How does one translate the following sentences?
I can't afford to lose any more time.
I can't afford to lose any more sleep.
I've tried looking this up, but nothing quite matches the meaning I want to convey.
asked Oct 21, 2015 at 19:04
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3 Answers
"I can't afford to" can translate directly to " 我（已（经））无法承受……" I can't afford to lose any more time. 我无法承受损失任何更多的时间。 I can't afford to lose any more sleep. 我无法承受损失任何更多的睡眠。
adding 已 or 已经 enhances the negative tone.
I can't afford to lose any more time. 我不能再损失更多的时间。 我损失不起更多的时间。
I can't afford to lose any more sleep. 我不能再损失更多的睡眠。 我损失不起更多的睡眠。
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我不能再花费得起任何时间了。我不能再失去任何睡眠了。 (损失 seems to be mainly used as a noun, "cannot afford" often is translated the same as "cannot")– user6065Oct 22, 2015 at 0:10
It's not easy to translate "afford" into Chinese. Translation may be quite different according to the context.
For your instance, here is my personal suggestion:
我再也耗不起更多时间了。
I can't afford to lose any more time.
I can't afford to consume any more time. (literally)
我不能睡得更少了。
I can't afford to lose any more sleep.
I can't sleep any shorter. (literally, quite different)
