Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Arabic term or phrase:
لا تثمن ولا تغني من جوع
English translation:
worthless or useless
Added to glossary by
Jacques Saleh
Apr 8, 2012 01:16
12 yrs ago
10 viewers *
Arabic term
United States
Law/Investments/Finance (PhD & MBA)
Native in: English 
, Arabic
Works in: Arabic to English, English to Arabic, French to English, and 2 more.
لا تثمن ولا تغني من جوع
Arabic to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
Legal and aphorism or proverb
What is the meaning of this adage? The sentence is included in a legal text from Saudi Arabia:
كما أن هذه الكتب التي ترتكن إليها المدعي عليها الثانية لا تثمن ولا تغني من جوع
والمدعي عليها الأولى ليست طرفا فيها ولا تعلم عنها شيئا
كما أن هذه الكتب التي ترتكن إليها المدعي عليها الثانية لا تثمن ولا تغني من جوع
والمدعي عليها الأولى ليست طرفا فيها ولا تعلم عنها شيئا
Proposed translations
(English)
| 5 | worthless or useless |
Hani Hassaan
|
| 5 +2 | neither nourishes nor avails against hunger |
Firas Allouzi
|
| 4 +1 | willdo not feed hungry mouths |
Mokhtar Nabaleh
|
Proposed translations
10 mins
Hani Hassaan
Egypt
Egypt
Native in Arabic
Egypt
Quality communicates you with Arab world
Native in: Arabic (Variants: Jordanian, Kuwaiti, Standard-Arabian (MSA), Saudi , Egyptian, Syrian, UAE) 
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English, German to Arabic
Related KudoZ points
:
6
Selected
worthless or useless
worthless or useless
The sense I get from it is that it refers to something which has the appearance of great significance, but in reality is meaningless.
also God say this phrase in quran when he describe the food in the hell.
It's about the punishment in hell, where the only food given is neither nourishing nor filling.
ليس لهم طعام إلا من ضريع، لا يسمن ولا يغني من جوع (سورة الغاشية، آية 6، 7)
The sense I get from it is that it refers to something which has the appearance of great significance, but in reality is meaningless.
also God say this phrase in quran when he describe the food in the hell.
It's about the punishment in hell, where the only food given is neither nourishing nor filling.
ليس لهم طعام إلا من ضريع، لا يسمن ولا يغني من جوع (سورة الغاشية، آية 6، 7)
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks Hani. I also appreciate the context you bring in, which gives the expression contextual significance."
+1
1 hr
willdo not feed hungry mouths
Idiom
لا تغني ولا تسمن (بالسين) من جوع
http://www.sudaneseonline.com/arabic/index.php/مقالات/10261-...
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Note added at 1 ساعة (2012-04-08 03:07:32 GMT)
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will/ do not
لا تغني ولا تسمن (بالسين) من جوع
http://www.sudaneseonline.com/arabic/index.php/مقالات/10261-...
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Note added at 1 ساعة (2012-04-08 03:07:32 GMT)
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will/ do not
+2
9 hrs
Firas Allouzi
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Native in Arabic
Specializes in field
United Kingdom
Professional
Native in: Arabic (Variant: Jordanian)
Works in: English to Arabic, Arabic to English
Related KudoZ points
:
8
neither nourishes nor avails against hunger
This is the literal translation - in the context it means ''of no use''
Discussion
Just like English, the Arabic لا تثمن has a positive meaning of "priceless." This makes it very difficult as the rest is negative. As provided by the first answer, it may be لا تسمن and then the whole term will be negative as Hani put it. What you see on top of the letter tha' may be just the shadda for the letter mim.