guys. I am reading a Chinese book and found something I cannot translate. Possible you can help me. Thanks a lot. The phrase: "也不要再把瞳孔藏进眼眶".
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Please clarify your specific problem or provide additional details to highlight exactly what you need. As it's currently written, it's hard to tell exactly what you're asking.– Community BotCommented Feb 21, 2022 at 12:06
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2I think you need to give more of the paragraph to set the context. I may be wrong, but I don't think this is a run-of-the-mill idiom / saying which has a ready made interpretation available.– Wayne CheahCommented Feb 21, 2022 at 12:07
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2Google suggests this is the book. Google Translate translates “你不要盯着我，也不要再把瞳孔藏进眼眶……” to "Don't stare at me, and don't hide your pupils in your eyes anymore..." which seems fairly accurate. Is there something specific you're having trouble with?– Becky 李蓓 ♦Commented Feb 21, 2022 at 12:58
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It came from a sci-fi, in which anything can happen, you need to read more to figure the action and its meaning out.– r13Commented Feb 21, 2022 at 14:52
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"don't hide your pupils in your eyes anymore" - does not it sound weird?– mrRanyCommented Feb 21, 2022 at 15:29
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2 Answers
Quote:- "don't hide your pupils in your eyes anymore" - does not it sound weird? –
Not really. Let me try and explain.
It is of course physically impossible, unless you're a shape-shifter, to "hide your pupils in your eyes", unless it is a "poetic" way to say "...don't roll your eyes at me", meaning "the action or gesture of turning the eyes upward as an expression of annoyance"; you know like when a teenager rolling their eyes upward when their elderly grandparents had difficulties entering a computer password?
This action of rolling the eyes upward actually make the pupils "disappear" into the eye socket, thus "hiding" the pupils in the eyes?
From the context of the passage, i.e. “你不要盯着我，也不要再把瞳孔藏进眼眶……”, it does seem like the speaker is saying, in paraphrase, "Stop staring at me, and don't show your annoyance again", which does not sound as melodramatic as 也不要再把瞳孔藏进眼眶.
This reminds me of an English saying, "Cut off your nose to spite your face", meaning, "to cause problems for yourself by trying to punish someone else" You don't physically cut off your own nose of course, but poetically you could "cut" off anything.
So, when you roll your eyes upward, you are "poetically and physically hiding" your pupils in your eyes?
answered Feb 22, 2022 at 4:23
I think the author's just trying to come up with new 'poetic' descriptions and it works terribly. Based on the context, it feels like it simply means "Don't look at me". If you're learning Chinese, perhaps try reading some classic works. If you're into the "web fiction" genre, try the famous ones like 斗破苍穹. Hope that helps!
