Nos matamos de la risa......why is this translated into "we couldn't stop laughing??? Is this not confusing to beginners?
Lesson 9.4
dwighthogg2
March 13, 2020
Steven-W15
March 14, 2020
Good question. "We died laughing" is the equivalent expression of course in English and maybe it should be translated as such - I'll leave that for others.
Regarding literal translations in general though, my gut feeling is that it's actually better to avoid that for attaining true fluency (surprisingly and very counter-intuitively).
Regarding literal translations in general though, my gut feeling is that it's actually better to avoid that for attaining true fluency (surprisingly and very counter-intuitively).
Liss-Rocket-Languages-Tutor
March 16, 2020
¡Hola dwighthogg2 y Steven-W15!
Thank you very much for your feedback!
There are often a few different ways to translate any one expression between languages, and matarse de la risa is no exception - "to die laughing"/"to die from laughter," "to roll on the floor laughing," and "to laugh one's head off" would, among others, all be acceptable equivalents in English. "To not be able to stop laughing" is in the same ball park of meaning and it fits how you might describe your time watching a movie; however, I agree, dwighthogg2, that it is not as close to the Spanish as it could be. "We killed ourselves laughing" would probably be the closest equivalent, without getting too exactly literal. I will make sure that this gets updated so that the Spanish meaning is clearer.
¡Muchas gracias otra vez, y saludos!
Liss
Thank you very much for your feedback!
There are often a few different ways to translate any one expression between languages, and matarse de la risa is no exception - "to die laughing"/"to die from laughter," "to roll on the floor laughing," and "to laugh one's head off" would, among others, all be acceptable equivalents in English. "To not be able to stop laughing" is in the same ball park of meaning and it fits how you might describe your time watching a movie; however, I agree, dwighthogg2, that it is not as close to the Spanish as it could be. "We killed ourselves laughing" would probably be the closest equivalent, without getting too exactly literal. I will make sure that this gets updated so that the Spanish meaning is clearer.
¡Muchas gracias otra vez, y saludos!
Liss