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Old May 12, 2010, 02:09 PM
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JPablo JPablo is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: Southern California
Posts: 5,579
Native Language: Spanish (Castilian, peninsular)
JPablo is on a distinguished road
Walk a mile in his shoes, you can't really know a man until you

How would you translate "you can't really know a man until you walk a mile in his shoes?
I checked in the net and found other forums where someone asked about the origin for the phrase "walk a mile in my shoes" and someone else gave not the origin, but the complete phrase: (Quote) DON'T JUDGE A MAN UNTIL YOU HAVE WALKED A MILE IN HIS BOOTS - "Don't criticize another person's work until you've tried to do it yourself; don't judge another person's life until you've been forced to live it. The word 'criticize' may be used instead of 'judge' and 'shoes' instead of 'boots.' The main entry is one of the 101 most frequently used American proverbs, according to lexicographer Harris Collis." From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" (1996) by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996). (UNQUOTE)

In the translation I would go for something like, "No puedes conocer a un hombre, hasta que no has pasado por lo mismo que él" or "hasta que no has estado en su piel" "hasta que no has estado en su pellejo".

Does anyone else have any other or better ideas?

In another place we have a joke,
Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in his shoes. Then when you do criticize that person, you'll be a mile away and
have his shoes.

Here the expression has to be translated more "literally", otherwise, with "piel" or "pellejo" we lose the joke a bit. (Or becomes a bit "out there".) "Entonces cuando critiques a esa persona, estarás a más de un kilómetro y medio de distancia y dentro de su piel...

Any ideas and refreshing viewpoints on this will be appreciated... (and I don't think anyone one has to walk more than a few yards in my shoes to... judge me "guilty!" )

Last edited by JPablo; May 12, 2010 at 02:11 PM.
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