translation help please

[Chronitsch]

Hi there

I have a problem with 3 sentence with similar gramatics, and I cant quite figure out what it means, caus it sounds plain silly after I translated it

仕事というのはどんな仕事でも大変なものです。

人間というのは一人だけで生きていけないものです。

病気になると「健康というのはありがたいものだ」と強く思ういます。


I think they try to say the thing called "bla" means "blub" but ... how to translate them :-/

[nekesu04]

I guess I'll try to help out, it't probably not 100% correct, just my interpretation of it.

仕事というのはどんな仕事でも大変なものです。
Work is full of hardship no matter what kind of work you do.


人間というのは一人だけで生きていけないものです。
To be a human being is to not live in solitude.


病気になると「健康というのはありがたいものだ」と強く思ういます。
When you become sick you feel grateful for the times that you are in good health.

I'm still in the learning process, and I must say rarely see sentences worded in this way. Just wanted to get the ball rolling anf see what others have to say, if you have any questions let me know.

[taffeta1067]

The grammar point is というのは, right? I'm trying to think of a way to explain why it has a slightly different nuance in each sentence, but it's hard.

I suppose a general translation for the clause is "being (x)" or maybe more specifically, "When you're talking about (x)/ about that thing called (x)". It doesn't translate very well directly into English, hence the modifications in the sentences when turned over into this language.

For example, I would read the first one literally like this:

仕事というのはどんな仕事でも大変なものです。

仕事というのは - When talking about work.../About that thing called work....

どんな仕事でも- No matter what job it is...

大変なものです- It's always a lot of stress/hassle/trouble.

As a complete sentence, to make it flow in English, it would probably become "Work's one of those things that no matter what job you do, it's always hassle."

It isn't any longer a word for word translation, but it fits more comfortably into natural English.

the second one:

人間というのは一人だけで生きていけないものです。

人間というのは - When talking about human beings.../About those things called humans

一人だけで - just on their own...

生きていけないものです。- they are beings that can't live.

(A more colloquial translation of this one would be "No human can live alone". And I've just remembered where I heard it before. Fushigi Yuugi. How sad is that ;><

Finally...

病気になると「健康というのはありがたいものだ」と強く思ういます。

病気になると - If you become ill...

「健康というのは - when talking about health.../about that thing called health

ありがたいものだ It's something to be grateful for...

と強く思ういます You think strongly.

Putting it back together - "When you're sick, you think most strongly that being healthy is something for which to be grateful."

...Does any of that help at all?