Instead of "on doit se faire plasir" could one say "on doit se soigner"?
Instead of "dans la rue" could one say "le long de la rue"?
Instead of "nous irons voir la fanfare en famille" could one say "nous irons en famille voir la fanfare" (I can find several instances of "irons en famille voir" in a Google search).?
Hi David,
1. se soigner = to take care of oneself
You would say to a person who is ill :
Soigne-toi bien ! = Take good care of yourself!
2. le long de la rue = along the street
e.g.
Nous avons mis des fleurs tout le long de la rue = We have put flowers all along the (sides of the) street
3. The phrase 'en famille' just sits better at the end of the sentence just as in English
Bonne Continuation!
On doit se faire plaisir -- we have to treat ourselves
On doit se soigner de soi -- we must take care of ourselves.
The second possibility is more about "looking after", whereas the first one is about "enjoying" onself. So they do mean slightly different things.
Dans la rue -- in the streat (specifying a location)
Le longue de la rue -- along the street (specifying a direction)
About your last question I'm not sure. Nous irons voir la fanfare en famille sounds more natural to me than nous irons en famille voir la fanfare.
I suppose that we cannot consider WordReference.com a totally reliable dictionary but it includes the following as one of the meanings for "se soigner" which seems to support using it as a translation for "to treat oneself"
se soigner v pron(se faire plaisir)treat yourself vtr + refl Ils se sont soignés, il se sont débouché un château d'Yquem ! They treated themselves by opening a bottle of château d'Yquem!And Linguee.com shows "le long de" used in sentences that got translated as "if we walk down the street and see a..." and "Once, when passing along the road in front..." which sound very similar to the context here = "marching down the street".
Some words have a spectrum of meanings, but not the entire spectrum is equally used or understood without a given context. There may well be contexts in which se soigner would be translated in the sense you envision. It's just not usual.
The example about "walking down the road" is indicating a direction and not a specific spot. Hence, le longue de la rue (= "the length of the road").
Hi David,
To treat in English can mean to give medical care and attention to someone as is the meaning when you find
se soigner = to treat yourself ( with medicine etc.)
The sense of a treat, in the sense of to give yourself something pleasurable has a totally different meaning.
Se soigner/soigner comes from the noun 'soin' as in
soins intensifs = intensive care
Prends bien soin de toi != Take good care of yourself!
so you can see the problem with using the correct meaning and not just word in a dictionary search.
The following page may help you do this -
https://www.kwiziq.com/online-translators-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-translations
Hi Cécile,
I agree that the BEST translation of treat in this case is “se faire plaisir”.
I am familiar with the issues surrounding online translators. I referred to an entry in the WordReference dictionary (which I would agree does not have the authority of, say, Larousse or Robert). One meaning given for “se soigner” was “se faire Plaisir” and its sample sentence confirmed the context was comparable to that in the dictee: “Ils se sont soignés, il se sont débouché un château d'Yquem ! They treated themselves by opening a bottle of château d'Yquem!”
Perhaps you disagree with the person who created that entry and think it is an incorrect usage.
Hi David,
Without the link to the WorldReference dictionary you mention I cannot comment on it, but I suspect it is irony?
Instead of "on doit se faire plasir" could one say "on doit se soigner"?
Instead of "dans la rue" could one say "le long de la rue"?
Instead of "nous irons voir la fanfare en famille" could one say "nous irons en famille voir la fanfare" (I can find several instances of "irons en famille voir" in a Google search).?
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