漢譯英最易翻錯的100句（1）

01. 有他這顆掃帚星，什么事情都辦不成。

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

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

注：“掃帚星”是中國人對“慧星”(comet)的俗稱，因其后面象拖著的一條像掃帚一樣的長尾巴而得名。在中國古代，“掃帚星”被認為是災難的預兆，并被用來比喻不吉利的人或事;禍根：(person or thing that is thought to bring)bad luck(to sb/sth);curse。英語的 comet 雖然沒有這層含義，但卻有一個對應的說法，即 jinx。 例：There's a jinx on/Someone's put a jinx on this car: it's always giving me trouble. “這輛汽車上有什么妨人的東西，總給我找麻煩”。

02.蘿卜青菜，各有所愛。

[誤] Some prefer radish but others prefer cabbage.

[正] Tastes differ.

注：Tastes differ/vary 是句英語諺語，除此以外，原句還可翻譯成 No dish suits all tastes 或 You can never make everyone happy 等。《新概念英語》第三冊第23課的標題是：One man's meat is another man's poison，表達的很生動。 總之，應采取意譯。

03.他一向嘴硬，從不認錯。

[誤] 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。主要是男孩們打架時的用語，當一方想制服另一方時，就用命令的口氣說：“Say uncle!”這時，有的孩子為了表示不服輸，就是不說。后來，say uncle 就成了“服輸”的代名詞，而 not say uncle 就相當于“嘴硬”了。

04.老師很喜歡這個嘴甜的小姑娘。

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

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

注：中國人喜歡說“嘴甜”，但 honey-lipped 更符合英美人的語言習慣。

05.同學們都很討厭他，因為他經(jīng)常拍老師的馬屁。

[誤] The student 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：以前在歐洲，臣民見到國王與王后往往要葡匐到在，親吻他們的靴子。后來，人們將 lick the boots 引申為“為了某種目的而討好某人”，它與漢語的“拍馬屁”含義一樣。在美國英語中，“拍馬屁”還有另一種說法，即 polish the apple，它典出以前的學生用擦亮的蘋果來討好老師。