Idiomatic translation of the book title "I Know This Much Is True" into Russian

Question

The phrase “this much” is explained here: https://ell.stackexchange.com/questions/272326/what-does-i-know-this-much-is-true-mean

The Russian translation of this book title is: "Я знаю что это правда". The meaning of "this much" was lost in translation — as if the title was "I know this is true".

What would the Russian equivalent of "this much" be in this context?

Answer 1

First of all, two compulsory notes:

1. Show titles (as well as movie titles, book titles, character nicknames etc.) are a marketing device. The correctness of their translation is not the first goal, and not even the tenth. The primary goal is to make the viewer tune in (buy a ticket, put the book in their shopping cart, etc.).

2. Even in the original language, show titles are brief sentences that, at least on the poster, lack any context. Phrases like "Enemy mine", "Up the down staircase", "American beauty" don't make a lot of sense until you've watched the movie or read the book. Other titles don't make a lot of sense even after that.

That said, in some contexts, "I know this much is true" can be translated as:

1. Что правда, то правда

   "I didn't do it! I couldn't even walk!" "I know this much is true. He had broken his leg and was wearing a plaster cast". // — Это не я! Я и ходить-то не мог! — Что правда, то правда. Он сломал ногу и был в гипсе.

2. Знаю одно

   "I know this much is true: whatever she does, she does it for the money" // Я знаю одно: что бы она ни делала, всё ради денег.

I haven't watched the show or read the book and can't tell if these translations would make a catchy title, or if they would make sense in the context of their plots.

Answer 2

What would the Russian equivalent of "this much" be in this context?

I'd like to suggest some possible translations of this idiom, that refer to common speech patterns:

• Это я знаю наверняка - literally "This I know for sure"; derived directly from "Я знаю наверняка", which Reverso suggests for "I know this much is true". If you omit the pronoun "это" ("this"), you make it sound more pleasant: "Знаю я наверняка". Other versions of this off the top of my head are "Известно мне наверняка" and "То, что я знаю наверняка".

• Одно лишь знаю точно - literally "I know only one thing for sure", but very idiomatic.

  • Лишь одно я знаю точно - literally "Only one thing I know for sure"; paraphrase of the same sentence to include the pronoun я ("I").

• Знаю лишь то, что это правда - literally "All [I] know is that it's true".

• Могу сказать, что это правда - literally "[I] can say this is true"; refers to "могу сказать [лишь одно]".

Answer 3

• Что знаю точно
• В чём уверен

Both phrases imply that there's something else beyond what's being said that the author isn't sure of.

Answer 4

If you want something idiomatic, try this:

Что знаю, то знаю.

The meaning is 'I may not know much, but this I know for sure'.

P.S. Additionally, that phrase, being shorter, would look better in the title, as has already been pointed out by @Quassnoi in his answer.

Answer 5

The most exact equivalent would be: "Готов поручиться" or "За что поручусь".

• "Вот за что поручусь - так за его честность."
• "За его порядочность готов поручиться."

An old-fashioned equivalent "Бьюсь об заклад" sounds more emphatic, but allows for a probabilistic interpretation and carries a connotation of betting. In a narration about the pre-revolutionary era, it would be possible to say:

• "Побьюсь об заклад, что он прибудет к обедне."

Our contemporaries, however, seldom use this phrase.