萝卜青菜各有所爱
萝卜青菜,各有所爱。[误] Some prefer radish but others prefer cabbage.
[正] Tastes differ.
注:Tastes differ/vary是句英语谚语,除此以外,原句还可翻译成:
No dish suits all tastes.
You can nevermake everyone happy.
All things fit not all persons.
Every man has his hobby horse.
Every man to his taste.
It is difficult to cater for all tastes.
It is hard to suit all tastes.
No dish suits all tastes.
Some persons like to eat radishes, others prefer cabbages--people's tastes are various.
There is no accounting for tastes.
There is no disputing about tastes.
对于广大中国人来说,"青菜萝卜,各有所爱"应该既是俗语、也是熟语了吧,平时聊天侃大山的时候都会不假思索地脱口而出。但是如果说要用英语表达一下,能立刻答上来的人可能就不多了。
在欧美人口中,与“青菜萝卜,各有所爱”同意的表达也挺多的,常用到的一个是"to each his own",它的意思就是“不同的人有不同的看法和品味,无所谓谁对谁错”,美国人在两种情况下喜欢说这句话:
1) 那些喜欢喋喋不休,力图把自己的观点强加给别人的人总是很讨厌吧?不用怕,给你一块挡箭牌吧,用"To each his own",等于委婉地跟对方说“你有你的想法,我有我的意见,我不会跟你争的”。比如:
Jack: I'm going to catch Curse of the Golden Flower this weekend.
这个周末我准备去看《满城尽带黄金甲》。
July: Are you kidding me? Curse of the Golden Flower is boring as hell! The Departed is so much better!
开玩笑吧?《满城尽带黄金甲》无聊死了,《无间道风云》不知道好看多少呢。
Jack: Well, to each his own. I'll stick with Curse of the Golden Flower.
萝卜青菜,各有所爱。我还是想去看《满城尽带黄金甲》。
2) 如果别人征询自己的意见,回答得过于直接又怕会伤到别人怎么办?用"to each his own"呗,轻松搞定。比如:
朋友刚买了一条黑色的新裙子,兴冲冲地跑过来问:
What do you think of my new dress? Is it beautiful? 你觉得我的新裙子怎么样?漂亮么!
你可以这样回答:
I'd never choose black, but to each his own.
如果是我就不会选黑色的了。不过,各人品味不同啊,穿在你身上就不一样了。
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