無神除神, There is no God but The God












1














For a graphic design for a client I want to render the words "There is no God but the God" into Chinese in as few characters as possible.



It is of course a translation of the Islamic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God") . And whereas Muslims say "物非主,惟有真主", that's 8 characters long and a huge statement and not easy to fit in my clients design, so I came up with this instead:




無神除神




Notes:



I chose 神 for "God" despite other names being more commonly used in Abrahamic Religions.



The Arabic word Ilah (root of Ilaha and Illallah in the phrase "La Ilaha Illallah") is a generic word for God in Arabic, hence my choice of 神 over other words like 主 or 帝 which are more specific and would be better translations of the Arabic word "Rabb" ("Lord") I'm my opinion.



I know from this question that 神 is also (if not commonly) used for the Abrahamic God. To quote the answer:




"Christian prayers (esp the older translations) refer to god as 主 or 神 (I've seen hand-copied Christian prayers that use both);but 神 also means "spirit" (if you think of "the holy spirit", it makes sense that 神 is used to refer to god). However, unlike 上帝, the character 神 alone doesn't unambiguously mean "god"."




While 神 "doesn't unambiguously mean "god"" I think, in the context of the phrase "無神除神" it is clear enough.



My reason for choosing 神 came from this site, where it is said (under Terminology):




In Chinese language there is a terminological distinction between 神 shén, 帝 dì and 仙 xiān. Although the usage of the former two is sometimes blurred, it corresponds to the distinction in Western cultures between "god" and "deity", Latin genius (meaning a generative principle, "spirit") and deus or divus; dì, sometimes translated as "thearch", implies a manifested or incarnate "godly" power.




So is 無神除神 grammatical correct and good as a translation of the Arabic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God") for the purpose of my small graphic design?










share|improve this question
























  • Well, (1) your translation to English is not correct; it sounds like you're trying to translate Arabic literally to English. In English it should be There is no god but God* (note capitilisation). (2) I highly suggest not trying to capture the structure of "La Ilaha Illallah" in translation if you're trying to restrict yourself to 4 characters. The difference between "Ilah" and "Allah" is only captured by the difference between 主 and 真主, as Chinese doesn't have the equivalent to English The or Arabic al-.
    – droooze
    5 mins ago


















1














For a graphic design for a client I want to render the words "There is no God but the God" into Chinese in as few characters as possible.



It is of course a translation of the Islamic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God") . And whereas Muslims say "物非主,惟有真主", that's 8 characters long and a huge statement and not easy to fit in my clients design, so I came up with this instead:




無神除神




Notes:



I chose 神 for "God" despite other names being more commonly used in Abrahamic Religions.



The Arabic word Ilah (root of Ilaha and Illallah in the phrase "La Ilaha Illallah") is a generic word for God in Arabic, hence my choice of 神 over other words like 主 or 帝 which are more specific and would be better translations of the Arabic word "Rabb" ("Lord") I'm my opinion.



I know from this question that 神 is also (if not commonly) used for the Abrahamic God. To quote the answer:




"Christian prayers (esp the older translations) refer to god as 主 or 神 (I've seen hand-copied Christian prayers that use both);but 神 also means "spirit" (if you think of "the holy spirit", it makes sense that 神 is used to refer to god). However, unlike 上帝, the character 神 alone doesn't unambiguously mean "god"."




While 神 "doesn't unambiguously mean "god"" I think, in the context of the phrase "無神除神" it is clear enough.



My reason for choosing 神 came from this site, where it is said (under Terminology):




In Chinese language there is a terminological distinction between 神 shén, 帝 dì and 仙 xiān. Although the usage of the former two is sometimes blurred, it corresponds to the distinction in Western cultures between "god" and "deity", Latin genius (meaning a generative principle, "spirit") and deus or divus; dì, sometimes translated as "thearch", implies a manifested or incarnate "godly" power.




