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Es genügt nicht Recht zu haben, man muss es auch bekommen

English translation: Being right is not enough, you have to be seen to be right

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:Es genügt nicht Recht zu haben, man muss es auch bekommen
English translation:Being right is not enough, you have to be seen to be right
Entered by: Douglas Arnott

20:09 May 4, 2009
German to English translations [PRO]
Bus/Financial - Law (general) / saying
German term or phrase: Es genügt nicht Recht zu haben, man muss es auch bekommen
This comes from a general text about law firms working in CEE, and discusses the situation in those countries for western law firms.
Douglas Arnott
Local time: 01:34
Being right is not enough, getting justice is what counts
Explanation:
A less accurate alternative, but one that would keep the repetition of the original, would be 'It's not enough to be right, you have to be seen to be right'
Selected response from:

Anne-Marie Grant (X)
Local time: 00:34
Grading comment
I went for your alternative in the end, thanks.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +10Being right is not enough. You also have to win your case.
Paul Cohen
3 +3Being right is not enough, getting justice is what counts
Anne-Marie Grant (X)
3 +1It's not enough to be right; you need to win your rights, too
Lirka
4Not only you need to be right , but you need to find someone who admits you are
Emilia De Paola
3Being right is not enough, unless you can get justice.
Veronika McLaren


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


28 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +10
Being right is not enough. You also have to win your case.


Explanation:
For starters...

A cynical alternative, just for fun: Being right is not enough. You also have to prove that the other guy is wrong!!!

Paul Cohen
Greenland
Local time: 22:34
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 52

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Johanna Timm, PhD: You're too fast! Here's what I had: "Being right is not enough. You've gotta/need to prove it in court, as well!
4 mins
  -> "You also need to prove it in court." Nice. We'll let the judge/jury decide!
agree  Veronika McLaren
5 mins
agree  Anne-Marie Grant (X): very good!
7 mins
  -> Thanks, Anne-Marie ;-)
agree  CArcher
18 mins
agree  writeaway: legal eagle in the making?
27 mins
  -> a para-legal beagle mutt is more like it
agree  Ingeborg Gowans (X): also with Johanna's idea
34 mins
agree  Bernhard Sulzer: being right is one thing, getting/receiving agrees/agreement another. :)
44 mins
  -> Or: It's not enough to get loads of agrees. You also have to be right.
agree  Textklick: Yes. I fear that justice per se is not meant here, but rather achieving the decision that you are fighting for. Added: Precisely.
1 hr
  -> We are talking about solicitors, after all.
neutral  Lirka: I am not a German native, so it is possible that I am missing the nuance, but I think that the second part is about the need to assert one's rights not about proving your case in court
1 hr
  -> How do we assert our rights in a country with the rule of law? We go to court. And, at least from a lawyer's perspective, we're only "right" if we manage to win our case. That's what "recht bekommen" means.
agree  Cilian O'Tuama: you also have to be deemed right
1 hr
  -> Right, indeed! ;-)
agree  hazmatgerman (X): As to German intent, having your field day in court is what counts rather than self-assertiveness. And implicitly acknowledging procedural, formal and financial hurdles while getting there. Regards.
9 hrs
  -> "having your field day in court" - exactement, mon cher!
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32 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Being right is not enough, getting justice is what counts


Explanation:
A less accurate alternative, but one that would keep the repetition of the original, would be 'It's not enough to be right, you have to be seen to be right'

Anne-Marie Grant (X)
Local time: 00:34
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 13
Grading comment
I went for your alternative in the end, thanks.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Cilian O'Tuama: agree with "be seen to be", but not with "justice"
1 hr
agree  Colin Rowe: With "It's not enough to be right, you have to be seen to be right". All the suggestions about "having one's day in court", etc., are, to my mind, taking too narrow a view of what the expression "recht bekommen" actually means.
18 hrs
agree  Lancashireman: With the above. The idea is expressed more forcefully if the key word 'right' appears in both clauses. References to 'court' and 'case' are taking a liberty with the original quote.
1 day 3 hrs
agree  Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
1 day 15 hrs
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33 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Being right is not enough, unless you can get justice.


Explanation:
Or pursuing rights...
A more liberal interpretation with a more literal translation?

Veronika McLaren
Local time: 19:34
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  writeaway: so it is enough if you can get justice?
21 mins
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
It's not enough to be right; you need to win your rights, too


Explanation:
basically it says that it's not enough to be right, but that one needs to assert one's rights as well....I do not think that it is about winning cases...

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Note added at 1 hr (2009-05-04 21:54:25 GMT)
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I think it is about the western firms having due rights in the non-western climate :)

Lirka
Austria
Local time: 01:34
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  KARIN ISBELL
15 mins
  -> Thanks for confirming, Karin
neutral  Cilian O'Tuama: can't see where rightS come into it
53 mins
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26 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Not only you need to be right , but you need to find someone who admits you are


Explanation:
I think this is a famous aphorism invented by the Italian former Minister Giulio Andreotti:

Non basta aver ragione, bisogna anche trovare qualcuno che te la dia (for those who understand Italian...)

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Note added at 10 hrs (2009-05-05 06:19:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

I am not a German or English native so something may be wrong with my translation, but as the original saying was born in Italy, I can surely say it has nothing to do with winning cases in court or asserting one's right, it exactly means it is not enough being right, there must be someone who recognizes you are right, who realizes you are right, who admits you are right, otherwise anyone of us can think to be right in one's own mind, even mad or stupid or unreasonable people....

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Note added at 17 hrs (2009-05-05 13:13:37 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------


Risultati di ricerca
Giulio Andreotti • Non basta avere ragione: bisogna avere anche ...
La pagina mostra la citazione di un aforisma di Giulio Andreotti; codice 12608; sono inoltre presenti brevi informazioni biografiche dell'autore.
aforismi.meglio.it/aforisma.htm?id=4a3a - 27k -

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day15 hrs (2009-05-06 12:01:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

This link opens it better for those ones who are interested!

http://aforismi.studenti.it/aforisma.htm?id=4a3a

Emilia De Paola
Italy
Local time: 01:34
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Lirka: I also thought along those lines, with a slight modification of the second part
1 hr
neutral  Paul Cohen: I have to admit that something may have been lost in translation. ;-)
2 hrs
  -> Who admits you are right, of course. At least I have the merit of having been the first to understand the sense of the sentence : )
neutral  Lancashireman: I doubt whether Giulio Andreotti was the first person to formulate this sentiment in an aphorism.
16 hrs
  -> I am not completely sure, too, of course, but there 's a lot on the web confirming it. See my last note, I reported a link, but it is in Italian..
neutral  Cilian O'Tuama: but it's more than finding "someone" - you need a consensus
1 day 1 hr
  -> pleaseee, stop crucifying meee...Obviously 'someone' is symbolic for something general and, as I said, I made reference to the Italian saying which says 'qualcuno' (someone) but I step off and leave the confrontation to you all!
neutral  Colin Rowe: Many thanks for providing the interesting Italian quotation :-)
1 day 12 hrs
  -> Thanks to you, Colin!
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