Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Russian term or phrase:
более чем в 90 раз ниже его стоимости
English translation:
less than a ninetieth of its cost
- The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2016-04-29 17:54:08 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
Apr 26, 2016 14:19
8 yrs ago
Russian term
более чем в 90 раз ниже его стоимости
Russian to English
Marketing
Business/Commerce (general)
Business Report
Препарат был закуплен по одной из самых низких цен в мире - 800 долларов США за курс, что ******более чем в 90 раз ниже его стоимости *******в других развитых странах.
TIA!
TIA!
Proposed translations
(English)
Proposed translations
+7
33 mins
Selected
less than a ninetieth of its cost
*
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Ilan Rubin (X)
: This is exactly how I would say it - you beat me to it Jack!
9 mins
|
Thank you.
|
|
agree |
David Knowles
: Yes - Jack and I are old hands at this question (as is Nik-on/off!
14 mins
|
Thank you.
|
|
agree |
Rachel Douglas
: This is accurate, fine for many contexts, but I think ordinary readers visualize "around 1%" more easily than "1/90", because below, say, "one twentieth" (5%) it's harder to visualize the gradations of 1/30 (3-1/3%), 1/40 (2.5%), 1/70 (~1,4%), etc.
1 hr
|
Thank you.
|
|
agree |
Lazyt3ch
1 hr
|
Thank you.
|
|
agree |
Nik-On/Off
1 hr
|
Thank you.
|
|
agree |
Anton Konashenok
1 hr
|
Thank you.
|
|
agree |
Yakov Katsman
3 hrs
|
Thank you.
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
3 mins
which is more than 90 times lower than its price
-
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Denis Zabelin
3 mins
|
Спасибо, Денис!
|
|
agree |
Tatiana Grehan
5 mins
|
Спасибо, Татьяна!
|
|
neutral |
Susan Welsh
: This is the only one that sounds confusing in English. See previous discussions.
9 mins
|
sounds good to my ear
|
|
neutral |
Mikhail Kropotov
: Very awkward
12 mins
|
sounds good to my ear
|
|
disagree |
Ilan Rubin (X)
: Not English. In 'English' maths one times lower means 100% below, i.e. zero, and anything below that is a negative number \\ show me a respectable source from native English speakers then
30 mins
|
two times lower (higher) is frequently used in the media and even scientific journals
|
|
disagree |
David Knowles
: and (as an English mathematician) I agree with Ilan
42 mins
|
8 mins
over 98% cheaper
100/90= 1.111
100-1.111= 98.88
I am so confident of my answer because Americans are famously so good at math. :)
100-1.111= 98.88
I am so confident of my answer because Americans are famously so good at math. :)
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Susan Welsh
: Leigh explained this in an earlier question. This thorny translation question has been discussed many times.
2 mins
|
Thanks Susan.
|
|
neutral |
Ilan Rubin (X)
: The maths is right of course, but as the number is much closer to 99 than 98 it makes sense here to say 'nearly 99% cheaper', no?
30 mins
|
That sounds good too.
|
|
disagree |
David Knowles
: The maths is wrong! It's 90:1, which is 1/90 or .0111 or about 1%
38 mins
|
I'm afraid I disagree.
|
+1
6 mins
less than 1.12% of its value
#
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 mins (2016-04-26 14:34:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
OK, probably price is more accurate than value here, but that's not the point. Questions very similar to yours are asked on a regular basis here and other forums. The thing is, in English we don't typically use 'factors' or multiplication to compare quantities, especially when the quantity of interest is less than some other. These ratios are usually expressed via a percentage.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 14 mins (2016-04-26 14:34:28 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
OK, probably price is more accurate than value here, but that's not the point. Questions very similar to yours are asked on a regular basis here and other forums. The thing is, in English we don't typically use 'factors' or multiplication to compare quantities, especially when the quantity of interest is less than some other. These ratios are usually expressed via a percentage.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Susan Welsh
5 mins
|
Thank you, Susan
|
|
neutral |
Ilan Rubin (X)
: The maths is right of course, but citing hundredeths of a percentage isn't really in keeping with the tone of the article, which uses whole numbers
34 mins
|
You're right, Ilan. This kind of precision is probably not necessary in an article like that. I must have translated too many scientific papers lately!
|
|
neutral |
David Knowles
: Maths is right, but it's not meant to be exact, so around 1% is all you need to say.//I agree with you - have I grovelled enough?
