老外不懂的“中式英语”如何翻译

1. 有他这颗扫帚星，什么事情都办不成。

[误] With a comet like him, nothing can be accomplished.

[正] With a jinx like him, nothing can be accomplished.

注：“扫帚星”是中国人对“慧星”（comet）的俗称，因其后面拖着一条像扫帚一样的长尾巴而得名。在中国古代，“扫帚星”被认为是灾难的预兆，并被用来比喻不吉利的人或事；祸根：（person or thing that is thought to bring）bad luck（to sb/sth）；curse。英语的comet 虽然没有这层含义，但却有一个对应的说法，即jinx。

例：There's a jinx on/Someone's put a jinx on this car: it's always giving me trouble. （这辆汽车上有什么妨人的东西，总给我找麻烦。）

2.萝卜青菜，各有所爱。

[误] Some prefer radish but others prefer cabbage.

[正] Tastes differ.

注：Tastes differ/vary是句英语谚语，除此以外，原句还可翻译成 No dish suits all tastes 或 You can never make everyone happy 等。此外，我们还可以这样说：One man's meat is another man's poison. 总之，应采取意译。

3.他一向嘴硬，从不认错。

[误] He has always got a hard mouth and never admit a fault.

[正] He never says uncle.

注：say (cry) uncle: to give up or in; to surrender; to admit defeat. Mainly used by boys, as when fighting. 这句话主要是男孩们打架时的用语，当一方想制服另一方时，就用命令的口气说：“Say uncle!” 这时，有的孩子为了表示不服输，就是不说。后来，say uncle 就成了“服输”的代名词，而 not say uncle 就相当于“嘴硬”了。

4.老师很喜欢这个嘴甜的小姑娘。

[误] The teacher likes this sweet-mouthed little girl very much.

[正] The teacher likes this honey-lipped little girl very much.

注：中国人喜欢说“嘴甜”，但 honey-lipped 更符合英美人的语言习惯。

5.同学们都很讨厌他，因为他经常拍老师的马屁。

[误] The students all dislike him because he often pats the teacher's ass.

[正] The students all dislike him because he often licks the teacher's boots.

注：以前在欧洲，臣民见到国王与王后往往要亲吻他们的靴子。后来，人们将 lick the boots 引申为“为了某种目的而讨好某人”，它与汉语的“拍马屁”含义一样。在美国英语中，“拍马屁”还有另一种说法，即 polish the apple，源于以前的学生用擦亮的苹果来讨好老师。