There are many different languages in the world. It is easy to get lost in the translation of one language to another and, sometimes, it gets even messier when some of the translations don't make sense.This being said, there are some words and phrases that can mean one thing in a certain place and a completely different thing somewhere else. This may be hard to believe but if you compare enough languages with each other, it becomes easy to find proof on this undeniable fact. It is understandable that some people need proof before they believe such claims and if you are the type of person who needs a concrete example of this, the phrase “for god’s sake” should be a great place to start.
The Usual Meaning of the Phrase, “For god’s Sake”, and its Significado or Significance
If you know the Ingles, or English, language very well, it will be very easy for you to know exactly what this phrase means and the perfect times it is used in conversation. If you aren’t good in English, worry not because even if you take a little longer to get there, you will surely understand this as well. Although it helps tremendously to master the English language with regards to knowing what this phrase is about, it isn’t a necessity because it has actually been used over and over again in multiple movies and TV series. Seeing this phrase used enough times will probably make it pretty clear what the context behind it is.
Seeing it and hearing it used in conversations does the trick for a lot of people when learning idioms and phrases like this but if you still have a hard time grasping the concept behind it, it might be better to break it down further and get the help of a dictionary. You don’t need to look up the word “god” or “goddess” because it obviously pertains to a heavenly power or Supreme Being that is prayed to and looked up upon my people of different religions. With “god” already figured out, the only word left to look into is the word “sake”. Depending on the structure of the sentence, this noun can mean two things. The initial or first meaning is that it pertains to the purpose of achieving or obtaining. For the “sake” to mean this, the sentence it is used in should be structured like “for the sake of the game”. The second meaning to it is that it pertains to a reason for wishing something was done. For the word to mean this, the sentence it is used in should be like “for her sake”.
Given the structures of the sentences that determine what the noun, sake, could mean when used as well as the other details mentioned above, the phrase “for god’s sake” clearly is more similar to the second meaning for the word “sake”. With this said, you shouldn’t necessarily think it means exactly the same thing because using the phrase with the word “god” there changes that it suggests by a little bit. You see, god is, as mentioned earlier, a word that pertains to the savior or Supreme Being in different religions and when it is used in that particular phrase, it comes across as if you are daring the person to go against their god if they do not do as you wish because you are requesting them to do it in the name of that very same god. An example of such a situation would be if someone told you to stop speeding on the highway for god’s sake. When someone tells you this and you don’t follow, it suggests that you didn’t do a certain act for your god, hence, in a way, you have sinned against that said god even though that really isn’t the case.
There is no denying that this is what the phrase suggests when it is used but, on the other hand, there are figures of speeches, like idioms, used in the English language every day. Taking this into consideration, you may also see that the phrase is used to express emphasis or exaggeration. For example, if your incredibly hungry sister screams at you and commands you buy her some Yangchow rice for god’s sake, it indirectly expresses her extreme desire for you to do as she says without necessarily hinting that you committed a religious crime against your god by not doing as she pleaded. Note that there are variations of this phrase like “for goodness’ sake” or “for heaven’s sake” and, although they didn’t use the word “god”, it still means the same thing, essentially.
The Meaning of “For God’s Sake” in Languages like Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Urdu, Artinya, Malayalam, Tagalog, and Even Punjabi
The translation of words from one language to another used to be so hard to do because you would have needed to know or have a source on which words meant what for each of the languages. Luckily, the technology of today has made it possible to toggle through the translation of something in multiple languages with just a few clicks on your computer mouse. Using this tech, you can easily see what the word “sake” may mean in different languages to see in which language the discrepancy in meaning will occur in.
Popular languages like the language of the Aleman will probably have the same meaning as the one intended for the phrase but going on google and searching for the meaning of sake in the Tamil language will instantly show you an example of meaning changes that occur in between different languages. In Tamil, “sake” translates to the word “nimittam” which means wick, ecbatic, or ground. With this being said, it wouldn’t make sense to use the expression “for god’s sake” in Tamil because it will mean something far from what you intended it to mean. Another good example would be translating the word “sake” into the Hindi language. This is because, in this language, the word “sake” means a word equivalent to the word “could” in English. Applying the same logic as to why it wouldn’t make sense to use the expression in a place where Hindi would be what they speak, the reiterated point becomes more prominent.
The Telugu language takes it even further as its translation to the word “sake” could mean two things. The first translation would make “sake” equivalent to words that would mean “purpose” or “design” in the English language. The second translation would make “sake” equivalent to words like “reason” and “occasion”. Applying the first meaning of the word makes it possible to understand the whole “for god’s sake” phrase but since it could also mean something pretty far from the first, it would be safer not to use it to avoid any unwanted awkward moments or misunderstandings.
With all the examples given so far, you might start thinking that you can’t use this phrases anywhere else but in English-speaking places. Do not think that way because you need not explore dalam, or deeply, to understand that there is a possibility that an equal amount of places translate the word “sake” into what it exactly means in English. To mention a few, these are the places that speak and understand the languages of Urdu, Artinya, Malayalam, Tagalog, and Punjabi. Each of these places has equivalent words for “sake” that do not change the word’s meaning at all. If you want to check for yourself, go to websites like “kamusbahasainggris.com” to know the arti kata or meaning of the words in the languages mentioned above. Doing this should remove any dangling thoughts you may have about the pronunciation of the translated word and things of that nature.
How The Phrase, “For God’s Sake”, May Be Taken Differently in Japan and a Brief History on Why
It can be pretty fun to learn about new words like “atau” as you search for more places but, once you reach the translation of the phrase in Japanese, you should stop and remember a couple of things in Japan. Navigation in everything is important to not get lost in life and stopping awhile to remember certain things can really refocus you in a way. With this said and with the idea of a pause in your head, you probably remembered that “sake”, in Japan, is also what they call their world-class traditional nihonshu, or Japanese liquor.
This sake is the rice wine of Japan and since this is the primary definition of the word there, using the phrase in Japan, even for just as an expression of emphasis or a figure of speech, may not be the best idea because it is almost sure that the people there won’t understand it the way you would want them to. What you should do instead is to ask for the actual sake in Japan to experience it. It is a tasty drink that comes in multiple variations so you can make a party out of it should you decide to go on a sake-tasting event somewhere.
Now that you know how the phrase may be taken the wrong way when used in Japan, it wouldn’t hurt to pick up some new information about their famous traditional drink, should you need it in the future. The first thing you should know about it is that it hits harder than wine because its alcohol content averages around the 15 to 20 percent. If you like sweet and fruity tasting beverages, you should give any Non-Junmai Daiginjo a try because it will certainly be a treat for you. Alternatively, if you like a nuttier taste to your drink, you can also try any Junmai Daiginjo because this particular type of sake is known for that kind of earthy taste. If you like history, you'll be glad to know that this drink is also a part of the Shinto religion because it's creation is a Shinto ceremony of some sort. You can easily research the details of this ceremony if it caught your attention.
Considering all the information mentioned above, it should be pretty clear to you why you should first check the meaning of some words in other countries before blurting out things to them. You never want to accidentally offend someone just because you didn’t bother to be sure because you let your thoughts become words. It is a situation that is simple enough to avoid if you just think before you act. “For god’s sake” is a pretty simple phrase to use but still remains to be a truly a classy line to use in any conversation and it sticks to you like glue. Learning how to use it can really show a mastery of a language so read up if that is how you want to express your mastery.