Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Chinese term or phrase:
禁锢
English translation:
confinement
Added to glossary by
Wenjer Leuschel (X)
Jul 21, 2008 17:22
15 yrs ago
Chinese term
禁锢
Chinese to English
Art/Literary
Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
Meaning in this sentence
禁锢就是你以为你做不到。
My translation for this sentence would be "An imprisonment means that you believe you can't make it."
Is 禁锢 a "confinement" or an "imprisonment"? What difference do they make?
TIA!
My translation for this sentence would be "An imprisonment means that you believe you can't make it."
Is 禁锢 a "confinement" or an "imprisonment"? What difference do they make?
TIA!
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +2 | confinement |
karcsy
|
| 4 +1 | restraint |
neallu
|
| 4 +1 | imprisonment |
Michael Lickorish
|
| 3 +2 | self-confinement |
Jason Young
|
| 4 | you are your own prison |
QUOI
|
Proposed translations
+2
46 mins
Selected
confinement
my undestanding is this...
imprisonment is punishment. It is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for commission of crime.
confinement is not necessarily a punishment.
e.g. hospital confinement
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Note added at 1 hr (2008-07-21 18:36:54 GMT)
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禁锢就是你以为你做不到。
Confinement is what you thought you can not accomplish.
But I think confinement need to be expounded --> as in mentally confined. 一个人在思想上被禁锢了，他就没有信心去尝试新领域或面推挑战，最后导致他什么也做不成。
imprisonment is punishment. It is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for commission of crime.
confinement is not necessarily a punishment.
e.g. hospital confinement
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2008-07-21 18:36:54 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
禁锢就是你以为你做不到。
Confinement is what you thought you can not accomplish.
But I think confinement need to be expounded --> as in mentally confined. 一个人在思想上被禁锢了，他就没有信心去尝试新领域或面推挑战，最后导致他什么也做不成。
Note from asker:
| Thanks! How about "A mental confinement is the belief of being unable to accomplish."? |
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
orientalhorizon
: yes, "mental confinement"
7 hrs
|
|
感恩！
|
|
| agree |
Malcolm Mayfield
: confinement is telling yourself you can't do it
9 hrs
|
|
感恩！
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "All suggestions are very good. Thanks to all! I choose this one because of the translation Malcolm's rendering in "Confinement is telling yourself you can't do it." Special thanks to the native speakers Michael and Malcom. Your participation helps me a lot in understanding English better."
+1
1 hr
+1
6 hrs
imprisonment
"(True) imprisonment is thinking there is something you cannot do".
The word confinement conveys the sense of being shut off from others, unable to communicate, whereas imprisonment has more the sense of being restricted or limited.
Imprisonment rather than confinement is thus more likely to be used metaphorically to refer to limitations.
Similar phrases include "the shackles of self-doubt" and
"All limitations are self-imposed".
The word confinement conveys the sense of being shut off from others, unable to communicate, whereas imprisonment has more the sense of being restricted or limited.
Imprisonment rather than confinement is thus more likely to be used metaphorically to refer to limitations.
Similar phrases include "the shackles of self-doubt" and
"All limitations are self-imposed".
+2
7 hrs
Jason Young
China
China
Native in Chinese
China
I translate, and I care! 20 years
Native in: Chinese 
Works in: English to Chinese, Chinese to English
self-confinement
I guess 禁锢 can be either a "confinement" or an "imprisonment" depending on the specific situation. "imprisonment" is absolutely related to a prison or jail, while confinement can be related to any kind of environment, physical or mental.
14 hrs
Chinese term (edited):
禁锢就是你以为你做不到
you are your own prison
It is not the world that confines you, you yourself are the World, which holds you so fast a prisoner with yourself in yourself.
- Microsoft Encarta
- Microsoft Encarta
Discussion