‘Goodbye’ is
often translated as ‘tot ziens’, in Dutch, ‘auf Wiedersehen’, in German or ‘再見’ (zàijiàn in pinyin), in Chinese.
These
are incorrect translations, however. This is because the underlying
intention is different. When saying ‘goodbye’, one implicitly
implies that one does not expect to see the other one(s) again. Saying
‘goodbye’ is also often used as something definitive. ‘To say goodbye’ is a
phrase that is used to tell that something has come to an end or will end
definitively. Similar to 'farewell'.
When
saying ‘see you (again)’ however, one does expects or at least implies that one
expects to meet again. So the correct translations for the words ‘tot ziens’,
‘auf Wiedersehen’ and ‘再見’ (Zàijiàn) would be ‘see you (again)’. When
saying this one implies that one will see the other person again, at some other
stage of life. Or maybe even tomorrow. In other words, it in no way implies an
end or that something will soon come to a certain end.
If one
wants to translate ‘tot ziens’, ‘auf Wiedersehen’, ‘再見’ (zàijiàn), or words alike in
another language, one should use ‘see you (again)’ or a word (group) that has a
similar meaning or intention. The correct translation of ‘goodbye’ could or
would be ‘vaarwel’ in Dutch, ‘Lebewohl’ in German or ‘告別’(Gàobié) in Chinese. This, of course, depending on
the circumstance.
In conversation this difference is mostly non-existent, but in texts the writer might have explicitly chosen 'goodbye' to mean a definitive departure.
In conversation this difference is mostly non-existent, but in texts the writer might have explicitly chosen 'goodbye' to mean a definitive departure.
