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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

dabei gut tun

English translation:

X is more than just a x

Added to glossary by PoveyTrans (X)
Jun 26, 2007 11:47
16 yrs ago
German term

dabei gut tun

German to English Marketing Tourism & Travel
This is a tourist text on Hannover. Th paragraph opens...was genau ist damit gemeint? Dane i.v.

Dabei tut Hannover auch gut. Es ist landschaftlich reizvoll in Niedersachsen eingebettet und begeistert mit reichen Angeboten zu Geschichte, Sport, Kultur und Kunst Besucher und Einwohner.
Proposed translations (English)
4 +6 But Hanover is more than just a centre for business and industry -
2 +4 Hanover makes you feel good
3 +2 explanation below
3 to be well off
2 On the other side, Hanover can do you good

Discussion

Jonathan MacKerron Jun 26, 2007:
"dabei" can often be ignored, hard to say here without seeing more of your text
Jalapeno Jun 26, 2007:
You can find the preceding paragraph in my answer, that should make it a little clearer. :-)
Aniello Scognamiglio (X) Jun 26, 2007:
Meaning depends on what is emphasized: "auch" or "gut"?
Courtney Sliwinski Jun 26, 2007:
Does the Paragraph open like this, or is there something before it? This could really help give a proper translation.
Francis Lee (X) Jun 26, 2007:
The paragraph opens "Dabei ..."? So it must be directly linked to the previous paragraph/sentence - which was?

Proposed translations

+6
2 hrs
Selected

But Hanover is more than just a centre for business and industry -

- the city also offers a wide range of attractions.

You have to take some liberties here, but it's standard boilerplate tourist copy. I would reword the text like this. The word "dabei" is extremely important. It links the the two paragraphs, of course, but it also stands for the German idea of "nicht nur... sondern auch". X is not only Y, but also Z. You can also express this in English by saying "X is MORE than just Y, it's also Z." That sounds more natural to us Anglos.

Remember, you're trying to sell a product here. The name of the product is Hanover!

"But Hanover is more than just a centre for business and industry - the city also offers a wide range of attractions."
Peer comment(s):
agree writeaway
40 mins
agree Rebecca Garber
59 mins
agree Lancashireman
3 hrs
agree Diana Loos : Vey well explained, Paul!
18 hrs
Thank you, Diana! That's the old schoolteacher in me. It runs in the family. My father was a professor of education and my grandfather was a highschool principal. My mother taught highschool physics and my brother teaches writing and...
agree Steffen Walter : Way to go :-) / Yes, I can relate to that (having lived in the city [Berlin, not Hanover :)] for about ten years) :-)
18 hrs
Merci! This question reminds me of a slogan that a graffiti artist sprayed on a crumbling wall near Kleistpark back in the late 80s: Berlin tut gut! Hanover is fine, but I'll always have a trunk full of memories in Berlin. ;-))
agree Jalapeno : That's exactly along the lines of what I had in mind. I only offered an explanation, not a translation, because I wanted to give asker the chance to get his creative juices flowing. But seeing as you're suggestion is excellent, that's now unneccessary ;-)
4 days
Wow. I guess I hit the nail on the head. Thank you, Jalapeno!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Great, thanks Paul. Greetings to Greenland. Simon"
3 mins

to be well off

"Hanover is well off in this/that respect". Just a possibility; we really ought to have the previous sentence here, as "dabei" almost always refers to something which has already been written.
Peer comment(s):
neutral BrigitteHilgner : Even without context I dare say that this far of the mark - Jonathan is on the right track.
9 mins
neutral Aniello Scognamiglio (X) : well, it says "Hannover tut gut" (von "gut tun").
58 mins
Something went wrong...
+2
4 mins

explanation below

The "dabei" contrasts "tut gut" with the preceding paragraph, highlights Hannover's importance in business and industry:

"Neben der leistungsstarken Infrastruktur können Hannover und seine Region weitere Pluspunkte vorweisen. Hochqualifizierte Dienstleister und Mitarbeiter machen den Standort für internationale Unternehmen wie Volkswagen, TUI-Konzern, Continental, Rossmann, Solvay, KONICA MINOLTA, Bahlsen oder Talanx AG attraktiv. In der Metropolregion, Hannover – Braunschweig – Göttingen, sind Produktionstechnik sowie Wissenschaft und Forschung zu Hause. "

In other words, "dabei" is meant to convey the idea that "Hannover is not all business, there's also lots of opportunities for pleasure".

You'll have to decide for yourself how to incorporate that into your translation.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 mins (2007-06-26 11:53:04 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Oops. "preceding paragraph, *which* highlights".
Note from asker:
Great explanation - thanks
Peer comment(s):
agree Lori Dendy-Molz : Hanover also has a fun side...
2 hrs
agree Paul Cohen : Absolutely! Thanks for the preceding paragraph! See my answer below.
2 hrs
Something went wrong...
+4
3 mins

Hanover makes you feel good

an oxymoron if there ever was one

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 4 mins (2007-06-26 11:52:32 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Hanover , the feel-good city

Hanover has something for everyone

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 8 mins (2007-06-26 11:56:58 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Hanover brings it all together
Peer comment(s):
agree Sandra SAYN (X) : yesss, exactly what came to my mind!
2 mins
thx
neutral David Moore (X) : How a Berliner dare say something like that...That sort of comment on Hanover is reserved to those who suffer th..er, sorry, LIVE there...
3 mins
voll kraß
agree BrigitteHilgner : This is exactly how I understand this phrase.
9 mins
agree Aniello Scognamiglio (X) : very likely, but see my remark above, btw: the translation of "auch" is missing.
41 mins
neutral CMJ_Trans (X) : I think it just means "H. does well" NOT that it does YOU good
48 mins
agree Paul Cohen : 'In addition to being an important center for business, Hanover has something for everyone.'
1 hr
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

On the other side, Hanover can do you good

Another side of Hangover.... ;)

Thinking of Del Amitri's "Can you do me good"? Can a city do any good? Why not?
Something went wrong...
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