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  3. Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

لعل وعسى

English translation: perchance

18:10 Nov 28, 2008
Arabic to English translations [PRO]
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Arabic term or phrase: لعل وعسى
يستطيع القفز عبر هوة مغمض العينين ويلقي بنفسه إلى التهلكة لعل وعسى
jankopolo
Local time: 03:22
English translation:perchance
Explanation:
The sentence is incomplete in Arabic, and therefore will read incomplete in English. This particular phrase is sometimes used at the end of a sentence, with an implied continutation that can only be understood in the larger context.

All the previous suggestions could conceivably work, depending on the context. "Perchance" simply means "perhaps" or "possibly." The reason it might work here is that it is often used in the same way as the Arabic phrase, i.e., at the end of a sentence, with an implied continuation to be understood from the context.
Selected response from:

Fuad Yahya
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2perchance
Fuad Yahya
5who knows!
Noha Kamal, PhD.
4 +1just in case
Yasser El Helw
4Wishing for good luck
Khalid Nasir


Discussion entries: 4





  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
who knows!


Explanation:
with an exclamation point after it.

Noha Kamal, PhD.
Local time: 03:22
Native speaker of: Arabic
PRO pts in category: 68
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6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
just in case


Explanation:
Good luck

Yasser El Helw
Egypt
Local time: 03:22
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  drsamehnour
476 days
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40 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
perchance


Explanation:
The sentence is incomplete in Arabic, and therefore will read incomplete in English. This particular phrase is sometimes used at the end of a sentence, with an implied continutation that can only be understood in the larger context.

All the previous suggestions could conceivably work, depending on the context. "Perchance" simply means "perhaps" or "possibly." The reason it might work here is that it is often used in the same way as the Arabic phrase, i.e., at the end of a sentence, with an implied continuation to be understood from the context.

Fuad Yahya
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 71
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Mohsin Alabdali
8 hrs
agree  Sajjad Hamadani
1 day 12 hrs
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18 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Wishing for good luck


Explanation:
The meaning of عسى ولعل in your text is expectation of a thing hoped, desired for.

Does it your text mean the following?

Wishing for good luck, he can jump across a gap blindly risking his downfall. That’s it; wishing for good luck, his soul walks by its own perception, even without the knowledge of place names.


Khalid Nasir
Iraq
Local time: 04:22
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ArabicArabic
PRO pts in category: 2
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