Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Portuguese term or phrase:
eu sei fazer na prática, mas não sei fazer na gramática
English translation:
I can do it in action, but not in abstraction; I can manage the feat, but not the conceit
Added to glossary by
Matheus Chaud
Nov 10, 2023 19:03
6 mos ago
38 viewers *
Portuguese term
eu sei fazer na prática, mas não sei fazer na gramática
Portuguese to English
Art/Literary
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
schooling
I know this is a whole sentence; however, it is an idiom.
In Portuguese, it means that you know something by experience rather than by training ...
thank you all in advance
In Portuguese, it means that you know something by experience rather than by training ...
thank you all in advance
Proposed translations
(English)
Change log
Dec 20, 2023 22:52: Matheus Chaud changed "Edited KOG entry" from "<a href="/profile/109243">Bett's</a> old entry - "eu sei fazer na prática, mas não sei fazer na gramática"" to ""I can do it in action, but not in abstraction; I can manage the feat, but not the conceit""
Proposed translations
+1
4 days
Portuguese term (edited):
Eu sei fazer na prática, mas não sei fazer na gramática
Selected
I can do it in action, but not in abstraction; I can manage the feat, but not the conceit
Tentativa de manter o sentido e a rima, conforme a excelente observação do Mario.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "thank you"
+2
41 mins
I know how to / I can do it in practice, not in theory
In my Google searches, I have found no references to "fazer na prática" and "fazer na gramática" combined. My guess is that "gramática" was used just to rhyme with "práctica", it does not have any particular meaning. It is a filler or an empty word so to speak.
It doesn't sound like this term phrase is an idiom, it might be a saying, although I have never heard it. I would translate it as "I know how to / I can do it in practice, not in theory" or something along those lines.
To the extent that grammar is something we normally learn in school, I guess "theory" might be a good replacement.
Example Sentences
"I told you in detail how to do it in practice, not in theory." https://www.reddit.com/r/STDupont/comments/vo7u5c/what_tool_...
I knew this wasn't right, and it was my job to evangelize UX, but I needed to do it in practice, not in theory. https://www.red-gate.com/blog/working/ux-design-job-at-redga...
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Note added at 42 mins (2023-11-10 19:45:37 GMT)
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Correction: prática
It doesn't sound like this term phrase is an idiom, it might be a saying, although I have never heard it. I would translate it as "I know how to / I can do it in practice, not in theory" or something along those lines.
To the extent that grammar is something we normally learn in school, I guess "theory" might be a good replacement.
Example Sentences
"I told you in detail how to do it in practice, not in theory." https://www.reddit.com/r/STDupont/comments/vo7u5c/what_tool_...
I knew this wasn't right, and it was my job to evangelize UX, but I needed to do it in practice, not in theory. https://www.red-gate.com/blog/working/ux-design-job-at-redga...
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 42 mins (2023-11-10 19:45:37 GMT)
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Correction: prática
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Jéssica Trombini
1 hr
|
Obrigado, Jessica.
|
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agree |
Andrew Bramhall
14 hrs
|
Thank you, Andrew.
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agree |
Breno Gomez
21 hrs
|
Obrigado, Breno.
|
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disagree |
Antônio Souza
: A pessoa se esforçou toda pra fazer uma frase com rima, e sua tradução simplesmente aniquila a rima? De jeito nenhum
5 days
|
2 hrs
I learned [it] in the school of hard knocks
This conveys the same idea as the phrase in Portuguese. I put "it" in brackets because you might want to replace it with whatever is the skill/trade/activity in question. For example, you can use "I learned the language in the school of hard knocks" IF that is the case here. From the context information provided, it's hard to tell what exactly it is.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Muriel Vasconcellos
2 hrs
|
Muito obrigado!
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neutral |
Oliver Simões
: Tenho esta expressão traduzida em meu dicionário idiomático como "escola da vida", que também pode ser expressa por "university of life".
4 hrs
|
"School of hard knocks" é uma proposta válida porque "escola da vida" é semanticamente compatível com "aprendi por experiência".
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disagree |
philgoddard
: I think you must be misunderstanding this phrase. We don't know the context, but there no way this can be correct. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_of_Hard_Knocks
9 hrs
|
It is plausible, given the stated context. From your source: "a response [...] if they do not have an extensive formal education but rather life experiences".
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agree |
Laeticia Maris
: This does seem to work well in the context. The only downside is that it won't keep the rhyme, although the idea itself is there.
1 day 3 hrs
|
Thank you very much!
|
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disagree |
Antônio Souza
: Onde está a rima do original?
5 days
|
O autor usou o marcador de expressão idiomática e explicou o porquê na discussão. Esta proposta contempla o raciocínio ao manter uma expressão no inglês.
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6 hrs
I can do it practically, but not gramatically
Neste caso, é preciso manter a rima, senão destoa do original.
