On the Method of Zadig: Essay #1 from "Science and Hebrew Tradition" — Page 5
I noticed the track of an animal in the sand, and it was easy to see that it was that of a small dog.
Tôi nhận thấy dấu vết của một con vật trên cát, và có thể dễ dàng nhận ra rằng đó là dấu vết của một con chó nhỏ.
Long faint streaks upon the little elevations of sand between the footmarks convinced me that it was a she dog with pendent dugs, showing that she must have had puppies not many days since.
Những vệt dài mờ nhạt trên những gờ cát nhỏ giữa các dấu chân đã thuyết phục tôi rằng đó là một con chó cái với bầu vú đong đưa, cho thấy rằng nó chắc hẳn đã sinh chó con chưa được bao nhiêu ngày trước.
Other scrapings of the sand, which always lay close to the marks of the forepaws, indicated that she had very long ears; and, as the imprint of one foot was always fainter than those of the other three, I judged that the lady dog of our august Queen was, if I may venture to say so, a little lame.
Những vết cào khác trên cát, luôn nằm sát với dấu các chân trước, cho thấy nó có đôi tai rất dài; và, vì dấu in của một chân luôn mờ hơn so với ba chân kia, tôi phán đoán rằng con chó cái của Nữ hoàng uy nghiêm của chúng ta, nếu tôi có thể mạo muội nói vậy, hơi khập khiễng.
'With respect to the horse of the King of Kings, permit me to observe that, wandering through the paths which traverse the wood, I noticed the marks of horse-shoes.
'Về con ngựa của Vua của các vị Vua, xin phép tôi được trình bày rằng, khi lang thang qua những con đường xuyên qua khu rừng, tôi nhận thấy những dấu móng ngựa.
They were all equidistant.
Chúng đều cách đều nhau.
"Ah!" said I, "this is a famous galloper."
"A!" tôi nói, "đây là một con ngựa phi nước đại lừng danh."
In a narrow alley, only seven feet wide, the dust upon the trunks of the trees was a little disturbed at three feet and a half from the middle of the path.
Trong một con hẻm hẹp, chỉ rộng bảy bộ, bụi trên thân cây bị xáo động nhẹ ở khoảng cách ba bộ rưỡi tính từ giữa con đường.
"This horse," said I to myself, "had a tail three feet and a half long, and, lashing it from one side to the other, he has swept away the dust."
"Con ngựa này," tôi tự nhủ, "có cái đuôi dài ba bộ rưỡi, và khi quật đuôi từ bên này sang bên kia, nó đã quét sạch bụi đường."
Vocabulary
- Tôi
- First person singular pronoun: I, me
- nhận
- To receive, recognize, or acknowledge something
- thấy
- To see, feel, or perceive something
- dấu
- Mark, sign, or trace left behind
- vết
- Track, mark, or stain on a surface
- của
- Preposition indicating possession: of, belonging to
- một
- The number one; indefinite article: a, an
- con
- Classifier for animals and certain objects
- vật
- Animal, creature, or physical object
- trên
- Preposition meaning on, above, or upon
- cát
- Sand, as found on beaches or deserts
- và
- Conjunction meaning and, connecting words or clauses
- có
- To have; to exist; there is/are
- thể
- Used with 'có' to mean can, able to
- dễ
- Easy, not difficult to do or understand
- dàng
- Easily, without difficulty; paired with 'dễ'
- ra
- To go out; directional complement indicating outward motion
- rằng
- Conjunction introducing reported speech: that
- đó
- That, there; demonstrative pronoun or adverb
- là
- To be; linking verb equating subject and predicate
- chó
- Dog, a common domesticated animal
- nhỏ
- Small, little in size or quantity
- Những
- Plural marker for nouns indicating multiple items
- vệt
- Streak, stripe, or long narrow mark
- dài
- Long in length or duration
- mờ
- Faint, dim, blurry, or unclear
- nhạt
- Pale, faint, or light in color or taste
- những
- Plural marker for nouns indicating multiple items
- giữa
- Between, in the middle of something
- các
- Plural marker referring to specific multiple items
- chân
- Foot, leg of a person or animal
- đã
- Past tense marker indicating completed action
- thuyết
- To speak, argue, or persuade; theory
- phục
- To convince, to be persuaded or subdued
- tôi
- First person singular pronoun: I, me
- cái
- Classifier for inanimate objects; the, that thing
- với
- With, together with; preposition of accompaniment
- bầu
- Round, swollen; used in 'bầu vú' meaning udder/breast
- vú
- Breast, udder of a female mammal
- đưa
- To give, hand over, or swing gently
- cho
- For, to give to; beneficiary preposition
