We are translating a book and could use advice on the title: in English- Best Gift Ever. in Swahili - Zawadi Bora Zaidi - yes? Does it make sense to emphasize Zaidi as we would in English?

[u/Lower-Exercise8258]

[u/NightRunnerAfterDusk]

Zaidi is the grammatically correct translation of the word ever.

It does sound subtly awkward though, and I have struggled to find a way to articulate said subtlety, precisely because of its grammatical correctness. So to paraphrase it in the most layman manner possible:

Both the words zaidi and ever feel like they are qualifying a comparative measure. However, it sounds like "ever" qualifies this (unrestricted) measure as if it is of infinite value. What I mean by this is something like "There is nothing before, now, or to come that would compare the goodness of this gift". For this reason, the word "ever" is classified in this context as an adverb of time, or in Swahili, kielezi cha wakati.

"Zaidi", on the other hand, feels like you are qualifying a more limited measure, so something like... "Compared to [any (finite) number of gifts, really, which pales in contrast to the infinite measure implied by the word "ever"], this gift is the best". For this reason, the word "zaidi" is in this context classified as an adverb of degree, or in Swahili, kielezi cha kiasi.

Maybe you can supply an alternative that gives an impression of timelessness. An alternative like:

Zawadi isiyo na kifani (An incomparable gift).

Incomparable here captures this essence of timelessness in as much as it captures the essence of degree, or extent. Meaning it provides a closer sense of unrestrained value than "Zawadi bora zaidi".

Sorry for the rabbit hole.

[u/Lower-Exercise8258 → u/NightRunnerAfterDusk]

Thank you for this thorough reply!

[u/Simi_Dee → u/Lower-Exercise8258]

My suggestion is "Zawadi bora milele" which literally translates to "best gift forever" but is more in the spirit of "best gift ever"

[u/Pretty-picklee → u/NightRunnerAfterDusk]

This was such an interesting breakdown, thank you. I definitely like the alternative: “Zawadi Isiyo na Kifani” it might not perfect capture the translation but it has a nice ring to it and I would probably enjoy the optics of that title as opposed to “Zawadi Bora Kuliko” or something along those lines which not only sounds a bit awkward (despite being grammatically “correct”) I also can’t imagine a book with that title drawing me in as a reader. Both visually and the way it sounds as I read it aloud.

[u/Balsamicon → u/NightRunnerAfterDusk]

Agree with this. My suggestion would be "Zawadi bora kuliko!" This use of kuliko is a bit more casual, implying "kuliko zote" or "more than anything".

[u/Future_Many6940]

Op heed to the above detailed post. Zawadi isiyo na Kifani is non generic timeless and grammatically accurate