<p>Using heavy to describe price is nothing unusual. Before the introduction of paper bills, large sums of money are paid in gold or silver ingots and measured by their weight. Hence words like 千金 (1000 liang of gold), 重金, 重赏, 重禄, 重酬 etc., all expressing &quot;a large amount of money&quot; using &quot;heavy&quot;.</p>
<p>The word 重价 is attested in late 18th to early 19th century.</p>
<p>近代汉语大词典 p.2415 on the word 重价:</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/5tGEf.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/5tGEf.png" alt="近代汉语大词典 重价" /></a></p>
<p>The word 代价 is translated from Japanese 代価. It seems to be introduced rather late. It is plausible that &quot;沉重的代价&quot; is word-to-word translation from &quot;heavy cost&quot;, but in any case it is not a new sense of 沉重.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-23T11:30:36.450Z
2023-10-23T11:30:36.450Z
user2249675
<blockquote>
<p>but cost or price 代价 or 价格 in Chinese often comes with high or low, not heavy or light,</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Heavy or light is often used to describe &quot;loss&quot;(损失), the 代价 in 沉重代价 refers to 作为代价的损失 (loss as price) and that's how we understand the meaning of 沉重的代价</p>
<p>We usually don't translate English expressions word for word when there is an equivalent idiom in Chinese. For example, we don't translate &quot;at the end of one's rope&quot; literally as 在他绳子的末端, we translate it as 山穷水尽，穷途末路， or 走投无路.</p>
<p>Another reason to translate word for word between English and Chinese is the literal translation is easily comprehensible. for example &quot;an eye for an eye&quot; --&gt; 以眼还眼</p>
<p>Translate  &quot;arm to teeth&quot;  as 武装到牙齿 is acceptable only to people who know this English expression. It is not an easily comprehensible term for the general public. 极度武装 would be an accurate translation</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-24T06:52:57.363Z
武装到牙齿的意思就是 他的装备非常的好 属于中文内的一种形容方式
“武装到牙齿”It means that his equipment is very good. It is a way of describing it in Chinese.
mdhridoy khan
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-23T10:54:14.543Z
2023-10-23T11:03:06.127Z
2023-10-23T11:03:06.127Z
Tang Ho
<p>In general, cost means money. Money equals gold in the past. Gold is measured by its weight, not counted by number of dollars. That is why we can understand &quot;heavy cost&quot;.</p>
<p>In Chinese, it is OK to say &quot;沉重的代价&quot;, which means that you will pay back with a lot of gold, if not with your life.</p>
<p>We often say, &quot;重赏之下，必有勇夫&quot;。In ancient, the Emperor granted its warriors a lot of gold and silver, fields, slaves, and livestock. Those are called &quot;重赏&quot;.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-24T14:55:38.897Z
2023-10-24T15:19:51.220Z
2023-10-24T15:19:51.220Z
PdotWang
<p>I came across the sentence which reads 以色列宣称要让哈马斯付出沉重的代价.</p>
<p>Heavy cost is no problem in English, but cost or price 代价or 价格 in Chinese often comes with high or low, not heavy or light, so am I right to say this is a word-for-word translation from a set phrase of English or other European language, like the most well-known &quot;armed to teeth&quot;, which is made &quot;武装到牙齿&quot; and accepted by the Chinese readers?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-10-24T02:43:41.947Z
Hm... even in English "cost" is usually not described by "heavy" but "high," no?
fat penguin
<translation>
Is 沉重的代价 a clumsy translation from "heavy cost"?
# Is 沉重的代价 a clumsy translation from "heavy cost"?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-10-23)

I came across the sentence which reads 以色列宣称要让哈马斯付出沉重的代价.

Heavy cost is no problem in English, but cost or price 代价or 价格 in Chinese often comes with high or low, not heavy or light, so am I right to say this is a word-for-word translation from a set phrase of English or other European language, like the most well-known "armed to teeth", which is made "武装到牙齿" and accepted by the Chinese readers?

**Tags:** translation

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Hm... even in English "cost" is usually not described by "heavy" but "high," no?  

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2023-10-23. Score: 2

Using heavy to describe price is nothing unusual. Before the introduction of paper bills, large sums of money are paid in gold or silver ingots and measured by their weight. Hence words like 千金 (1000 liang of gold), 重金, 重赏, 重禄, 重酬 etc., all expressing "a large amount of money" using "heavy".

The word 重价 is attested in late 18th to early 19th century.

近代汉语大词典 p.2415 on the word 重价:

[![近代汉语大词典 重价](https://i.sstatic.net/5tGEf.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/5tGEf.png)

The word 代价 is translated from Japanese 代価. It seems to be introduced rather late. It is plausible that "沉重的代价" is word-to-word translation from "heavy cost", but in any case it is not a new sense of 沉重.


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### Answer by username_3 on 2023-10-23. Score: 2

> but cost or price 代价 or 价格 in Chinese often comes with high or low, not heavy or light,

Heavy or light is often used to describe "loss"(损失), the 代价 in 沉重代价 refers to 作为代价的损失 (loss as price) and that's how we understand the meaning of 沉重的代价

We usually don't translate English expressions word for word when there is an equivalent idiom in Chinese. For example, we don't translate "at the end of one's rope" literally as 在他绳子的末端, we translate it as 山穷水尽，穷途末路， or 走投无路.

Another reason to translate word for word between English and Chinese is the literal translation is easily comprehensible. for example "an eye for an eye" --> 以眼还眼

Translate "arm to teeth" as 武装到牙齿 is acceptable only to people who know this English expression. It is not an easily comprehensible term for the general public. 极度武装 would be an accurate translation

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: 武装到牙齿的意思就是 他的装备非常的好 属于中文内的一种形容方式 “武装到牙齿”It means that his equipment is very good. It is a way of describing it in Chinese.  

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### Answer by username_5 on 2023-10-24. Score: 0

In general, cost means money. Money equals gold in the past. Gold is measured by its weight, not counted by number of dollars. That is why we can understand "heavy cost".

In Chinese, it is OK to say "沉重的代价", which means that you will pay back with a lot of gold, if not with your life.

We often say, "重赏之下，必有勇夫"。In ancient, the Emperor granted its warriors a lot of gold and silver, fields, slaves, and livestock. Those are called "重赏".


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