Sep 13, 2013 14:32
10 yrs ago
1 viewer *
German term
United States
Was machst du für Geschichten?
German to English
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Teen novel
This appears in a teen novel, after a high school (boy) student's girlfriend swims out into a lake, so far that she's exhausted. He has to go and get her and pull her into his rowboat, leans over her, and asks,
"Was machst du für Geschichten?"
I'm thinking along the lines of,
"What are you trying to do?" or
"What are you trying to pull?"
There's actually a book written with this title, but it seems to be an idiom of some kind here. Am I anywhere close?
Thanks,
Andrew
"Was machst du für Geschichten?"
I'm thinking along the lines of,
"What are you trying to do?" or
"What are you trying to pull?"
There's actually a book written with this title, but it seems to be an idiom of some kind here. Am I anywhere close?
Thanks,
Andrew
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Sep 13, 2013 14:41: writeaway changed "Field (specific)" from "Poetry & Literature" to "General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters"
Proposed translations
17 mins
Iris Cornejo
Canada
Canada
Works in field
Canada
Spanish native speaker from Lima, Peru.
Native in: Spanish (Variant: Latin American)
Works in: English to Spanish, Spanish to English, German to Spanish
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
"What´s wrong with you?"
Note from asker:
| Direct, to the point, and I liked it. |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Vielen Dank!"
+1
35 mins
What do you think you are doing?
What the hell are you up to? if teh context merits something stronger
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
writeaway
: don't see how any of this fits. why introduce swearing?
5 mins
|
|
because it might well fit the context - unless you know more about it
|
|
| agree |
Horst Huber (X)
: What on earth" some people would say.
44 mins
|
1 hr
Bettina Hammer
Austria
Austria
Native in German
Specializes in field
Austria
Translations and Writings: Count on me
Native in: German (Variant: Germany)
Works in: English to German
Why do you mess around like that?
If the girl in the story has done similar things before, I would recommend something like "Why do you keep doing things like that?". If this is the first incident "what do you think you are doing" would be good, but it depends on the mood the friend is. If he is more concerned than anry, "what do you think you are doing" fits, but if he is angry and shouting "Are you drunk or what?" for example would fit better."Why do you mess around like that?" would also fit in.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Helen Shiner
: This isn't idiomatic EN or grammatically correct. Why are you messing around like this? - would be correct.
3 hrs
|
+3
1 hr
Michael Martin, MA
United States
United States
Native in German
&
English
Specializes in field
United States
Creativity wins in the long run
Native in: German (Variant: Germany) 
, English (Variant: US)
Works in: German to English
Related KudoZ points
:
98
You're giving me a scare here (you know that?)
Although not explicitly, both German and English idioms conjure up a sense of relief rather than anger at the person who's the source of all that trouble.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
palilula (X)
29 mins
|
|
Thanks again, palilula!
|
|
| agree |
Anne Schulz
: Exactly!
2 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Anne.
|
|
| neutral |
Lancashireman
: You gave me a scare there. (I hope you realise) // Just a minor matter of 1) tense; 2) vantage point; 3) choice of vocabulary (AKA native speaker finesse)
5 hrs
|
|
All I realize is that I am seeing a pointless comment!//Your attempts to make teenagers sound like you are not particularly helpful, IMO.
|
|
| agree |
Thayenga
: Enjoy your weekend, Michael. ;)
20 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Thayenga. Likewise!
|
+1
15 hrs
What'd you do that for?
Much too late, but a mild and simple suggestion
Yahoo doesn't work so well with proz.
Yahoo doesn't work so well with proz.
Discussion