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Clauwolf
: nunca vi isso, talvez seja empregado na China
11 hrs
|
Não é uma expressão idiomática, Cláudio.
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neutral |
Mark Robertson
: Da maneira como escreveu, na prática e practically são amigos falsos. Practically quer dizer quase. Teria de perder a rima e escrever in practice.
1 day 16 hrs
|
23 hrs
I know how to do it in practice, but I don't know how to do it in theory
The phrase "Eu sei fazer na prática, mas não sei fazer na gramática" in Portuguese can be translated to English as:
"I know how to do it in practice, but I don't know how to do it in theory."
This expression is often used to convey the idea that someone has practical experience or skills in a certain area, but they might struggle to articulate or explain the theoretical or grammatical aspects of it.
"I know how to do it in practice, but I don't know how to do it in theory."
This expression is often used to convey the idea that someone has practical experience or skills in a certain area, but they might struggle to articulate or explain the theoretical or grammatical aspects of it.
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Mario Freitas
: Apenas passando para informar que postar uma resposta igual a outra que já foi postada, mudando alguns termos, é uma prática comum entre os novatos aqui, mas nunca deu resultados. Por que não dar um "Agree" ao colega que já postou?
4 hrs
|
agree |
Adrian MM.
: AmE: (noun) practise
21 hrs
|
disagree |
Antônio Souza
: Onde está a rima do original?
4 days
|
4 days
I can do this in practice, but not by the book
This is what I'd say. I have joined two very common idioms, and they work well together in my opinion. Theory in this case, would come across slightly in English as a false friend here I would say, so best to use an idiom such as this.
"DO SOMETING BY THE BOOK"
or go by the book
...to do something correctly and strictly, following all the rules:
"Modern man is often dull, studious, careful, safe. He does everything by the book."
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/do-some...
"IN PRACTICE
Phrase:
What happens in practice is what actually happens, in contrast to what is supposed to happen.
In actual practice, of course, it's more complicated.
In practice, workers do not work to satisfy their needs."
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/in-prac...
"DO SOMETING BY THE BOOK"
or go by the book
...to do something correctly and strictly, following all the rules:
"Modern man is often dull, studious, careful, safe. He does everything by the book."
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/do-some...
"IN PRACTICE
Phrase:
What happens in practice is what actually happens, in contrast to what is supposed to happen.
In actual practice, of course, it's more complicated.
In practice, workers do not work to satisfy their needs."
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/in-prac...
Peer comment(s):
disagree |
Antônio Souza
: Onde está a rima do original?
1 day 58 mins
|
agree |
Oliver Simões
: Clearly, there is no point in maintaining rhymes in detriment of meaning.
2 days 2 hrs
|
-1
5 days
I can do this in the manner, but not in grammar
A única sugestão correta até agora, que traduz gramática corretamente e conserva o traço mais importante do texto fonte, que é a sonoridade
Peer comment(s):
disagree |
Lara Barnett
: This is highly ungrammatical and does not sound idiomatic in terms of natural English language. There is no point in compromising natural English usage and phrasing, simply for the sake of a rhyme.
4 hrs
|
neutral |
Oliver Simões
: In this context, "grammar" makes no sense to a native speaker. I read somewhere that literal translations are hardly ever recommended, which I don't quite agree with. In some cases, it's better to go literal but not here.
1 day 1 hr
|
Discussion
I maintained the rhyme at the author's request, as they opted to preserve the interviewees' idiolect (which included non-standard forms) in order to highlight the naturality of the speech. Thank you again for your invaluable time and effort.
"Eu não sei fazer as quatro operação de conta não, mas as que eu já sei já dá para sobreviver, né?” “Qual o senhor não sabe fazer?” “Geralmente a de dividir (...) Eu tenho dificuldades na caneta... Vamos supor, você vai fazer uma conta de dividir... ai se fazer no papel é mais difícil. (...) As pessoas sabem fazer na gramática mas não fazer na prática. Eu sei fazer na prática, mas não sei fazer na gramática.” (XXX, 69 )
Eu, que já estou na casa dos 60, já tinha ouvido essa expressão, bem como a "ele é doutor de bola, mas não de escola"... Enfim, estou em busca da melhor tradução e agradeço a todos pela frutífera discussão.
Para reflexão:
1) É correto, do ponto de vista linguístico, traduzir uma expressão não idiomática por uma idiomática?
2) O que deve ter precedência: uma tradução que faça sentido ou a manutenção da rima? (Uma rima traduzida pode não fazer sentido para um falante nativo, seja de inglês ou português. Tanto é que em tradução poética às vezes o tradutor tem que abandonar a ideia de rima em favor do sentido expresso em cada verso. Nem toda rima é traduzível.)
3) O que o autor/autora realmente quis dizer com esta expressão? (Parece-me algo sem nexo, talvez porque esteja faltando contexto.)
Are you sure it's an idiom? It looks like a literal statement.