41 mins
|
Hi David. How disrespectful -- and factually wrong -- of you to say that! 11.1% is 1/9 (one ninth). 1.11% is 1/90 (one ninetieth). I rounded it up to 1.12% be able to say (strictly) "less than".
|
+5
33 mins
almost as little as 1 percent of its cost in
Or "almost as low as 1 percent of its cost in..." This puts "more than" backwards, as "almost as little [low] as", just as one states the "less than" factor as the inverse of the divisor which is stated in Russian. Of course one can say "less than its cost in ... by a factor of greater than 90," but that is quite difficult to grasp.
Risking making this calculation before drinking coffee, and rounding to four places,
"90 times less than X" (doesn't work in English) = 1/90 of X = .0111 of X = 1.11 percent of X
"91 times less" - 1.10 percent
"92 times less" - 1.09 percent
"93 times less" - 1.08 percent
"94 times less" - 1.06 percent
"100 times less" - 1 percent
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2016-04-26 14:56:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
P.S. I didn't see Leigh's or Mikhail's posts when posting mine, because I was dawdling. We're all to the same point.
Among price, value and cost, I would still go with cost, but Leigh's solution avoids using any of those three.
Risking making this calculation before drinking coffee, and rounding to four places,
"90 times less than X" (doesn't work in English) = 1/90 of X = .0111 of X = 1.11 percent of X
"91 times less" - 1.10 percent
"92 times less" - 1.09 percent
"93 times less" - 1.08 percent
"94 times less" - 1.06 percent
"100 times less" - 1 percent
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 37 mins (2016-04-26 14:56:51 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
P.S. I didn't see Leigh's or Mikhail's posts when posting mine, because I was dawdling. We're all to the same point.
Among price, value and cost, I would still go with cost, but Leigh's solution avoids using any of those three.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Ilan Rubin (X)
: That works too
10 mins
|
Thanks, Ilan.
|
|
agree |
Mikhail Kropotov
: This does sound better in the context. Good job, Rachel.
11 mins
|
Thanks, Mikhail.
|
|
agree |
David Knowles
: Sorry Rachel - I got carried away by an earlier error - you're right!
15 mins
|
?? - David, 10% would be "TEN TIMES LESS". / OK, thanks, David.
|
|
agree |
Nik-On/Off
1 hr
|
Thanks, Dmitri.
|
|
agree |
danya
18 hrs
|
Thanks, Danya.
|
13 hrs
more than 50 times below its cost
---
Discussion
And to increase в два раза is to double, or to increase by 100%. Is that right? But if I have to translate an increase "в два раза" I try to write "doubled" (and hope I don't encounter multiples must larger than quintupled), because writing "by 100%" while looking at the number "два" destabilizes me.
Wasn't it because of something like this that one of the Mars probes missed? No, that was failure to convert between centimeters and inches.
I think I'd better stop there!
There is a typical logical trap: if an investment falls in value by 50% and then increases in value by 50%, what is its value now? Answer 75% of original - 100 down to 50, then up to 75.
It is difficult to expect translators or non-mathematicians (even mathematicians) to do the conversions, and the "dropped by ten times" language is sometimes used by English speakers. In that case, dropped by 90% is easy to do in your head, but more complicated ones require a bit of algebra.
So far, my recommendation is to send all such questions to Rachel, who will (for a modest fee to be negotiated) convert them all superbly!
I'm overwhelmed with so many good answers! Wish I could make it up to all of you with the points! But you know the deal…
Thanks!