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DPChallenge Forums >> General Discussion >> Translate this German phrase please:
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07/11/2012 02:50:30 PM · #1
I ran this thru Google translate but I just want to make sure I get the full meaning of this:

ihr seid so leise
07/11/2012 02:53:31 PM · #2
Originally posted by smardaz:

I ran this thru Google translate but I just want to make sure I get the full meaning of this:

ihr seid so leise

You're so quiet.
07/11/2012 02:57:15 PM · #3
Thanks Christopher, thats what Google gave me too but there have been times when I translated english into another language and found out my meaning was quite different from what I intended.
07/11/2012 02:58:58 PM · #4
A warning in that vein, a female cat in French is not "chatte"
07/11/2012 03:01:00 PM · #5
Originally posted by smardaz:

Thanks Christopher, thats what Google gave me too but there have been times when I translated english into another language and found out my meaning was quite different from what I intended.

I know what you mean.
Every so often I forget some random obscure French word and use Google translate only to realize it doesn't translate very well. It normally does fairly well on the easy run of the mill words or sentences.
07/11/2012 03:27:40 PM · #6
Originally posted by Spork99:

A warning in that vein, a female cat in French is not "chatte"


pronounced "shat"?
07/11/2012 03:43:09 PM · #7
Originally posted by smardaz:

I ran this thru Google translate but I just want to make sure I get the full meaning of this:

ihr seid so leise


Just keep in mind that "ihr" means "you" but informal plural, not "you" singular. Kind of like "you guys". I was gonna traslate it like "You guys are gentle". Perhaps h2 or bubeltrubel can confirm that. Doesn't "quiet" mean "ruhig" in German?
07/11/2012 03:46:15 PM · #8
Originally posted by AllenP:

Doesn't "quiet" mean "ruhig" in German?

Yes, it does. Can't remember the difference between the two, but "leise" is also quiet in German.
07/11/2012 03:48:52 PM · #9
I believe ruhig is closer to "peaceful" ...
07/11/2012 03:58:14 PM · #10
Originally posted by Spork99:

A warning in that vein, a female cat in French is not "chatte"


LOL.
07/11/2012 04:08:21 PM · #11
Originally posted by smardaz:

Originally posted by Spork99:

A warning in that vein, a female cat in French is not "chatte"


pronounced "shat"?


Yes, but it has nothing to do with the English past tense verb.
07/11/2012 04:24:51 PM · #12
Originally posted by GeneralE:

I believe ruhig is closer to "peaceful" ...


I agree with Paul here and will forever remember the "slang" phrase "immer mit der Ruhe" from my German lessons. (I put slang in quotes because we all know the slang in textbooks is probably quite dorky.)
07/11/2012 04:58:12 PM · #13
Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Originally posted by GeneralE:

I believe ruhig is closer to "peaceful" ...


I agree with Paul here and will forever remember the "slang" phrase "immer mit der Ruhe" from my German lessons. (I put slang in quotes because we all know the slang in textbooks is probably quite dorky.)


Well its the theme to a song by the techno group Aquagen, so my guess is that quiet is the right word
07/11/2012 05:25:50 PM · #14
Originally posted by AllenP:

Originally posted by smardaz:

I ran this thru Google translate but I just want to make sure I get the full meaning of this:

ihr seid so leise


Just keep in mind that "ihr" means "you" but informal plural, not "you" singular. Kind of like "you guys". I was gonna traslate it like "You guys are gentle". Perhaps h2 or bubeltrubel can confirm that. Doesn't "quiet" mean "ruhig" in German?


Let me add my 10 cents worth here. I grew up in Germany for my first 20 years, and although I am now a tad rusty, I think it still counts. Here goes:

Both "leise" and "ruhig" means quiet, the difference is more in the usage.

If you have a bunch of people sitting around saying nothing, you'd hear someone saying: "Ihr seid so ruhig!".

"Ihr seid so leise" is a phrase I'd use for someone who is very good at quietly sneaking around, or perhaps for a band whose equipment isn't belting out the tunes as loudly as expected.

So now that I think about it, perhaps the rule is that "ruhig" goes with speech, "leise" goes with other noise.
07/11/2012 07:27:34 PM · #15
Originally posted by Beetle:

So now that I think about it, perhaps the rule is that "ruhig" goes with speech, "leise" goes with other noise.

I took two years of German in high school, so I should be even more rusty ...
I think it is in usage ... you might say "it's peaceful in here" (es ist hier ruhig) witnessing the silent group, but you'd tell someone to "be quiet" if the individual isn't ... unfortunately the only actual usage of the word I can remember is from the song Die Lorelei, where it could be translated as either "peacefully" or "quietly" ... :-(

Message edited by author 2012-07-11 19:28:10.
07/12/2012 02:36:55 PM · #16
Only the context can determine the 'mot juste' here.

'You (second person plural) are so timid' could be just as apt.
07/12/2012 04:18:46 PM · #17
I think we're missing the original question which was probably to make sure it wasn't an idiom for something. "Ich bin heiss" and "mir ist heiss" probably show similarly in Google translate, but they might not mean the same thing at all (the first meaning "I'm horny" and the second meaning "I'm hot (temperature).
07/12/2012 04:58:48 PM · #18
Originally posted by DrAchoo:

I think we're missing the original question which was probably to make sure it wasn't an idiom for something. "Ich bin heiss" and "mir ist heiss" probably show similarly in Google translate, but they might not mean the same thing at all (the first meaning "I'm horny" and the second meaning "I'm hot (temperature).

Nah, I don't think we're missing that. If it applied here, it would have been pointed out very quickly.

Since there isn't anything terribly risky about that phrase, the discussion became more about subtle differences in usage.
07/12/2012 08:29:10 PM · #19
Originally posted by DrAchoo:

I think we're missing the original question which was probably to make sure it wasn't an idiom for something....

I've always been given to understand that JFK's famous line "Ich bin ein Berliner" translates roughly as "I am a doughnut" (after the local name for a popular fried pastry) ...
07/14/2012 02:13:22 PM · #20
Hi guys!
There are a lot of translations for "leise" in German and also for "ruhig".
"leise" can be silent, quiet, softly, faint, muted
"ruhig" can be peaceful, calm, silent, tranquil, still, serene

it all depends on when and how you want to use it.

As a matter of fact "ihr seid so leise" would be used if the persons talked to usually are loud; Best translation would be "you're so silent", or, when it is about music "your're so low".

I'm at your service for more translations :-)

07/15/2012 01:50:52 PM · #21
Originally posted by Beetle:

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

I think we're missing the original question which was probably to make sure it wasn't an idiom for something. "Ich bin heiss" and "mir ist heiss" probably show similarly in Google translate, but they might not mean the same thing at all (the first meaning "I'm horny" and the second meaning "I'm hot (temperature).

Nah, I don't think we're missing that. If it applied here, it would have been pointed out very quickly.

Since there isn't anything terribly risky about that phrase, the discussion became more about subtle differences in usage.


At the gym where I work out, one of the trainers uses this song for the "group power" class, when I got the translation "you are so quiet" I thought it was quite appropriate as she is always wanting us to hoot and hollar when we are working out. I just wanted to make sure I was accurate when I told her what it meant.
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