https://www.proz.com/kudoz/russian-to-english/psychology/5848585-%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9.html

Glossary entry

Russian term or phrase:

небезобидный

English translation:

dubious

Added to glossary by Susan Welsh
May 12, 2015 14:59
9 yrs ago
1 viewer *
Russian term

небезобидный

Russian to English Social Sciences Psychology education
This is an academic paper on educational psychology.

Как может ученик узнать о своем незнании?... Вопрос о том, надо ли стремиться к развитию **очень небезобидной способности** знать свои пределы и преодолевать их, не является дискуссионным: он лежит в сфере ценностей. От его решения зависит выбор целей и, соответственно, методов начального образования.

So: обидный = offensive
безобидный = inoffensive, innocent, harmless
небезобидный = rather offensive?? Ushakov: Достаточно обидный. || Такой, что может сам обидеть, способный обидеть другого.
очень небезобидный = very rather offensive???

In my context, this makes no sense at all, the more so since the quality seems to be a positive one. But Russian anti-drug chief Ivanov says: "Марихуана - **очень небезобидная вещь.** Она, прежде всего, угнетает и ведет к психиатрическим заболеваниям - шизофрении, маниакальным процессам, глубоким депрессиям и так далее."

What am I left with here?

Thanks!

Discussion

Judith Hehir May 12, 2015:
I am thinking... that perhaps "egregious" might work here?

Just a thought
Susan Welsh (asker) May 12, 2015:
Oh, I think I get it. Thanks
Mikhail Kropotov May 12, 2015:
That very sentiment underscores the difference in the philosophies. The alternative point of view holds that when you don't know your limitations, you're more free to explore and expand your knowledge. You may not even realize that there are any limitations. Whereas, when you do know your limitations, you may have to expend extra resources just to convince yourself that you MAY be able to go beyond them.
Susan Welsh (asker) May 12, 2015:
I don't see how knowing one's limitations and seeking to overcome them can possibly be construed negatively, which is what the word seems to do.
Mikhail Kropotov May 12, 2015:
That's because обидный isn't an antonym of безобидный.
Mark Berelekhis May 12, 2015:
Still an odd word to use here IMO, if that is what the author means.
Mikhail Kropotov May 12, 2015:
If you think you know your limits, you might not aspire to go beyond them.
If you don't know your limits, you may aspire to go beyond and might achieve greater success.
Mikhail Kropotov May 12, 2015:
Obviously, the author claims that knowing your limits / limitations CAN BE harmless. What's illogical about that?

Proposed translations

+2
3 mins
Selected

not at all harmless

not in the least innocent

#

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Note added at 4 mins (2015-05-12 15:04:30 GMT)
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or

...which only seems harmless

deceptively harmless
Peer comment(s):

agree danya
44 mins
agree cyhul
5 days
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Finding myself in the position of King Solomon, with the possibility of hacking the baby in half with a sword, I give the points to Mikhail because his discussion comments were most helpful and got me past the mental block I was having. However, I think Jurate's solution is excellent, and will use that, so thanks to her too!"
+3
4 mins

hardly harmless

Works great for the second instance (regarding marijuana), but I'm not so sure about the first -- kind of puzzles me as well.
Note from asker:
Just to be clear, since fazil apparently misunderstood: the bit about marijuana is NOT my source text; it was something I found while googling and put in as an example that is quite clear in meaning, but which means the opposite of what my source text seems to mean.
Peer comment(s):

agree fazil : But marijuana is hardly harmless, says the national institute of drug abuse
1 hr
Thank you.
agree Donald Jacobson
1 hr
Thank you.
agree Ekaterina Gvritishvili
4 hrs
Thank you.
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35 mins

harmful

dangerous
Something went wrong...
22 hrs

more harmful than not

Another version of translation, though, may be, not quite exact.
Something went wrong...
1 day 1 hr

dubious

or questionable
Example sentence:

XXX

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