- nó
- Third person pronoun: it, he, she
- chắc
- Certainly, surely; firm, solid, confident
- hẳn
- Certainly, definitely, most likely
- sinh
- To give birth, be born, to live
- chưa
- Not yet; question marker for completed actions
- được
- To obtain, be able to; passive voice marker
- bao
- How many, how much; used in questions
- nhiêu
- How much, how many; used with 'bao'
- ngày
- Day, daytime; unit of time
- trước
- Before, in front of, previously in time
- khác
- Different, other, another; distinct from something
- luôn
- Always, constantly; right away, immediately
- nằm
- To lie down, to be situated somewhere
- sát
- Close to, next to, tightly against something
- đôi
- A pair of, two matching things together
- tai
- Ear of a person or animal
- rất
- Very, extremely; intensifier adverb
- vì
- Because, for the reason that; conjunction
- in
- To print; here used as 'in hơn' meaning deeper/more impressed
- hơn
- More than; comparative marker in comparisons
- so
- To compare; used in 'so với' meaning compared to
- ba
- The number three; also means father informally
- kia
- That over there; distal demonstrative pronoun
- phán
- To judge, declare, or pronounce a verdict
- đoán
- To guess, deduce, or make an inference
- Nữ
- Female, woman; feminine prefix in compounds
- hoàng
- Royal, imperial; used in 'nữ hoàng' meaning queen
- uy
- Authority, power, prestige, dignity
- nghiêm
- Strict, serious, solemn, dignified
- chúng
- Plural pronoun: we, they, those
- ta
- We, us; first person plural informal pronoun
- nếu
- If, conditional conjunction introducing a condition
- nói
- To speak, say, or talk about something
- vậy
- So, thus, that way; used for emphasis
- hơi
- Slightly, a little bit; breath, vapor
- Về
- About, regarding; to return to a place
- ngựa
- Horse, a large domesticated riding animal
- Vua
- King, ruler, monarch of a kingdom
- vị
- Classifier for people of status; position, taste
- xin
- To ask politely, request, beg for something
- phép
- Permission; politeness; used in 'xin phép' meaning to ask permission
- trình
- To present, report formally to a superior
- bày
- To display, explain, lay out for view
- khi
- When, at the time that; temporal conjunction
- lang
- To wander, roam; used in 'lang thang'
- thang
- To wander aimlessly; used in 'lang thang'
- qua
- To pass through, go across, via
- đường
- Road, path, street, or way
- xuyên
- To pass through, penetrate; across, through
- khu
- Area, zone, district, region
- rừng
- Forest, jungle, wooded area
- móng
- Hoof of an animal; fingernail, claw
- Chúng
- Plural pronoun: they, we, those things
- đều
- All, both, equally; uniform adverb
- cách
- Distance apart; method, way of doing something
- nhau
- Each other, one another; reciprocal pronoun
- đây
- Here, this place; proximal demonstrative adverb
- phi
- To gallop; fly; non-, not in compounds
- nước
- Water; country, nation; used in 'phi nước đại'
- đại
- Great, large, full; used in 'nước đại' full gallop
- lừng
- Famous, renowned; used in 'lừng danh'
- danh
- Name, reputation, fame, renown
- Trong
- Inside, within; preposition of location
- hẻm
- Narrow alley, lane, or passageway
- hẹp
- Narrow, tight, limited in width
- chỉ
- Only, merely, just; to point at
- rộng
- Wide, broad, spacious in extent
- bảy
- The number seven
- bộ
- Set, suit; classifier for steps or suits
- bụi
- Dust; bush or shrub; clump of vegetation
- thân
- Body, trunk of a tree; close, intimate
- cây
- Tree, plant; classifier for long thin objects
- bị
- Passive voice marker indicating undesirable action
- động
- To move, be disturbed; motion, movement
- nhẹ
- Light, gentle, not heavy or severe
- ở
- To be at, live at; preposition of location
- khoảng
- About, approximately; a span or distance
- rưỡi
- And a half; used after numbers for half
- tính
- To calculate, count; nature, character, personality
- từ
- From; word, vocabulary item in language
- Con
- Classifier for animals; child; this animal
- này
- This, these; proximal demonstrative adjective
- tự
- Self, oneself; to do something by oneself
- đuôi
- Tail of an animal or end of something
- bên
- Side, beside, next to; direction word
- sang
- To move across to the other side
- quét
- To sweep, brush clean a surface
- sạch
- Clean, clear, tidy, free of dirt
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