Word request
Some people do not have the capacity to be wealthy. Is this sentence correct? I mean can I use "capacity"?
What I mean by this sentece is that if they have a lot of money, they will change in a bad way. Like they may become arrogant, greedy, even fall in love with their wealth and find it hard to spend it, or even become a too selfish person. In my native language we say the person does not have the capacity for wealth. What do you say in such situation?
The question formed in my mind when I was talking about weath with one of my colleagues and I used this word then doubt if I used the correct one.
Thank you all in advance for your answers!
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Answers · 9
2
I agree with WillMac. I think that this concept is probably not directly translatable into English.
Your sentence is grammatically sound, but would not be clear to an English speaker what it means. The phrase 'capacity to be wealthy' is not meaningful to an English speaker in the same way that the corresponding phrase in Farsi would be meaningful to a Farsi speaker. Sometimes it just isn't possible to transfer concepts from one language to another by translating word for word.
I also agree with WillMac that the best way to express this idea in concise, natural English is to use a more informal phrasing such as 'He can't handle being wealthy' or 'He can't cope with being wealthy'. We often use these expressions with reference to fame and celebrity.
1
I cannot think of an appropriate translation for this sentence, and there may just not be a direct translation in English.
I think the sentence in itself is good, and could be used as it is but would require the explanation to follow as it is not a common phrase. Although I would say "the" capacity not "a" capacity.
So for example you could say/write:
"Some people do not have the capacity to be wealthy, money will make them arrogant and horrible."
Alternatively in a much more casual chat, "some people can't handle being wealthy" may be an option.
I would be interested to see what other people think too.
0
Tkank you Samuel Solomon. I taught me two handy words. :-)
0
The Capacity seems right to me.
But if someone got rich and becomes arrogant, greedy or even ostentatious, then they don't have the Sagacity or Prudence to be wealthy.
0
Thank you I change that a to the. :-)
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