<p>"Lie to Me" sounds like a challenge (feel free to lie to me and I will see through you).</p>

<p>"别对我说谎" sounds like a warning (Never lie to me or I will see through you).</p>

<p>They are not that contrary but actually quite close in this particular context,  since both convey the subtext "I will see through you".</p>

<p>In Chinese, "对我说谎" isn't as strong as "Lie to me" in English, unless you say "来，对我说谎" or "对我说谎试试" to stress that it's an imperative sentence. I guess this is why the translator chose 别对我说谎 rather than 对我说谎.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-13T08:58:27.817Z
2017-12-13T08:58:27.817Z
Jason Swift
<p>This translation is rendered to cater to the market demand. I think <code>别对我说谎</code> can actually draw more eyes on the movie poster. I can't tell the rationale but it is a rhetorical technique. </p>

<p>Besides, <code>对我说谎</code> alone makes nonsense since this imperative sentence is not logically reasonable, at least in Chinese context.</p>

<p>In general cases, <code>对我说谎</code> is proper.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-13T09:05:19.910Z
2017-12-13T09:05:19.910Z
Tianjian Qin
<p>The movie name <a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/%E5%88%AB%E5%AF%B9%E6%88%91%E6%92%92%E8%B0%8E" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Lie to me</a>, should be directly translated to <code>对我说谎</code>. But the Chinese translation is <code>别对我说谎</code>, which is opposite to the expected translation.</p>

<p>Is this common? When should we opposite the meaning when translating English to Chinese?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-13T07:31:53.080Z
It’s common for TV shows/series, movies and film to have wildly different Chinese names. The Chinese names are usually more “flashy” and attention grabbing. It’s likely that a name like `对我说谎` would be too cryptic for a foreign audience to want to watch based off of name alone.
Mou某
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-13T08:42:32.883Z
In Hong Kong "House (MD)" was translated as "醫神", 'Six Million Dollar Man'' was "無啟鐵金剛"  We rather name a show base on it's content than translate it follow the original  English title.
Tang Ho
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-12-13T08:58:41.870Z
Sorry, it was "無敵金剛" , 啟 was a typo and there's no 鐵
Tang Ho
<translation>
Why "Lie to me" is translated as "别对我说谎"?
# Why "Lie to me" is translated as "别对我说谎"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-12-13)

The movie name [Lie to me](https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-hans/%E5%88%AB%E5%AF%B9%E6%88%91%E6%92%92%E8%B0%8E), should be directly translated to `对我说谎`. But the Chinese translation is `别对我说谎`, which is opposite to the expected translation.

Is this common? When should we opposite the meaning when translating English to Chinese?

**Tags:** translation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: It’s common for TV shows/series, movies and film to have wildly different Chinese names. The Chinese names are usually more “flashy” and attention grabbing. It’s likely that a name like `对我说谎` would be too cryptic for a foreign audience to want to watch based off of name alone.  
> **username_2**: In Hong Kong "House (MD)" was translated as "醫神", 'Six Million Dollar Man'' was "無啟鐵金剛"  We rather name a show base on it's content than translate it follow the original  English title.  
> **username_2**: Sorry, it was "無敵金剛" , 啟 was a typo and there's no 鐵  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2017-12-13. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

"Lie to Me" sounds like a challenge (feel free to lie to me and I will see through you).

"别对我说谎" sounds like a warning (Never lie to me or I will see through you).

They are not that contrary but actually quite close in this particular context, since both convey the subtext "I will see through you".

In Chinese, "对我说谎" isn't as strong as "Lie to me" in English, unless you say "来，对我说谎" or "对我说谎试试" to stress that it's an imperative sentence. I guess this is why the translator chose 别对我说谎 rather than 对我说谎.


---

### Answer by username_4 on 2017-12-13. Score: 1

This translation is rendered to cater to the market demand. I think `别对我说谎` can actually draw more eyes on the movie poster. I can't tell the rationale but it is a rhetorical technique.

Besides, `对我说谎` alone makes nonsense since this imperative sentence is not logically reasonable, at least in Chinese context.

In general cases, `对我说谎` is proper.


---

