<p>It is a tricky one "de-invented trains" here literally means "erased the invention of trains" and figuratively means "reverse the progression of science and technology"</p>

<p>I would translate  "de-invented trains." figuratively as "逆轉科技的進步" (reverse the progression of technology) or closer to the original quote: "把科技逆轉到火車發明前的水平" (reverse technology back to the level of before trains was invented)</p>

<p>The literal translation would be "抹去/删除了火车的发明" (erased the invention of trains)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-14T06:30:21.930Z
2019-03-14T06:43:46.950Z
2019-03-14T06:43:46.950Z
Tang Ho
<p>This is one of those cases where the flexibility of English to simply invent words that are intelligible makes the translation job a lot harder. Thus, there's probably no good answer because it will be a case-by-case basis.</p>

<p>Because de- has a plethora of meanings, there will be a plethora of translations. For de- in the sense of "removal," like "de-caffinated," 去 will likely be used (去咖啡因). In the sense of separation or division，like delamination，you might see 分 (分层). 
Because de- is a latin suffix, it shows up more frequently in scientific or technical words that might have their own way to be expressed in Chinese, such as de-emphasize = 淡化. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-14T02:56:29.293Z
2019-05-14T02:56:29.293Z
roger-reject
<p>I was reading <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/01/chris-grayling-nigel-farage-march-leave" rel="nofollow noreferrer">this</a> article in The Guardian recently when I came across this sentence:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>By the time I have finished typing, Chris could have lost a battle of wits with the A358, or de-invented trains.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I was wondering how <code>de-invented trains</code> would be translated into Chinese.</p>

<hr>

<p><em>21st Century English-Chinese Dictionary</em> gives the following for <em>-de</em></p>

<blockquote>
  <p>“非…”,“反…”：</p>
  
  <p>decreation<br>
  非创造 </p>
  
  <p>denormalization<br>
  非标准化；非正常化  </p>
</blockquote>

<p>I really don't think any speaker of Chinese is going to understand <em>非创造</em>, in general, let alone as <em>decreation</em>.</p>

<p>非发明 -or- 反发明 is certainly not going to be a good translation of <em>de-invent(ed)</em>.</p>

<p>But I'm not sure how it would be expressed at all.</p>

<p>Any ideas?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-14T05:53:30.587Z
*De-Sinicisation* is translated as「去」中國化, so the prefix「去」is another translation.
dROOOze
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-03-14T11:25:00.007Z
Maybe, 废除(对于)火车的发明？
dan
<translation>
How to translate "de-"?
# How to translate "de-"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-03-14)

I was reading [this](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/01/chris-grayling-nigel-farage-march-leave) article in The Guardian recently when I came across this sentence:

> By the time I have finished typing, Chris could have lost a battle of wits with the A358, or de-invented trains.

I was wondering how `de-invented trains` would be translated into Chinese.

---

*21st Century English-Chinese Dictionary* gives the following for *-de*

> “非…”,“反…”：
>
> decreation  
> 非创造
>
> denormalization  
> 非标准化；非正常化

I really don't think any speaker of Chinese is going to understand *非创造*, in general, let alone as *decreation*.

非发明 -or- 反发明 is certainly not going to be a good translation of *de-invent(ed)*.

But I'm not sure how it would be expressed at all.

Any ideas?

**Tags:** translation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: *De-Sinicisation* is translated as「去」中國化, so the prefix「去」is another translation.  
> **username_2**: Maybe, 废除(对于)火车的发明？  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2019-05-14. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

This is one of those cases where the flexibility of English to simply invent words that are intelligible makes the translation job a lot harder. Thus, there's probably no good answer because it will be a case-by-case basis.

Because de- has a plethora of meanings, there will be a plethora of translations. For de- in the sense of "removal," like "de-caffinated," 去 will likely be used (去咖啡因). In the sense of separation or division，like delamination，you might see 分 (分层).
Because de- is a latin suffix, it shows up more frequently in scientific or technical words that might have their own way to be expressed in Chinese, such as de-emphasize = 淡化.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-03-14. Score: 1

It is a tricky one "de-invented trains" here literally means "erased the invention of trains" and figuratively means "reverse the progression of science and technology"

I would translate "de-invented trains." figuratively as "逆轉科技的進步" (reverse the progression of technology) or closer to the original quote: "把科技逆轉到火車發明前的水平" (reverse technology back to the level of before trains was invented)

The literal translation would be "抹去/删除了火车的发明" (erased the invention of trains)


---

