原文:

塞翁失马,安知非福,使三年前结婚,则此番吾家破费不赀矣。然吾家积德之门,苟婚事早完,淑媳或可脱灾延寿。姻缘前定,勿必过悲。但汝岳父处应去一信唁之。(钱钟书 - 围城 )

翻译关键词:塞翁失马,安(焉)知非福,破费不赀

译文:
This may be a blessing in disguise. If you had married three years earlier, this would have cost us a large sum of money. But with a family of such virtue as ours, if the marriage had taken place earlier, perhaps Shu-ying would have been spared this calamity and lived a long life. One's marriage is predestined, and you have no cause to be overly grieved. You should, however, send a letter of condolence to your father-in-law. (美 Jeanne Kelly, Nathan K.Mao <译> –Fortress Besieged)

翻译笔记:

塞翁失马,安(焉)知非福

这是一个出自《淮南子·人间训》的一个成语,是说可能现在失去些东西,但有可能反而是一件好事
文中译为This may be a blessing in disguise. in disguise译为乔装,伪装
其实这个成语如果理解了他的含义,可以有另外的翻译,像是Behind bad luck comes good luck,直译:在不幸的背后,会有好运来,不是同样是“塞翁失马,焉知非福”的意思吗?例如还有其他的翻译,Misfortune may be a n actual blessing; Sweet are uses of adversity; Nothing so bad might be a blessing能否体会出这些翻译背后的意义吗?
 
破费不赀
 * 这里特别想指出的是“不赀”。破费这个不用解释了,大家都应该知道是什么意思,那这里的“不赀”呢?解释为数量非常多,一般指钱财,数量是无从计量的。
翻译其实很简单,cost a large sum of money。也可以就简单的用一个词来解释expensive
Admittedly, Mercedes-Benz cars is one of the most successful high-grade brand. It will cost us a large sum of money.
众所周知,梅赛德斯奔驰是最成功的高档品牌汽车之一,它将是一笔不赀的花费。
(本文讲解由沪江原创,转载请注明出处)

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