# English to Russian translation help
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-to-russian-translation-help/731617
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [September 18, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-to-russian-translation-help/731617 "2015-09-18T01:02:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 7
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-to-russian-translation-help/731617/1 "2015-09-18T01:02:29Z")
I was trying to translate this expression into Russian:
“Youth is wasted on the young.”
I tried google translate but apparently it didn’t do a good job.
Any Russian speakers that can translate this and still keep the sense of the saying?
Thanks,
J.
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### Author:  [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-to-russian-translation-help/731617/2 "2015-09-18T17:18:58Z")
My one bump…
J.
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### Author:  [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-to-russian-translation-help/731617/3 "2015-09-18T17:35:12Z")
That one is hard to translate…
“молодость растрачена на молодых” is a pretty exact translation but I don’t think it conveys the same pithiness.
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### Author:  [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-to-russian-translation-help/731617/4 "2015-09-18T17:49:01Z")
Actually, “молодость потеряна на молодых” would be a better translation. “Lost” instead of “wasted”.
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### Author:  [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-to-russian-translation-help/731617/5 "2015-09-18T18:00:55Z")
And one more: I see some Russian sites doing it as “молодость растрачивается молодыми”, but that really means “Youth is (mis)spent by the young”, which is a slightly different meaning. Also “Молодость молодым не впрок” - which scans better.
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### Author:  [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-to-russian-translation-help/731617/6 "2015-09-18T18:33:39Z")
Ah I think I found a perfect translation. Poetic, and slightly rephrases the famoush Pushkin’s
\*Но грустно думать, что напрасно
была нам молодость дана,
что изменяли ей всечасно,
что обманула нас она
\*
So “youth is wasted on the young” should be translated as “напрасно молодость дается молодым”.
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### Author:  [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2015, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-to-russian-translation-help/731617/7 "2015-09-18T18:51:30Z")
> [@Terr](#):
>
> Ah I think I found a perfect translation. Poetic, and slightly rephrases the famoush Pushkin’s
>
> \*Но грустно думать, что напрасно
> была нам молодость дана,
> что изменяли ей всечасно,
> что обманула нас она
> \*
>
> So “youth is wasted on the young” should be translated as “напрасно молодость дается молодым”.
Very good. Pushkin is very respected, and maybe this will get the point across.
Thanks,
J.