Oct 21, 2004 11:29
19 yrs ago
1 viewer *
German term

Preise das reife Feld, nicht das grüne Getreide

German to English Art/Literary General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters Proverb
Sorry, me again. It appears my customers have got proverbitis.

Context: letter to an associate saying how projects always have teething troubles but will come good in the long term if they're planned right.

"Deshalb möchte ich Ihnen heute ein Sprichwort aus Europa mit auf den Weg geben: Preise nicht ..."

Apologies for not grading my other proverb queries yet (I've been busy watching Boomtown, which is just as good as if not even better than The Sopranos, The Shield, West Wing, Spooks, State of Play and Six Feet Under - but still not as good as Cracker). Will get around to it today.

Grateful for any suggestions.

Discussion

Marcus Malabad Oct 21, 2004:
off-topic: agree with 6ftUNDER...also suggest Nip&Tuck and of course reality TV! (dedicated Survivor and Amazing Race fan)

Proposed translations

+3
10 mins
German term (edited): Preise das reife Feld, nicht das gr�ne Getreide
Selected

the proof of the pudding is in the eating

whatcha think?
Peer comment(s):

agree Allesklar : fits better into the given context than the German original....maybe they meant 'beurteilen' instead of 'preisen'
4 mins
IMO preisen (as in loben) is okay
agree Ian M-H (X)
1 hr
agree Dr. Fred Thomson : Believe it or not, my fellow Americans have bastardized this adage into "the proof is in the pudding."
1 hr
I've heard that used by non-Americans too
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Graded automatically based on peer agreement."
3 mins
German term (edited): Preise das reife Feld, nicht das gr�ne Getreide

Don't count your chickens before they are hatched

maybe

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Note added at 4 mins (2004-10-21 11:34:38 GMT)
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not really in this context, sorry, didn\'t read the whole thing properly...
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+1
18 mins

everything comes to those who wait

might do

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Note added at 2004-10-21 12:17:37 (GMT)
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All good things come to.....
Peer comment(s):

agree Jonathan MacKerron : seems to fit well in this context; or is it "good things come to those who wait"?
17 mins
both exist
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40 mins
German term (edited): Preise das reife Feld, nicht das gr�ne Getreide

patience has its rewards

gets over a thousand googles
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41 mins
German term (edited): Preise das reife Feld, nicht das gr�ne Getreide

s.u.

Does this proverb really exist in German? Never heard of that before ...
(But - greetings to Germersheim, by the way :-)) nice place!)
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54 mins
German term (edited): Preise das reife Feld, nicht das gr�ne Getreide

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant

says Robert Louis Stevenson

I've also found:
If there were no clouds, we should not enjoy the sun
Great oaks from little acorns grow
Rome was not built in a day

hope it helps;-)
Peer comment(s):

disagree Cilian O'Tuama : is it not exactly the opposite? I.e. DO judge it by the harvest, not by the unripe grain
20 mins
Nope, it means: have faith in your seeds (=the future, the long run) rather than judging your efforts on a daily basis ;-)
neutral Ian M-H (X) : "Rome was not built..." could be okay, at a stretch, but Cilian's right about "Don't judge..." being wrong here // No problems with RLS's phrasing ;-) but I still think the meaning differs from asker's proverb /// yup! ;-))
34 mins
Perhaps it's awkwardly phrased (I'll go and tell RL Stevenson, shall I?) but it means exactly that: don't judge your long term success by your everyday results ;-)// Well, we'll just have to agree to disagree then and let TopKat decide ;-))
agree Edhild : to disagree - this discussion is a linguists delight.....
8 days
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