木を消すりながら自分の命を消する。
English translation: Lit. "Extinguishing your life as you extinguish trees"
| 11:22 Jun 10, 2010 |
| Japanese to English translations [Non-PRO] Poetry & Literature / proverb | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||
|  Selected response from: Benjamin Wood Local time: 21:04 | ||||||
Grading comment
| |||||||
| Summary of answers provided | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Lit. "Extinguishing your life as you extinguish trees" |
|
| Discussion entries: 7 | |
|---|---|
Answers
8 mins confidence: 
Lit. "Extinguishing your life as you extinguish trees" Explanation: That's the literal phrase; but it works better in Japanese because the "trees" part comes first, and the same verb can be used both times. The meaning they are getting at, I am presuming, is that each tree someone cuts down is also shortening thier own life due to the environmental effects. A more poetic version in English might be "whittling away our lives [existance / future etc. might also work] by whittling down our trees," but it really needs to be adapted to fit into whatever context you need it in. |
| |
Grading comment
| ||
| Login to enter a peer comment (or grade) | ||
Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.
You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.
KudoZ™ translation help
The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.
See also:
Search millions of term translations