"Noch ein letzter Wunsch?"

Translation: A last request?

[amyb24]

What happens to the word "noch" in this sentence? Shouldn't the translation be "Still a last wish" or "Just a last wish"? Or is this somehow idiomatic?

[justinrrporter]

I'm no expert, but I think "noch" in this sense implies that there were previous wishes, and that the "last wish" would be an additional wish. For example, I might ask for "noch ein Bier" if I want a beer after I've already had one.

Here, though, I think that the "noch" is really pretty optional, because the "other wishes" are just the wishes that the person (who, presumably, is about to be executed) has had previously throughout their life...

[Astrodan]

I would agree to you second paragraph.
Actually, the "noch" doesn't make that much sense here in german, but it's more used as a phrase, so just go with it.
I - as a german - still find it hard to translate, especially because of the "noch" (which apparently doesn't appear in the english version).

I would suggest "Having a last wish?" as an accepted answer (where "Having" expresses the present tense that "noch" implies here). If there are more out there who agree, I'd ask you to suggest that.

[KyleGoetz]

What does this mean in English? Does it mean "Do you have a last request"/"Any last requests?" Because "A last request?" sounds really, really abnormal unless someone says:

A: Do you have a last request?

B: ...A last request?

[zengator]

It sounds to me like what a condemned man is asked just before the firing squad takes aim.

[JCStein1]

In my experience, this is (similar to) what someone behind the counter asks a customer during a transaction:

Customer: Ein Bier, bitte.
Salesperson: Noch ein Wunsch?
Customer: Nein, danke, das ist alles.

I admit I haven't heard the "letzter" before-- maybe if the shop is about to close?
I tried "Anything else?" as a translation, and DL didn't take it. Worth a shot.

[IanStuart]

"Still a more wish" was given as the correct answer. That is not good English

[Wandering.Seeker]

the noch here plays its part as same as in "sonst noch etwas?" : "anything else?" . so "any last wishes?" is the most natural here.

the thing is, in any language, often, we can't translate literally.

[Teresinha]

That "noch" made me lose a heart and, after all, DL ignored it....

[EnragedDitch]

What about Yet a last wish??

[MoAl2]

shouldn't this be in the accusative case? since they're clearly asking: do you have a last wish? "haben Sie noch einen letzten wunsch?"

[Abendbrot]

Haben Sie noch einen letzten Wunsch?" nice question. Yes, then we would ask: Noch einen letzten Wunsch? ; If you have a look to the comment above: Mein letzter Wunsch ist nicht zu sterben. , then you will see, the last wish can also stand in nominative, like 'Mein letzter Wille' which is also a synonym for the own testament.

[sushil_k]

@Abendbrot. Mein letzter Wunsch ist nicht zu sterben. There is no such comment above??

[palex3450]

I wrote 'Another one last wish' and lost a heart, what is the "ein" doing there?

[Astrodan]

The same as in your sentence: Another = ein anderer. Only in german it always are two words, while in english you can replace it by another (although in this case an other wish sounds weird I'd assume it once was correct).

[wwkudu]

Does the German imply that there was a previous last wish? If so, to incorporate noch, it sounds like one might say "another last wish", or "one more last wish"

[RichardShi816175]

"Yet (or still) a last request?" would seem to be a better translation for "Noch ein letzer Wunsch?" than Duo's "A last request"