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Japanese sentence 2013/7/4 14:28
Hello! I would like to write a sentence in Japanese that would be the translation of the following:

"If you consider your current level as poor, then if you sing after becoming good, even animals will gather to listen to you."

This is half ironic, and it is the reply to someone who said he was bad at singing.

My proposition is:

「今のレベルは下手と呼ばれたら、うまく歌ったら動物も集まってきますよ」,

however I feel it sounds very unnatural, grammatically incorrect and I'm not even sure the reader will understand it's half a joke.

Any comment or suggestion will be very much appreciated!

Thanks
by JBML  

Re: Japanese sentence 2013/7/4 17:00
I don't quite understand the exact meaning of the English sentence - it might leave the person in a confusion, whether he is supposed to take that as a compliment or a joke.

Are you trying to say that, even though he himself thinks he is bad at singing, it is already so good that when his singing gets to a level where he himself considers good enough, it will be at a such high level that even animals (because they are sensitive to good music) will come to listen?

If that is what you mean, you need to revise the English already a bit to say: "If you consider your current level poor, then by the time you come to feel you are good at singing, even animals will gather to listen" because the key is in when HE himself considers his singing good.

Another problem though: the meaning of "animals coming to listen to you" might not convey well - is that supposed to be good, or is this saying it's good for animal audience (but not for human audience)?

So if you want to praise him, you might want to make it clear by saying something like he could hold a big concert, or something like that.

Is this what you mean? commenting (in substance) that he is being too modest/humble about his singing??
by AK rate this post as useful

Re: Japanese sentence 2013/7/4 17:19
Thank you AK for your comprehensive answer. Yes, your understanding is correct. Thank you for revising the English and making the point clear.

And you're also right about the fact that "animals coming to listen to you" might not convey well. My idea was that the his singing would be so good that humans and animals would be moved, as an metaphor recurrent to many Disney movies...

And again yes, the substance of the message would be that he is being too modest about his singing.
by JBML rate this post as useful

Re: Japanese sentence 2013/7/4 17:29
Glad my guess was right... I am not familiar with the movie enough to pick up the meaning :)

今のレベルを下手と言うなら、上手になったという頃には、動物たちもXXさんの歌を聞きに集まってきますよ。
(If you call your current level poor, by the time you consider yourself good, even animals will gather to listen to your (insert name) songs.)... if I go faithfully to your sentence.

Maybe something like:
今のレベルを下手と言うなら、上手になったという頃には、武道館でコンサートができますよ。
(If you call your current level poor, by the time you say you've become good, you'd be able to hold a concert in Budokan.) Budokan is an event venue where only big name singers/artists can hold their concerts.
by AK rate this post as useful

Re: Japanese sentence 2013/7/4 17:37
Thank you so much for your help. This is perfect. I have learned a lot from your two messages. Using the Budokan example will be indeed culturally easier to get. Thanks again!
by JBML rate this post as useful

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