I have been trying to find an accurate translation of something my grandmother always said: "Sharing is Caring" or "To Share is to Care", into Latin. However online translators seem very inconsistent for Latin. I would like to translate it into Latin for a commemorative piece of art. Any help would be appreciated.
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2Welcome to the site! Online translators are indeed very unreliable. There are many Latin verbs you could use to translate "share" and "care". Can you take a look at some online Latin dictionary and see if you find verbs that match your intentions? That would help us help you. To do so, first translate "share" from English to Latin. You will get several options. Then see how these options translate back to English. You will notice differences in meaning or nuance. Repeat for "care".– Joonas Ilmavirta ♦Oct 24, 2016 at 21:38
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Thanks for your helpful suggestions. I did indeed notice that issue as I tested different translators, going back and forth.– Logan XOct 28, 2016 at 14:01
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An infinitive is a gerund in Latin so it has to equal something, like an adjective which describes it. To share is (to be) good. To share is one who cares.– PaulusAug 31, 2019 at 23:35
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5 Answers
While joining two infinitives with a copula is certainly possible, it does not have the same ring to me as the English phrase.
A very common Latin idiom that expresses the same idea is "Qui Xat, Yat" meaning: "Everyone who X's, Y's."
In this case, I recommend:
Qui partitur, procurat
- partior, -iri: means "sharing" or "dividing up," and I think it's meaning is closer to the English when standing alone: communico has a broader meaning and would be better with an object.
- procuro, -are: This could really be any variation on curo, including adcurat, accurat, but the pro adds a bit of alliteration and (for me) a more personal touch.
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The best I have come up with so far is
communicare est colere
Still very new to this and not the best with grammar, but looking at various options and trying to figure out the different words---this seems to have the right nuance. Communicare is to divide/share/partake with someone. Colere is to nuture/take care of/tend to.
My quick attempt would be
consociāre, cūrāre
Consociāre is a slightly pretentious word, usually appearing in older works (Plautus) or more erudite authors (Cicero). But it captures the sense well; it means "to make [something] common, to share [something] with [someone], to associate, join, connect," derived from roots for "together" and "companion".
Cūrāre is kind of your default word for "take care of", with about the same connotations as the English phrase: "you're safe; I'll take care of you", "that paperwork will be taken care of", "he's taking care of the livestock", etc.
Both are infinitives, which is the typical way to use a verb as a subject (Latin doesn't like gerunds as subjects, like English does). The copula can often be omitted, and in this case I think it sounds better that way; you could also throw an "est" in.
The alliteration and rhyme is my attempt to capture some of the rhythm from the English phrase.
answered Oct 26, 2016 at 3:26
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2I don't think it's a good idea to omit the copula in this case: it reads like two juxtaposed infinitives– brianpckOct 28, 2016 at 17:14
It's quite difficult to find a really good Latin equivalent here. Belatedly, I offer
colendo partem habeas
— a rough formulation, but right, I think, in spirit.
"Sharing" and "caring" are ambiguous in English. If the context is encouraging people to give to a religious charity for the poor, then I think "dare amare" is a great translation: "giving [is] loving". In other contexts, you probably want something else.
