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Glossary entry

Portuguese term or phrase:

"a necessidade o havia ensinado algo"

English translation:

Necessity is the mother of invention

Added to glossary by Marian Vieyra
Apr 15, 2021 21:11
3 yrs ago
30 viewers *
Portuguese term

"a necessidade o havia ensinado algo"

Portuguese to English Art/Literary Poetry & Literature Literature
Hey! I am translating a book and, in this passage, the characters implies he learned to be more organized because he needed to do it since he had lost many stuffs. Anyway, I'm not sure if "need has taught him something" makes any sense, but I like how the author expressed her idea. Do you have any suggestion?
Proposed translations (English)
3 +4 Necessity is the mother of invention
3 +5 because necessity had taught him something
5 His needs have taught him something.
4 Needs must when the devil drives
3 poverty/urgency/urge gave him a lesson
Change log

Apr 20, 2021 13:13: Marian Vieyra Created KOG entry

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): Mario Freitas

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Discussion

kezia Lago Apr 22, 2021:
aprendeu A necessidade havia ensinado algo ou Ele aprendeu com a necessidade .. seja qual for o contexto. O sujeito está implícito e a necessidade, seja ela qual for trouxe um aprendizado. Seja qual for o aprendizado, mudou o seu caráter. Minha sugestão é: He learned something with ...
Lara Barnett Apr 16, 2021:
@ MARIO I think your list is probably right, and I think "necessity" in some situations would be a false friend, but just not here.
Mario Freitas Apr 16, 2021:
@ Marian & Lara Ok, it's because I have a list of false friends here which includes the term. These "lists" are not always reliable, of course, but I have avoided using the term as a synonym for "need" for a long time. I guess the list was wrong then.
Lara Barnett Apr 16, 2021:
Necessity vs Obligation These two words do not mean the same thing & have very different usage in English. However, they obviously overlap in terms of meaning, depending on usage and context. As the Asker has not posted much context we aren't to know anything for sure, but "obligation" is more of a social or legal formality, while "necessity" is a general descriptive word that can cover many ideas.
Marian Vieyra Apr 16, 2021:
@Mário I don't think 'necessity' does mean obligation in English. There are other English idioms where 'necessity' just means a need for something - out of necessity/born of necessity: https://dictionary.https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictiona...
Mario Freitas Apr 16, 2021:
@ Mark Correct, but in this context, I don't think "necessity" can be used instead of "need" or "requirement".
Colin Bowles Apr 16, 2021:
As Mark said, more context would help. I suppose (depending on the context) etc. it could even be "...he had learnt the hard way..."
Mark Robertson Apr 16, 2021:
@Mário Necessity:
1. prerequisite,
2. a condition or set of circumstances that inevitably requires a certain result,
3. the state of something being obligatory or unavoidable,
4. urgent requirement,
5. poverty or want,
6. compulsion through laws of nature; fate,

Collins English Dictionary
Mario Freitas Apr 16, 2021:
Necessity? AFAIK "necessity" in English means obligation, not need. I believe this is a false friend (?)
Mark Robertson Apr 15, 2021:
@Aline More context please. Necessidade can be translated as poverty. BTW the plural of stuff is stuff, so lots of stuff, not many stuffs.

Proposed translations

+4
11 hrs
Selected

Necessity is the mother of invention

This is common English proverb that reflects the sense of your phrase. You may be able to fit into your sentence.
Reference:

https://grammarist.com/phrase/necessity-is-the-mother-of-invention/

Peer comment(s):
agree Adrian MM.
2 hrs
Thanks, Adrian.
agree Mark Robertson : "Necessity being the mother of invention" might be better.
2 hrs
Thanks, Mark. Agree, the gerund would be a better fit.
neutral Lara Barnett : This is a great idea, but until we see more context (surrounding text), we are not to know how well it will fit into the context.
7 hrs
Thanks, Lara.
agree Julia Caldana
13 hrs
Thanks, Julia.
agree Bett : agree
15 hrs
Thanks, Bett.
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+5
8 mins

because necessity had taught him something

Had taught him that it was necessary to become more organized, for whatever reason or reasons.
Peer comment(s):
agree Katarina Peters
13 mins
Thanks, Katarina.
agree Leonardo Faria
1 hr
Obrigada, Leonardo.
agree Lara Barnett
18 hrs
Thanks, Lara.
agree Verginia Ophof
18 hrs
Thank you, Verginia.
agree Liane Lazoski
22 hrs
Thansk, Liane.
Something went wrong...
3 hrs

poverty/urgency/urge gave him a lesson

Opções.
Something went wrong...
10 hrs

Needs must when the devil drives

Needs must when the devil drives
Something went wrong...
25 days

His needs have taught him something.

Suas necessidades o ensinaram algo.
Poderia ser também "his needs ended up teaching him something". (suas necessidades acabaram lhe ensinando/acabaram por lhe ensinar algo)
Isso, é claro, dependendo do estilo/nível de formalidade do livro em questão.
Something went wrong...
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