Do you know "Bu Zhe Teng"?

Do you know "Bu Zhe Teng"?
Jan 6, 2009 03:19
ZOEY Points: Join Date: Nov 29, 2004 Status: offline	不折腾(Bu 4 Zhe 1 Teng) has become very popular recently after Mr. Hu, the president of the PRC spoke it out at a meeting. Many foreign medias reported this word in their reports. However, they met a problem: they didn't know how to translate is into English. So far, many versions have appeared on the internet, such as "don't flip flop", "Don't get sidetracked". "Don't sway back and forth", "No dithering" and "No major changes". Is there anyone who can give me a better translation? More interestingly, the interpreter at the press conference directly spoke “Bu Zhe Teng" in Chinese without translating it. The audience all burst into smiles. It is very likely that "Bu Zhe Teng" will become a new English word. Take 宇航员 (Yu 3 Hang 2 Yuan 2) for example, American people say "astronaut" and the former Soviet Union said "cosmonaut". After China's Shenzhou spaceship entered the space, a new word appears, that is "taikonaut" used to call Chinese spaceman.

Jan 6, 2009 03:19

ZOEY
Points:
Join Date: Nov 29, 2004
Status: offline

不折腾(Bu 4 Zhe 1 Teng) has become very popular recently after Mr. Hu, the president of the PRC spoke it out at a meeting. Many foreign medias reported this word in their reports. However, they met a problem: they didn't know how to translate is into English. So far, many versions have appeared on the internet, such as "don't flip flop", "Don't get sidetracked". "Don't sway back and forth", "No dithering" and "No major changes". Is there anyone who can give me a better translation?

More interestingly, the interpreter at the press conference directly spoke “Bu Zhe Teng" in Chinese without translating it. The audience all burst into smiles. It is very likely that "Bu Zhe Teng" will become a new English word. Take 宇航员 (Yu 3 Hang 2 Yuan 2) for example, American people say "astronaut" and the former Soviet Union said "cosmonaut". After China's Shenzhou spaceship entered the space, a new word appears, that is "taikonaut" used to call Chinese spaceman.

Jan 6, 2009 07:04	#1
GUEST05115	haha that's really hard to transtate into english. i can't find a phrase to express it accurately. bu zhe teng, a new english word. thats ok i think. lol.

Jan 6, 2009 20:08	#2
CHERRY07 Points: Join Date: Mar 23, 2008 Status: Offline	That interpreter wa funny. Without any explanation, the audience, especially those foreign reporters can't understand the meaning of "Bu Zhe Teng".

Jan 19, 2009 20:02

LEONARDO
Points:
Join Date: May 21, 2007
Status: Offline

This phrase is a headache for many interpreters and translators. Recently, Ren Xiaoping, the Chinese Ambassador in Namibia, has published an article addressing the problem. She collected several versions of the phras:
1.don't flip flop
2.don't get sidetracked
3.don't sway back and forth
4.no dithering
5.no major changes
6.avoid futile actions
7.stop making trouble and wasting time
8.no self-consuming political movements
9.avoid self-inflicted setbacks

She thinks "avoid self-inflicted setbacks" is the best translation of "不折腾".

Jan 20, 2009 21:15	#4
ZOEY Points: Join Date: Nov 29, 2004 Status: Offline	Bu Zhe Teng---No trouble-making This is Ji Xianlin's version. He is a famous translater in China.

Jul 17, 2009 21:34	#5
GUEST01114	vaingloriously!

Jul 17, 2009 21:37	#6
GUEST01114	i'm a material girl; are you? - so no trouble-making!!

Jul 17, 2009 22:02	#7
GUEST01114	Aren’t all the founding fathers of the PRC the Zhetengers? Why we are not allowed to be so? Are we some descendants of the spirit of the fathers?

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