe everything you hear’
Synonyms
should, ought, need, must
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/want
En el segundo ejemplo quizá: ... lo que tienes que llegar a hacer...
Creo que hay varias opciones en español, pero dependerá de todo el tono que uses en el resto de tu traducción.
Yo me inclinaría por un "Tienes que poder hacerlo tan bien que..."
Me parece más positivo que "Deberías hacerlo tan bien que..."
Aunque un "Tendrías que poder hacerlo tan bien..." sería también educado, me parece mejor dar una instrucción positiva, sin ser brusco, pero tampoco "blandengue"...
Saludos cordiales.
Note from asker:
| ¡Gracias! Ya me ha dado usted/me has dado una traducción diferente para cada caso, así no suena repetitivo. :) |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Yini
: La mayoría de los libros formales usan la forma formal de "usted" en lugar de la forma de tú - Lo que debe usted hacer -- mi opinión.
20 mins
|
|
Muchas gracias, Yini. :-) Sí, puede ser como dices. Aunque en la actualidad creo que hay una tendencia al tuteo...
|
|
| neutral |
Andy Watkinson
: Yo lo entiendo en el sentido EN-GB de "necesitar". Para mí, no es que deban/tengan que hacer xxx sino que para conseguir yyy, necesitan hacer xxx.
5 hrs
|
|
Muchas gracias, Andy. :-) Claro, si necesito un bañador para ir a la piscina, o a la playa, tengo que comprarme uno, o tengo que usar el que tengo... Om mani padme ommmmm! (O como se escriba... ;-)
|
5 hrs
Robert Carter
Mexico
Mexico
Native in English
Mexico
Translating full-time since 1998
Native in: English (Variant: British)
Works in: Spanish to English
pretendes
Otra sugerencia:
"Lo que pretendes es..."
"Lo que pretendes es..."
2 hrs
Chema Nieto Castañón
Spain
Spain
Native in Spanish
Specializes in field
Spain
Psychologist & Emergency Physician
Native in: Spanish (Variant: Standard-Spain) 
Works in: English to Spanish
Related KudoZ points
:
4
tu intención es
Actually, Deborah is quite right at he discussion; the idea is that your aim should be to do this or that. But I would say even more; the wording is not just a soft or polite way to introduce an instruction; it is a direct suggestion to do so: you want to do this right!
And so, even though debes or tienes que llegar a hacer are correct translations, in as much as those convey a challenge and never so a suggestion, I would not use them here.
You may use a direct translation but querer would sound a bit strange here.
My option is this; to use tu intención es when a positive suggestion (as in example 1) and tu intención no debe ser (or simply no debes tratar de) when a negative one (as in example 2)
[while the positive one is a suggestion, quite as much as in a hypnotic context, the negative one is just a recommendation]
Ex1:
... afecta a todo el cuerpo, no sólo a los pulmones, al diafragma o al abdomen. Tú intención es hacerlo tan bien que la energía fluya...
Ex2:
Tu intención no debe ser la de recordar todo...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 3 hrs (2018-02-02 23:55:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
It is actually an idiomatic expression, as you suggest, Nityeshwari.
The translations offered by Beatriz are all very accurate.
Now, in the specific context of a book on meditation, the particular wording might be relevant. In this case, the original English You want to do it so well that might be intended not just as the idiomatic expression that it is, but as an invitation; a suggestion for the reader to do so.
It would be interesting for you to revise your original text and determine whether or not this sort of suggestions-for-the-reader are used throughout or not in order to choose the translation that better fits your particular context.
And so, even though debes or tienes que llegar a hacer are correct translations, in as much as those convey a challenge and never so a suggestion, I would not use them here.
You may use a direct translation but querer would sound a bit strange here.
My option is this; to use tu intención es when a positive suggestion (as in example 1) and tu intención no debe ser (or simply no debes tratar de) when a negative one (as in example 2)
[while the positive one is a suggestion, quite as much as in a hypnotic context, the negative one is just a recommendation]
Ex1:
... afecta a todo el cuerpo, no sólo a los pulmones, al diafragma o al abdomen. Tú intención es hacerlo tan bien que la energía fluya...
Ex2:
Tu intención no debe ser la de recordar todo...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 3 hrs (2018-02-02 23:55:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
It is actually an idiomatic expression, as you suggest, Nityeshwari.
The translations offered by Beatriz are all very accurate.
Now, in the specific context of a book on meditation, the particular wording might be relevant. In this case, the original English You want to do it so well that might be intended not just as the idiomatic expression that it is, but as an invitation; a suggestion for the reader to do so.
It would be interesting for you to revise your original text and determine whether or not this sort of suggestions-for-the-reader are used throughout or not in order to choose the translation that better fits your particular context.
Discussion
In these cases, you can understand "you want" as "you should". It means your aim should be to do something in a certain way, so "you want" to do it the best way possible.
Even though it's an instruction, it is polite. It's somewhat gentle, like a guidance.