(no subject)

[serialcondition.livejournal.com]

how to translate "Хороши бы мы были" into English...

help someone
thanks
t.

Comments

[apollotiger.livejournal.com]

I think it's “we would be good”.

[i-am-spectrum.livejournal.com]

Хороши бы мы были, если бы вдруг пошёл дождь
=
Нам повезло, что не было дождя

[i-am-spectrum.livejournal.com]

This phrase means that it could be very bad for us if our expectation ('no rain today') failed.

For example, you can say "Хороши бы мы были, если бы вдруг пошёл дождь" if you went somewhere on foot without an umbrella.

[salexey.livejournal.com]

Wrong.

[ex-amfora.livejournal.com]

we would be good

[serialcondition.livejournal.com]

that seems to be the literal translation but it makes no sense

[wire-shock.livejournal.com]

It means "we would look foolish" or something like that.

[http://users.livejournal.com/celsium_/]

!!!

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Nope. It's an idiom, so word-by-word translation doesn't work.

[wolk-off.livejournal.com]

Yes, this is almost there. More than almost, even.

[arvi.livejournal.com]

People would look at us not as they look at good people, if...

   You can encode this in English more compact. :-) There is no accent on other people. Just "we" will resemble fools, if do something wrong...

[arvi.livejournal.com]

   Different words, but meaning is the same.

[vovotschka.livejournal.com]

As far as I understand, there should be the word "если" just after the words you've quoted.

So, I'd try something like "Great guys would we be, if..."

как-нибудь так

[lenny-goofoff.livejournal.com]

"where were we if…"

[oryx_and_crake]

we'd be a sight for sore eyes, for sure

[serialcondition.livejournal.com]

thank you

[serialcondition.livejournal.com]

thank you

[gland.livejournal.com]

"We would be in trouble if [something bad happened, like rain]" is the most common colloquialism. "We'd come out smelling like roses if [nothing bad happened]" is the opposite.