So is 無神除神 grammatical correct and good as a translation of the Arabic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God") for the purpose of my small graphic design?










share|improve this question
























  • Well, (1) your translation to English is not correct; it sounds like you're trying to translate Arabic literally to English. In English it should be There is no god but God* (note capitilisation). (2) I highly suggest not trying to capture the structure of "La Ilaha Illallah" in translation if you're trying to restrict yourself to 4 characters. The difference between "Ilah" and "Allah" is only captured by the difference between 主 and 真主, as Chinese doesn't have the equivalent to English The or Arabic al-.
    – droooze
    5 mins ago
















1












1








1







For a graphic design for a client I want to render the words "There is no God but the God" into Chinese in as few characters as possible.



It is of course a translation of the Islamic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God") . And whereas Muslims say "物非主,惟有真主", that's 8 characters long and a huge statement and not easy to fit in my clients design, so I came up with this instead:




無神除神




Notes:



I chose 神 for "God" despite other names being more commonly used in Abrahamic Religions.



The Arabic word Ilah (root of Ilaha and Illallah in the phrase "La Ilaha Illallah") is a generic word for God in Arabic, hence my choice of 神 over other words like 主 or 帝 which are more specific and would be better translations of the Arabic word "Rabb" ("Lord") I'm my opinion.



I know from this question that 神 is also (if not commonly) used for the Abrahamic God. To quote the answer:




"Christian prayers (esp the older translations) refer to god as 主 or 神 (I've seen hand-copied Christian prayers that use both);but 神 also means "spirit" (if you think of "the holy spirit", it makes sense that 神 is used to refer to god). However, unlike 上帝, the character 神 alone doesn't unambiguously mean "god"."




While 神 "doesn't unambiguously mean "god"" I think, in the context of the phrase "無神除神" it is clear enough.



My reason for choosing 神 came from this site, where it is said (under Terminology):




In Chinese language there is a terminological distinction between 神 shén, 帝 dì and 仙 xiān. Although the usage of the former two is sometimes blurred, it corresponds to the distinction in Western cultures between "god" and "deity", Latin genius (meaning a generative principle, "spirit") and deus or divus; dì, sometimes translated as "thearch", implies a manifested or incarnate "godly" power.




So is 無神除神 grammatical correct and good as a translation of the Arabic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God") for the purpose of my small graphic design?










share|improve this question















For a graphic design for a client I want to render the words "There is no God but the God" into Chinese in as few characters as possible.



It is of course a translation of the Islamic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God") . And whereas Muslims say "物非主,惟有真主", that's 8 characters long and a huge statement and not easy to fit in my clients design, so I came up with this instead:




無神除神




Notes:



I chose 神 for "God" despite other names being more commonly used in Abrahamic Religions.



The Arabic word Ilah (root of Ilaha and Illallah in the phrase "La Ilaha Illallah") is a generic word for God in Arabic, hence my choice of 神 over other words like 主 or 帝 which are more specific and would be better translations of the Arabic word "Rabb" ("Lord") I'm my opinion.



I know from this question that 神 is also (if not commonly) used for the Abrahamic God. To quote the answer:




"Christian prayers (esp the older translations) refer to god as 主 or 神 (I've seen hand-copied Christian prayers that use both);but 神 also means "spirit" (if you think of "the holy spirit", it makes sense that 神 is used to refer to god). However, unlike 上帝, the character 神 alone doesn't unambiguously mean "god"."




While 神 "doesn't unambiguously mean "god"" I think, in the context of the phrase "無神除神" it is clear enough.



My reason for choosing 神 came from this site, where it is said (under Terminology):




In Chinese language there is a terminological distinction between 神 shén, 帝 dì and 仙 xiān. Although the usage of the former two is sometimes blurred, it corresponds to the distinction in Western cultures between "god" and "deity", Latin genius (meaning a generative principle, "spirit") and deus or divus; dì, sometimes translated as "thearch", implies a manifested or incarnate "godly" power.




