"Na levé ucho neslyší."
Translation:He is deaf in his left ear.
22 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
Why would you assume that? No word for "deaf" was used in this sentence, but that doesn't mean the word doesn't exist.
There are, in fact, two words for "deaf" in Czech:
- neslyšící, lit. "non-hearing", the more polite (PC) word, but quite formal
- hluchý, the commonly used word
"Na levé ucho je hluchý" is among the accepted answers and it's also very natural.
"Na levé ucho je neslyšící" is also accepted, but it's not very natural, since it's easier to say "Na levé ucho neslyší", the more straight forward formulation.
491
I wasn't assuming--I DIDN'T want to assume, that's why I asked.
The reason I asked is because the translation of "neslyší" in this exercise is "deaf," when to date in the lessons it has been translated as "does not/cannot hear." In English, these generally have two different connotations with "deaf" more commonly referring to a permanent condition, while "being unable to hear" can usually be a more temporary, fixable state. Since I'm not expecting a one-to-one translation between Czech and English (e.g., ruka means both hand and arm; noha means both leg and foot), the use of the non-literal translation when a literal translation exists is what caused me to question whether a word for deaf exists--because i wouldn't expect it to.
So thanks for the response, it helps to know that neslyší is the more effective way to communicate it.
I meant my "why would you assume that?" question lightly, there should have been a smiling emoji there ;)
You're right though, it's the same in both languages -- "deaf" and "hluchý" is normally a permanent condition, while "does not/cannot hear" and "neslyší" could just be a current situation. The boundary is blurred especially in such a context as "Neslyší na levé ucho" -- without context it still sounds like a permanent or semi-permanent condition and that's probably why the author of this exercise chose a somewhat indirect translation with "deaf".
If I wanted to say that my left ear cannot hear at this moment (but is not permamently impaired), I could say a number of things, for example "Mám zahluchlé levé ucho", where the literal meaning of "zahluchlé" is close to "deafened".
I am native AmE. "He can't hear in THE left ear" seems a little less common to me, relative to "in HIS left ear," but I definitely wouldn't say it's wrong. Example: "He can't hear in the left ear, but his right ear is fine." Did you use the Report button, in case there was some minor, unnoticed error in your answer?