Identity

Pouvez-vous m'aider à traduire cette phrase : "Man, don't some people just get all the damn luck."
Merci d'avance.

Androc

Je proposerais:
Dis, n'as-tu pas l'impression que certains ont droit à toute cette sacrée chance au monde?

ou bien:
Ben mon vieux, y' en a qu' ont vraiment du pot!

Tout dépend de qui parle et dans quel contexte...

Androc

femuse

Ce sont toujours les memes qui ont de la chance !!!

Dans ce cas: "man" est just une exclamation, to show discontent. I can think of another French word that starts with M and wouldn't be out of place here. :D

"damn", ici, est une exclamation aussi, pour re-enforcer [?] le sens.

likewise, "damn luck" can be translated pretty acurately, in a way that will get "blipped" on this Forum. Something like "P_ta_n de chance" ... use your imagination :D

Equivalent, plus "poli" est : Some people have all the luck !!!

That's what it means, but you may want to rework that in French.

jackspeese

"Man" s'agit bien sur d'une exclamation en anglais, c'est vrai, mais pas forcement l'une du mecontentement, cette expression peut exprimer egalement les sentiments positifs. De plus, je ne la traduirais pas avec les mots comme "m****" ou "d***" c'est une exclamation completement gentil, pas de tout scandaleuse. Cette exclamation est devenue un mot commun durant les annees 60s, employee par les hippies, mais actuellement on l'entend parler par presque tout le mond, au moins aux E. U.

femuse

In my opinion, it is rarely positif. There is a clear sense of envy.

it's more like: "they" [anonyme] have all the luck, but I don't have much luck myself.

like in: "good things always happen to other people, but never to me."

That's the way I use it, and, you are right, it is used quite often.

I happen to have a "ex-hippy - personal translator. I will check with him on that one when he comes back.

femuse

"Man, don't some people just get all the damn luck."

too many words to be passed around (especially by the hippies , by what Mike remembers from these days.).
Something similar was around, not necessarily associated with the Hippies [or, as he puts it: "that does not sound like a hippie-ism"

a more commun expression would be: "Damn! some people have all the luck"

and, it is:

1_ ironic: like when somebody's house burn down for the second time in a year

2_ rarely "real" luck: like somebody wins a prize in a rigged contest. (the luck is really no luck at all)

jackspeese

Yes, in this sense (the original quote) it's certainly an expression of envy or even resentment; I meant that the expression in general can be used in a positive sense (Man! That's really cool!) ...and even though many people would say "damn" in the same context..."damn" is a much stronger word.