So is 無神除神 grammatical correct and good as a translation of the Arabic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God") for the purpose of my small graphic design?







translation






share|improve this question















share|improve this question













share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 53 mins ago







Johan88

















asked 2 hours ago









Johan88Johan88

235




235












  • Well, (1) your translation to English is not correct; it sounds like you're trying to translate Arabic literally to English. In English it should be There is no god but God* (note capitilisation). (2) I highly suggest not trying to capture the structure of "La Ilaha Illallah" in translation if you're trying to restrict yourself to 4 characters. The difference between "Ilah" and "Allah" is only captured by the difference between 主 and 真主, as Chinese doesn't have the equivalent to English The or Arabic al-.
    – droooze
    5 mins ago




















  • Well, (1) your translation to English is not correct; it sounds like you're trying to translate Arabic literally to English. In English it should be There is no god but God* (note capitilisation). (2) I highly suggest not trying to capture the structure of "La Ilaha Illallah" in translation if you're trying to restrict yourself to 4 characters. The difference between "Ilah" and "Allah" is only captured by the difference between 主 and 真主, as Chinese doesn't have the equivalent to English The or Arabic al-.
    – droooze
    5 mins ago


















Well, (1) your translation to English is not correct; it sounds like you're trying to translate Arabic literally to English. In English it should be There is no god but God* (note capitilisation). (2) I highly suggest not trying to capture the structure of "La Ilaha Illallah" in translation if you're trying to restrict yourself to 4 characters. The difference between "Ilah" and "Allah" is only captured by the difference between 主 and 真主, as Chinese doesn't have the equivalent to English The or Arabic al-.
– droooze
5 mins ago






Well, (1) your translation to English is not correct; it sounds like you're trying to translate Arabic literally to English. In English it should be There is no god but God* (note capitilisation). (2) I highly suggest not trying to capture the structure of "La Ilaha Illallah" in translation if you're trying to restrict yourself to 4 characters. The difference between "Ilah" and "Allah" is only captured by the difference between 主 and 真主, as Chinese doesn't have the equivalent to English The or Arabic al-.
– droooze
5 mins ago












2 Answers
2






active

oldest

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3















So is 無神除神 grammatical correct and good as a translation of the Arabic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God")




No to both



The shortened form of "除了(真)神之外沒有神" should be "除神沒神". But 除 also mean remove, so "除神沒神" could mean "remove God and there will be no God", Therefore, it is not a clear translation for "There is no god but the God"



"神外無神" (Beside God, there's no gods) is a better translation






share|improve this answer























  • Omg. "remove God and there will be no God". Thanks ! Big mistake that would've been !
    – Johan88
    49 mins ago





















1














This looks really weird, I can't even guess what 無神除神 means before reading your explanation.



I think the main problem is that, 除, when used alone, usually means get rid of rather than except. So the whole phrase become 'no god and get rid of god'.



As far as I know, there's already a 4-character phrase with similar meaning 認主獨一. I'm not sure if that fits your need.






share|improve this answer





















  • Hahaha. The world of Google translate. Thanks so much ! I was not aware of that phrase. How would you translate it to English?
    – Johan88
    8 mins ago












  • @Johan88 "認主獨一" means "recognize only one single master"
    – Tang Ho
    4 mins ago











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2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes








2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes









active

oldest

votes






active

oldest

votes









3















So is 無神除神 grammatical correct and good as a translation of the Arabic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God")




No to both



The shortened form of "除了(真)神之外沒有神" should be "除神沒神". But 除 also mean remove, so "除神沒神" could mean "remove God and there will be no God", Therefore, it is not a clear translation for "There is no god but the God"



"神外無神" (Beside God, there's no gods) is a better translation






share|improve this answer























  • Omg. "remove God and there will be no God". Thanks ! Big mistake that would've been !
    – Johan88
    49 mins ago


















3















So is 無神除神 grammatical correct and good as a translation of the Arabic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God")




No to both



The shortened form of "除了(真)神之外沒有神" should be "除神沒神". But 除 also mean remove, so "除神沒神" could mean "remove God and there will be no God", Therefore, it is not a clear translation for "There is no god but the God"



"神外無神" (Beside God, there's no gods) is a better translation






share|improve this answer























  • Omg. "remove God and there will be no God". Thanks ! Big mistake that would've been !
    – Johan88
    49 mins ago
















3












3








3







So is 無神除神 grammatical correct and good as a translation of the Arabic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God")




No to both



The shortened form of "除了(真)神之外沒有神" should be "除神沒神". But 除 also mean remove, so "除神沒神" could mean "remove God and there will be no God", Therefore, it is not a clear translation for "There is no god but the God"



