zosia Posted September 4, 2009 at 08:23 PM Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 at 08:23 PM im getting a tattoo done soon and want it in traditional chinese, need help, could somebody please translate - "everything happens for a reason" for me? big thanks!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firefly Posted September 5, 2009 at 01:07 AM Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 at 01:07 AM 事出皆有因 Anyway, this translation is not very suitable for a tatto. Hope someone could provide a better answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymoose Posted September 5, 2009 at 02:55 AM Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 at 02:55 AM You could try 凡事皆有其理由 but as I'm not a native speaker, you may want to wait for further advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinboy Posted September 5, 2009 at 03:02 AM Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 at 03:02 AM 无风不起浪 is this ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fanglu Posted September 5, 2009 at 03:12 AM Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 at 03:12 AM Can I ask a question, by 'everything happens for a reason' what do you mean exactly? As I see it the phrase has two interpretations, one being 'everything is caused by something' and the other being 'everything that happens is fated to happen'. Firefly and Anonymouse's translations both point to 1, but my guess would be you mean 2. Right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymoose Posted September 5, 2009 at 03:44 AM Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 at 03:44 AM As I see it the phrase has two interpretations, one being 'everything is caused by something' and the other being 'everything that happens is fated to happen'. Firefly and Anonymouse's translations both point to 1, but my guess would be you mean 2. Right? I don't think it's as clear-cut as that. As it stands, the OP's original sentence and my translation could be interpreted in both ways you suggested. Let's take a closer look at 凡事皆有其理由. Translated literally, it is something like "Everything has it's reason". Now, "reason" could be interpreted as just the cause in a cause and effect sequence, as reflected in your "everything is caused by something" interpretation. However, "reason" could equally well be interpreted as, say the "devine reason", "God's will", which would then correspond with your “everything that happens is fated to happen” interpretation. So I believe 凡事皆有其理由 is an appropriate translation of the OP's original phrase. Another possibility is 凡事皆有其道, which (to my ears, anyway) sounds better because it is composed of three pairs syllables. Whether these are good phrases to use as a tattoo and whether there are better ways to translate the OP's phrase are different issues which I will leave to others to comment on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fengyixiao Posted September 5, 2009 at 06:45 AM Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 at 06:45 AM 事出有因 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zosia Posted September 5, 2009 at 11:33 AM Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 at 11:33 AM Thanks everyone for reply. 'everything is caused by something' that would b the meaning of the phrase. i have a ready one but dont know if its ok 有事必有因 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted September 5, 2009 at 11:56 AM Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 at 11:56 AM IMHO all the suggestions are odd for a tattoo. Please don't do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semantic nuance Posted September 6, 2009 at 05:25 AM Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 at 05:25 AM How about 因緣? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guoke Posted September 7, 2009 at 05:13 AM Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 at 05:13 AM "缘起" or "缘起缘灭" seems pretty cool for a tattoo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kk_agnostic Posted September 7, 2009 at 06:21 AM Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 at 06:21 AM how about 因果规律？ please refer to: http://baike.baidu.com/view/8748.htm 一切诸果 皆从因起 一切诸报 皆从业起 《华严经》三世因果 循环不失 善恶之报 如影随形 《涅盘经》 因缘会遇时 果报还自受 假使百千劫 所作业不亡 《大包积经》 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zosia Posted September 9, 2009 at 12:27 PM Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 at 12:27 PM 一切發生的原因 whould that b the right one ? "everything happens for a reason" ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skylee Posted September 10, 2009 at 01:01 PM Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 at 01:01 PM 一切發生的原因whould that b the right one ? "everything happens for a reason" ??? It means something like "the reason of everything that happend(ed/s)" or "the reaon why everthing happen(ed/s)". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zosia Posted September 10, 2009 at 03:59 PM Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 at 03:59 PM Thanks everyone 4 all your suggestions! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Posted September 10, 2009 at 08:27 PM Report Share Posted September 10, 2009 at 08:27 PM 事有起因 or if you want it a bit more pseudo-Buddhist, 凡物有起因 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zosia Posted September 13, 2009 at 12:49 AM Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 at 12:49 AM could someone tell me which of the translations is the closest to "everything happens for a reason" 事出必有因 or 凡事發生皆有其理 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HashiriKata Posted September 13, 2009 at 06:26 AM Report Share Posted September 13, 2009 at 06:26 AM Both are equally close to "everything happens for a reason" but for a tattoo, I'd take 事出必有因 for its conciseness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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