Nobody is born a thief.

[Imralu]

Nobody is born a thief.

---

Swahili:

Hakuna anayezaliwa akiwa mwizi.

Code: Select all

Ha-ku-na      a-na-ye-za-liw-a                    a-ki-w-a       mwizi.
NEG-CL17-COM  CL1-PRES-CL1.REL-bear/beget-PASS-Ø  CL1-SITU-be-Ø  (CL1)thief
there-isn't   who-(s/he)-was-born                 (s/he)-being   thief

You could put mtu '(CL1)person' straight after hakuna but it doesn't seem to be necessary. The verb prefix -ki- that I've glossed as "SITU" (situational) basically subordinates the verb, making it akin to a present participle or, when it comes first, an "if"-clause. Akiwa can thus basically mean "as", "with him/her being" or "if he/she is".

[Iyionaku]

German

Niemand wird zum Dieb geboren.
[ˈniːmant vɪə̯t t͡sʊm diːp gəˈboːʁən]
nobody AUX.PAS.3SG to=DEF.MASC.DAT thief bear.PP
Nobody is born a thief.

Yélian

Citeʻa cibit grodofecbrats.
[kɨˈteːʔɐ ˈkibɨ̆‿ˈgɾoːdɔ̈ˌɸĕbɾɐt͡s]
nobody NEG-COP.3SG.ANIM thief-inherent
Nobody is a thief inherently.

"Fecbrats" means not only inherent, but also derived, transmitted, inherited etc. It indeed derives from bratsba (to be born). As a noun suffix, it indicates that someone has an attribute by heritage. "Psychopath", for example, means zolorfecbrats, literally "transmitted demon".

[Xing]

Kuri taka kiru ke miadelle.
kuri taka kiru ke miadelle
NEG.be man be_born ESS AGENT-thief
[ˈkuːri ˈtaːkɑ ˈkiːru kə mʲiaˈdelːe]

[Dormouse559]

French:
Personne ne naît voleur.
/pɛʁsɔn nə nɛ vɔlœʁ/
nobody NEG be_born.3SG thief

Profession nouns are treated somewhat like adjectives in French. One place this shows up is in copular expressions like this one, so no article is used before voleur (thief).

Romanglic:
Larceny proves universally non-innate (concerning people).

This translation seems broader than the original, seeing as it could refer to anything that's born, not just people. But I haven't come up with a narrower version that doesn't sound unwieldy, even by Romanglic standards. EDIT: I threw in a "concerning people", but it takes away any shreds of pithiness.

[Parlox]

Pod
Ynbó ćokuḍån puaynod ŝorfon
IMP-NEG birth-MOM person thief
Nobody is born a thief

[Alessio]

Italiano
Nessuno nasce ladro.
/nes'suːno 'naʃʃe 'laːdro/
nessuno nasc-e ladro
nobody be_born-3SG thief

Dialàt Vgnulěṡ
Nisun al nâs lêder.
/nɪ'sũːn‿ɐl 'naːs̠ 'lεːder/
nobody 3SG be_born.3SG thief

Häħadhvar/Hecathver
Veuia byrqieët shaltuun.
/veu̯'i.a byr'xjeø̯t ʃal'twun/
veu-ia byrqie-ët shalt-uun
who-NONE be_born-3SG steal-PART.ATVING
"PART.ATVING" stands for "activating participle", the term used in Hecathver grammars to describe the condition of someone doing something habitually (especially as a job).

Hajás
Äksj e fennjüs romnartam.
/'εkʃ‿e 'feɲɲys 'rɔmnartam/
äk-sj e fen-njüs romnar-tam
who-NONE EUPH INGR-live steal-PART.ACT

Darezh
Amnhis uq třethĭutŭos jenshuto.
/'amɲis uq 'tɹeθʲjuˌtʷwos 'jenʃuto/
am-nhis uq tře-thĭu-tŭos jen-shu-to
who-NONE as force-take-person begin-live-VERB
Words in Darezh are mostly compounds of monosyllabic roots. I chose to render "to steal" as "to take with force", thus "thief" is a "man who takes with force". Also, "to be born" is rendered as "to begin to live".

Emagnás (it's been a lot of time! Gotta make it live again)
Zeris adyuk ek'amphi.
/'zeris 'aɖuk e'kʼampʰi/
ze-ris adyuk ek'amphi
who-NONE thief be_born

As you can see, I have a thing for forming words like "nobody", "everything" and such in a regular, Esperanto-like fashion...

[Lao Kou]

Géarthnuns

Shahövegs lüv fí panfafsíb sfen féten.
nobody-NOM.NEG AUX.TRANSC.IMPERS INDEF.NEG thief-POST.NEG as be.born
Nobody is born a thief.

---

Japoné語

Qui mau dja 生marèrë pas 泥棒 ni.
Qui mau dja oumarèrë pas doraubeau ni.
nobody NOM NEG be.born NEG thief LOC/ALL(?)
Nobody is born a thief.

[marvelous]

Khan Nilau Khaftim, Pejlanrau Khaneč Khaftim

Wojnom me um tan-njakt.
/ˈwɔɪ.nɔm me ʊm tanˈnjakt/ [Khan Nilau Khaftim]
/ˈwɔɪ.nɔm me ʊm tanʲˈnʲakt/ [Pejlanrau Khaneč Khaftim]
nobody PAS give.birth.to ESS=thief
Nobody is given birth to as a thief.

Gãdũ Fav

Up wojm ronĩp kẽ-jũho.
/up woɪm ˈro.nĩp kẽˈjũ.ho/
be nobody thief when=INDEF.SBJ-give.birth.to-3SG.TOP.OBJ
Nobody is a thief when they are born.

Nummiinmaak

Vym me up gwiim ke-jumo.
/vym me up gwiːm keˈju.mo/
thief TOP be nobody when=INDEF.SBJ-give.birth.to-3SG.TOP.OBJ
A thief, no one is one when they are born.

[Khemehekis]

Kankonian:

Ou zeratzas shil dartzi.
nobody be_born-PRS as thief
Nobody is born a thief.

[Fluffy8x]

Lek-Tsaro:

mešyha masan, na'i'eha besen, seke3 nûbarërïn.
give_birth-GENERIC-Q person-ACC, wait-ANAPH_OBJ-Q PREV_CLAUSE-ACC, be-ANAPH_SUB-NEG-GNOMIC thief-ACC.

[Reyzadren]

griuskant (without the conscript)

shurvis yidan ik zhaeve.
/'ʃurvis 'jidan ik 'ʒevə/
nobody born-V-PASS as thief-N

[Parlox]

Migyur
LaQarmimu pajuba yyapfu
[lɑgɑɹmɪmɯ̽ pɑɭɯ̽bɑ ɟɑpfɯ̽]
NEG-who-COP.PRES.IPFV-NOM.MASC.LAR thief-INDEF.ACC birth-REA.100%
Nobody is born a thief

[Parlox]

Mqaélian Maaɀaaɀi Paélemi
Laa qaar wi wu phóɀuj bhaa jow pho
[lɑ gɑɹ wɪ wɯ̽ fʌːsʷɯ̽ɭ vɑ ɭʌw fʌ]
NEG who COP.PRES NOM.MASC.LAR thief INDEF.ACC birth REA.100%
Nobody is born a thief

[Void]

Sülthü de taghžad világo.
[ˈsylθy ˈdɛˌtɑʁʒɑd ˈʋilaːgɔ]
born-3SG.AOR nobody thief-ESS
"Nobody is born a thief."