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todo parece poco

English translation: everything seems fleeting

08:54 Feb 5, 2021
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Religion
Spanish term or phrase: todo parece poco
Struggling to come up with something for this as I'm not really sure of its meaning. Something along the lines of 'everything else seems insignificant' or a totally different meaning?

Si entregamos amor, el Tiempo parece no haber transcurrido y todo parece poco; y por otro lado, si no hay amor, el Tiempo transcurrido representa una larga y tediosa pérdida.

No existe un Tiempo igual para quien sabe de amor.

Todos los momentos son siempre diferentes porque dependen de cómo se viva cada uno de ellos; de la intensidad de la emoción y las sensaciones vividas, del interés puesto en expresar la realidad personal o de cómo uno se abra a la atención de quien tiene a su lado.
Lisa McCarthy
Spain
Local time: 23:02
English translation:everything seems fleeting
Explanation:
"Fleeting" seems to capture the nuances of the source text (rather you than me on this one, BTW).

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Note added at 5 mins (2021-02-05 08:59:58 GMT)
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In other words, when you're in love, (or however you happen to be translating "entregamos amor") time seems to fly, otherwise everything seems a drag.

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Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2021-02-06 10:18:53 GMT)
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"Time seems not to have passed and everything appears fleeting" works for me. Like in the movie the Time Machine, where time does pass for the protagonist, but everything around him seems fleeting (motion speeded up in the film) as he moves into the future...



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Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2021-02-06 10:20:34 GMT)
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PS: I'm thinking about the 1960 version of the Time Machine, with Rod Taylor, not the (in my opinion inferior) remake from 2002.

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Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2021-02-06 10:21:09 GMT)
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Correction: "where time does NOT pass for the protagonist, ..."
Selected response from:

neilmac
Spain
Local time: 23:02
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2everything seems fleeting
neilmac
4 +1everything (else) seems trivial
AllegroTrans
3 +1leaves you wanting more /hankering for more/ nothing seems enough/leaves you feeling dissatisfied
bcsantos
4 -1everything pales into insignificance
Andrew Bramhall
4 -1everything seems little
Steven Huddleston
3you never tire of loving/giving
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
3time is not enough
Wordrow (X)


Discussion entries: 5





  

Answers


19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
everything pales into insignificance


Explanation:
"Tiempo parece no haber transcurrido" = 'Time seems to have stood still'.

Andrew Bramhall
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:02
Meets criteria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 11

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Steven Huddleston: The author does not imply insignificance, but amount. I fear you are reading too much into this. // Really? It seems linguistically sound to me. I do not see where the author implied significance. That would be "nada" not "poco."
4 hrs
  -> And you aren't reading enough into it; // er, "amounts" can be 'significant', or 'insignificant'. Your disagree can be summed up in 2 words: 1) Spite 2) Ignorance.
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4 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
everything seems little


Explanation:
I would go the simple route. The author went that way and I find the English equivalent conveys and implies exactly the same meaning and elicits the same imagery. Also, it is not all about grammar or syntax, especially with this kind of prose. There is something to be said about the impact that brief, short words have on the mind of the reader.

Steven Huddleston
Mexico
Local time: 15:02
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Andrew Bramhall: That relates to physical size; that is not the context here.//Yes, I've reconsidered, and it's still wrong. "Everything seems little", standing alone refers only to physical size; if you qualify ' little' with an adjective, that's something else;
4 mins
  -> With all due respect, Oliver, but you are wrong. It relates to amount. Otherwise the opposite "much" would also be limited to size. It may take a little effort, but if you take a little time, you might reconsider. // These are nouns, sir.
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
everything (else) seems trivial


Explanation:
www.goodreads.com › quotes › 8401006-everything-s...
16 May 2017 — Joyce Rachelle — 'Everything seems so small, so trivial, when you're on the right altitude.'

davidmcelroy.org › ...
31 Dec 2014 — I went over to his house for him to take a look and give me an unofficial opinion. ... Everything else other than love seems fairly trivial. I've talked ...

AllegroTrans
United Kingdom
Local time: 22:02
Meets criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 36

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Pablo Waldman
45 mins
  -> thanks!
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8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
leaves you wanting more /hankering for more/ nothing seems enough/leaves you feeling dissatisfied


Explanation:
As I read it.

bcsantos
Gibraltar
Local time: 23:02
Meets criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  P Forgas
2 hrs
  -> Thanks!
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4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
everything seems fleeting


Explanation:
"Fleeting" seems to capture the nuances of the source text (rather you than me on this one, BTW).

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 mins (2021-02-05 08:59:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In other words, when you're in love, (or however you happen to be translating "entregamos amor") time seems to fly, otherwise everything seems a drag.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2021-02-06 10:18:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"Time seems not to have passed and everything appears fleeting" works for me. Like in the movie the Time Machine, where time does pass for the protagonist, but everything around him seems fleeting (motion speeded up in the film) as he moves into the future...



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2021-02-06 10:20:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

PS: I'm thinking about the 1960 version of the Time Machine, with Rod Taylor, not the (in my opinion inferior) remake from 2002.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 1 hr (2021-02-06 10:21:09 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Correction: "where time does NOT pass for the protagonist, ..."

Example sentence(s):
  • Everything seems fleeting and insubstantial....

    Reference: http://https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/fleeting
neilmac
Spain
Local time: 23:02
Meets criteria
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 28
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
Notes to answerer
Asker: Thanks, Neil, I like that option. You'd want to see (or not) the rest of the text ;-)

Asker: What is throwing me off here is 'Tiempo parece no haber transcurrido', so it's the opposite to 'time seems to fly'.


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Andrew Bramhall: I don't see any direct reference to 'escurridizo'; it's more the idea of no longer being aware of time, of time standing still;
33 mins
  -> "In the country of the blind" ....
agree  Liliana Garfunkel: Nice. Fleeting, as in "efímero" or "fugaz" I understand it as: "El tiempo se detiene y todo es fugaz, todo lo demás pasa rápidamente". It's poetic.
5 hrs
  -> Thanks for your support :)
agree  Julie Thurston
13 hrs
  -> Cheers, JT:)
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15 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
you never tire of loving/giving


Explanation:
Hi Lisa, although I do not meet the target language requirement, I would just like to explain the meaning of the Spanish expression, in case it helps.

It is a positive feeling: you want to go on loving/giving because it makes you feel good, happy etc.
'Todo parece poco' means that you never get too much of it.

Something along the lines of 'When you give love, time seems to come to a standstill and you never tire of giving/loving'

The same would apply to any work or activity that we really enjoy; we would say 'todo me parece poco` or 'me sabe a poco' no matter the effort.


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Note added at 1 day 10 hrs (2021-02-06 19:02:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Another version of the same idea:
'When you give love, time seems to come to a standstill and you want to keep giving more'


Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
Spain
Local time: 23:02
Does not meet criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 24
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12 days   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
time is not enough


Explanation:
If "todo" refers to time, then there is never sufficient time, but this is not necessarily negative. It just means that love's value cannot be quantified or qualified.

Wordrow (X)
United States
Local time: 17:02
Meets criteria
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
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