子善自为之

English translation: = 你好自为之you'd better behave yourself

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Chinese term or phrase:子善自为之
English translation:= 你好自为之you'd better behave yourself
Entered by: 855649 (X)

03:29 May 7, 2008
Chinese to English translations [PRO]
History
Chinese term or phrase: 子善自为之
How to translate it ? Any helps appreciated.

Thankyou
Tony Zhou
Local time: 01:31
=你好自为之you'd better behave yourself
Explanation:
听起来像佛教用语呵:P
im wonder if Confucius had a student named "子善", if yes, hrm..then it could also be 子善/自为之 zishan does it himself :P
Selected response from:

855649 (X)
Local time: 02:31
Grading comment
Thank you so much
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1=你好自为之you'd better behave yourself
855649 (X)
3behave yourself; take care (context needed)
snowlamb
2conduct yourself well
CHEN-Ling


  

Answers


1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
=你好自为之you'd better behave yourself


Explanation:
听起来像佛教用语呵:P
im wonder if Confucius had a student named "子善", if yes, hrm..then it could also be 子善/自为之 zishan does it himself :P

855649 (X)
Local time: 02:31
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
PRO pts in category: 24
Grading comment
Thank you so much

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Pamanush (X): you btr behv urself sounds like telling someone off and too threatening in tone, wot do u think?
2 hrs
  -> 呵呵,是,但是“好自为之”其实也不是什么褒义词。meanwhile, behave oneself could aslo mean acting in the way that ppl think is correct n proper. or "hope you rely on your own resources", wot do u think?

agree  snowlamb: 断成“好自为之”就可以了。"子善/自为之"不太可能,首先没听说孔子有这么个学生;而且即使有,“为”的对象不是发出动作的这个人,而且子善是第三人称,所以一般不用“自”-否则按比较早的汉语讲,应该是“子善 身/亲 为之”。[补充]->["但是文言文中,“自”确有表示自己,自身的意思哦~"]可能刚才没表达清楚:P--孟子这段的第一个“人”只能翻译成"one”或"everyone",而不是某个特定的有名字的人(是泛指,而不是语言学的“专有名词(proper name)”)
6 hrs
  -> 可是孔子有学生叫“善”,只是不确定是不是字“子善”还是名,that's why i said i was wondering :P . 但是文言文中,“自”确有表示自己,自身的意思哦~ 可见《孟子·离娄上》“人必自侮,然后人侮之;家必自毁,而后人毁之;国必自伐,而后人伐之”可见“自”与“子善”是否为第三人称无关呀! but anyway, this is just for fun :)
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
conduct yourself well


Explanation:
conduct yourself well

CHEN-Ling
Local time: 02:31
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese, Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
behave yourself; take care (context needed)


Explanation:
It can be either warning or advise, depending on the context.

子:you
善:better
自:oneself - usually refer to 2nd/1st person or everyone; rarely 3rd person
为:do;behave
之:auxiliary for mood; or just make up the syllables

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Note added at 7 hrs (2008-05-07 10:51:48 GMT)
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forgot to mention, 自oneself as an object can be him/herself; but not as an adverb for him/herself in the ancient Chinese of Confucius' time.

snowlamb
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
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