July 9, 2020
put stones on someone's way
There are always people who make our lives more difficult than they are. Often, they do it on purpose. In German, we have a good expression for this kind of situation: those people put stones in our way.
There are, for example, companies that use annoying methods to prevent us from buying from someone else next time. Or there are managers who envy us our advancement.
However, we learn how to deal with this kind of difficulty. That's why a very wise man created the following aphorism: You can use the stones that someone puts on your way to build something beautiful for yourself. It's one of my favourite aphorisms.
Auch aus den Steinen, die man dir in den Weg legt, kannst du dir etwas Schönes bauen.
There are always people who make our lives more difficult than they arshould be.
There are, for example, companies that use annoying methods to prevent us from buying from someone else the next time.
Or there are managers who envy us our advancementpromotion.
Do you mean a single promotion or that the managers are jealous of their overall career success? Most likely promotion works here.
July 9, 2020
Good work! I think the closest saying in English we have is "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade". I also wouldn't use the word "aphorism" in everyday speech, it sounds antiquated, but it's the correct word for this topic. Saying instead of aphorism works.
July 10, 2020
Or there are managers who envy us our advancementpromotion.
What I was trying to say is that there are many managers who are afraid that their subordinates might do something better than they would, so they try to keep their staff uninformed and don't invest into their capabilities.
July 10, 2020
In that case, I would recommend writing it as: Or there are managers that will hinder/block our success to keep their status.
put stones oin someone's way
"on [someone's/the] way" is a common English expression, but it means something different than "in [someone's/the] way" and I think you mean the latter.
...
"on [someone's/the] way" = along the path or while traveling that direction (equivalent of German unterwegs, I think?)
Examples:
On the way to my friend's house, I saw three deer on the side of the road.
[text to a friend to let them know you're in the car coming]: On my way
[during a road trip]: Do you want to sit in at a restaurant or go through a drive through and eat on the way?
...
"in [someone's/the] way" = obstructing the way forward,
Examples: "We can't park there because there's a fire hydrant in the way." "You're in my way when you stand there - I can't see the TV!"
Often, they do it on purpose.
In German, we have a good expression for this kind of situation: those people put stones in our way.
That's why a very wise man created the following aphorism: You can use the stones that someone puts oin your way to build something beautiful for yourself.
It's one of my favourite aphorisms.
Feedback
Is this another Karl Kraus one? I did a quick search for the aphorism you shared last time to see if there was an "official" translation and found a whole wikiquotes page dedicated to his aphorisms that have been translated into English, but the one you shared wasn't there. It's interesting which ones English speakers deemed worth translating. My favorite from the list on wikiquotes is "Keep your passions in check, but beware of giving your reason free rein."
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Karl_Kraus
July 10, 2020
put stones oin someone's way
In German, "der Weg" is an allegory to how our life develops.
I think in English, there is something similar, or is "carreer path" one of those words that only Germans believe to be English?
July 10, 2020
I forgot: This saying is not Karl Kraus, but Erich Kästner.
July 11, 2020
You're right about English. "Career path" is definitely an English phrase and while I'm sure it's not exactly the same as German, we do talk about life as though it is a path or journey. So you could definitely say "You can use the stones that someone puts in your path to build something beautiful for yourself." I would still recommend "in" instead of "on" because like "in your way", "in your path" has that idea of obstruction, of blocking your way forward, of being a bad thing. There is a motivational quote that is similar to this German saying, going something like, "There will always be people who will throw rocks in your path. It's up to you, though, what you build with them - a wall or a bridge."
Also thank you for the clarification on the aphorism's author :)
put stones on someone's way
There are always people who make our lives more difficult than they arcould/should be.
Often, they do it on purpose.
In German, we have a good expression for this kind of situation: those people put stones in our way.
There are, for example, companies that use annoying methods to prevent us from buying from someone else the next time.
Or there are managers who envy us our advancement.
However, we learn how to deal with thisese kinds of difficultyies.
This is plural, because you have given multiple examples
That's why a very wise man created the following aphorism: You can use the stones that someone puts on your way to build something beautiful for yourself.
This is correct, but a standard saying would be:
That's why a wise once said: You can use the stones that someone puts on your way to build something beautiful for yourself.
It's one of my favourite aphorisms.
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put stones on someone's way This sentence has been marked as perfect! put stones "on [someone's/the] way" is a common English expression, but it means something different than "in [someone's/the] way" and I think you mean the latter. ... "on [someone's/the] way" = along the path or while traveling that direction (equivalent of German unterwegs, I think?) Examples: On the way to my friend's house, I saw three deer on the side of the road. [text to a friend to let them know you're in the car coming]: On my way [during a road trip]: Do you want to sit in at a restaurant or go through a drive through and eat on the way? ... "in [someone's/the] way" = obstructing the way forward, Examples: "We can't park there because there's a fire hydrant in the way." "You're in my way when you stand there - I can't see the TV!" |
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There are always people who make our lives more difficult than they are. There are always people who make our lives more difficult than they There are always people who make our lives more difficult than they |
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Often, they do it on purpose. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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In German, we have a good expression for this kind of situation: those people put stones in our way. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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There are, for example, companies that use annoying methods to prevent us from buying from someone else next time. There are, for example, companies that use annoying methods to prevent us from buying from someone else the next time. There are, for example, companies that use annoying methods to prevent us from buying from someone else the next time. |
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Or there are managers who envy us our advancement. Or there are managers who envy Or there are managers who envy Do you mean a single promotion or that the managers are jealous of their overall career success? Most likely promotion works here. |
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However, we learn how to deal with this kind of difficulty. However, we learn how to deal with th This is plural, because you have given multiple examples |
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That's why a very wise man created the following aphorism: You can use the stones that someone puts on your way to build something beautiful for yourself. That's why a very wise man created the following aphorism: You can use the stones that someone puts on your way to build something beautiful for yourself. This is correct, but a standard saying would be: That's why a wise once said: You can use the stones that someone puts on your way to build something beautiful for yourself. That's why a very wise man created the following aphorism: You can use the stones that someone puts |
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It's one of my favourite aphorisms. This sentence has been marked as perfect! This sentence has been marked as perfect! |
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