"神外無神" (Beside God, there's no gods) is a better translation






share|improve this answer















So is 無神除神 grammatical correct and good as a translation of the Arabic "La Ilaha Illallah" ("There is no God but the God")




No to both



The shortened form of "除了(真)神之外沒有神" should be "除神沒神". But 除 also mean remove, so "除神沒神" could mean "remove God and there will be no God", Therefore, it is not a clear translation for "There is no god but the God"



"神外無神" (Beside God, there's no gods) is a better translation







share|improve this answer














share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer








edited 1 min ago

























answered 57 mins ago









Tang HoTang Ho

27k1541




27k1541












  • Omg. "remove God and there will be no God". Thanks ! Big mistake that would've been !
    – Johan88
    49 mins ago




















  • Omg. "remove God and there will be no God". Thanks ! Big mistake that would've been !
    – Johan88
    49 mins ago


















Omg. "remove God and there will be no God". Thanks ! Big mistake that would've been !
– Johan88
49 mins ago






Omg. "remove God and there will be no God". Thanks ! Big mistake that would've been !
– Johan88
49 mins ago













1














This looks really weird, I can't even guess what 無神除神 means before reading your explanation.



I think the main problem is that, 除, when used alone, usually means get rid of rather than except. So the whole phrase become 'no god and get rid of god'.



As far as I know, there's already a 4-character phrase with similar meaning 認主獨一. I'm not sure if that fits your need.






share|improve this answer





















  • Hahaha. The world of Google translate. Thanks so much ! I was not aware of that phrase. How would you translate it to English?
    – Johan88
    8 mins ago












  • @Johan88 "認主獨一" means "recognize only one single master"
    – Tang Ho
    4 mins ago
















1














This looks really weird, I can't even guess what 無神除神 means before reading your explanation.



I think the main problem is that, 除, when used alone, usually means get rid of rather than except. So the whole phrase become 'no god and get rid of god'.



As far as I know, there's already a 4-character phrase with similar meaning 認主獨一. I'm not sure if that fits your need.






share|improve this answer





















  • Hahaha. The world of Google translate. Thanks so much ! I was not aware of that phrase. How would you translate it to English?
    – Johan88
    8 mins ago












  • @Johan88 "認主獨一" means "recognize only one single master"
    – Tang Ho
    4 mins ago














1












1








1






This looks really weird, I can't even guess what 無神除神 means before reading your explanation.



I think the main problem is that, 除, when used alone, usually means get rid of rather than except. So the whole phrase become 'no god and get rid of god'.



As far as I know, there's already a 4-character phrase with similar meaning 認主獨一. I'm not sure if that fits your need.






share|improve this answer












This looks really weird, I can't even guess what 無神除神 means before reading your explanation.



I think the main problem is that, 除, when used alone, usually means get rid of rather than except. So the whole phrase become 'no god and get rid of god'.



As far as I know, there's already a 4-character phrase with similar meaning 認主獨一. I'm not sure if that fits your need.







share|improve this answer












share|improve this answer



share|improve this answer










answered 33 mins ago









Jason SwiftJason Swift

1,18728




1,18728












  • Hahaha. The world of Google translate. Thanks so much ! I was not aware of that phrase. How would you translate it to English?
    – Johan88
    8 mins ago












  • @Johan88 "認主獨一" means "recognize only one single master"
    – Tang Ho
    4 mins ago


















  • Hahaha. The world of Google translate. Thanks so much ! I was not aware of that phrase. How would you translate it to English?
    – Johan88
    8 mins ago












  • @Johan88 "認主獨一" means "recognize only one single master"
    – Tang Ho
    4 mins ago
















Hahaha. The world of Google translate. Thanks so much ! I was not aware of that phrase. How would you translate it to English?
– Johan88
8 mins ago






Hahaha. The world of Google translate. Thanks so much ! I was not aware of that phrase. How would you translate it to English?
– Johan88
8 mins ago














@Johan88 "認主獨一" means "recognize only one single master"
– Tang Ho
4 mins ago




@Johan88 "認主獨一" means "recognize only one single master"
– Tang Ho
4 mins ago


















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