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Stemming: reduction of tokens to linguistic base forms
As a matter of background

Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

No good deed goes unpunished.

Portuguese translation:

Nenhuma boa ação fica impune (ou sem punição)

Added to glossary by Muriel Vasconcellos
Feb 23, 2019 02:51
5 yrs ago
12 viewers *
English term

No good deed goes unpunished.

English to Portuguese Art/Literary General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters Sayings, maxims, etc.
The sentence is: "He believed that no good deed goes unpunished."

It's for a piece that I'm writing that's being translated into Portuguese. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Proposed translations (Portuguese)
4 +6 Nenhuma boa ação fica impune (ou sem punição)
4 +1 nenhuma boa ação fica por castigar/sem castigo
3 +2 «quem bondade tem, mil canseiras lhe vem»
3 +2 Pobres, e mal agradecidos.
4 toda boa ação tem reflexos negativos / toda boa ação terá consequências desagradáveis
3 +1 (Ele acreditava) que o bem acaba sempre por virar-se contra quem o pratica.
4 Nenhuma boa ação fica sem punição
3 +1 nem sempre o bem triunfa
3 +1 de boas intenções, o inferno está cheio
4 toda boa ação traz consequência negativas
4 As boas ações podem ter um mau resultado / um retorno negativo.
References
No good deed goes unpunished

Discussion

expressisverbis Mar 4, 2019:
Muriel a expressão pode não ser muito conhecida, mas «quem bondade tem, mil canseiras lhe vem» significa que quem é bom acaba sempre por ter (mais) problemas, injustiças… penso que foi o caso.
Muriel Vasconcellos (asker) Mar 4, 2019:
Thank you all, again! I liked many of the answers. I went for Matheus' answer because it got the most Agrees. Another one that especially intrigued me was «quem bondade tem, mil canseiras lhe vem».
Muriel Vasconcellos (asker) Feb 28, 2019:
Thank you all! I love all your answers and I'm faced with a very difficult decision. So hard to choose! I asked to leave the question open a little longer to help me make up my mind.
Ana Vozone Feb 25, 2019:
@Teresa Obrigada! Lembrei-me disto depois de ver a clarificação que a Muriel deu sobre o contexto da frase. Vou "postar" então ;)
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida Feb 25, 2019:
@Ana Tanto quanto sei as regras "Prozianas" permitem-lhe quer apresentar uma segunda sugestão, quer apagar a que fez e fazer uma nova...
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida Feb 25, 2019:
@Ana BOA!
Ana Vozone Feb 25, 2019:
@Sandra Muito obrigada!
expressisverbis Feb 25, 2019:
Concordo! Essa expressão encaixa na perfeição.
Ana Vozone Feb 25, 2019:
Lembrei-me agora de uma expressão em PT-PT: "Pobres, e mal agradecidos."

https://www.google.com/search?q="pobres e mal agradecidos"&o...
Muriel Vasconcellos (asker) Feb 24, 2019:
Full disclosure This is a short book for publication in Brazil. I'm writing about my late husband, who was imprisoned under the dictatorship under false charges. As an architectural historian, he had devoted his career to saving colonial patrimony and the thanks he got was imprisonment. He was deeply bitter and believed there was no justice in the world. So his attitude, which I'm trying to capture, is more against institutions than individual "good deeds" toward others. I want it to sound deeply bitter, but not vulgar.
That said, personally, I find the saying in English to be quite appropriate. So often good deeds do not match the needs or desires of the beneficiary.
Mario Freitas Feb 24, 2019:
Perhaps Quem ajuda os outros só leva ferro.
That wouldn't be so vulgar.
However, Muriel's husband was Brazilian, a Mineiro da Gema, so maybe she can remember what he actually said in Portuguese?
Matheus Chaud Feb 24, 2019:
Popular equivalent II I like Mario's suggestion. That definitely sounds more natural in Brazilian Portuguese. There are several variations of that (quem ajuda os outros só leva no rabo, só toma no..., etc.), but they are indeed vulgar.

Maybe something like
He believed that no good deed goes unpunished.
Na opinião dele, quem ajuda os outros só se ferra.
Mario Freitas Feb 23, 2019:
Popular equivalent What we actually say, popularly, in Brazil is "quem ajuda os outros só toma na tarraqueta". So I was trying to devise a not-so-vulgar equivalent expression.
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida Feb 23, 2019:
@Muriel I've found an interesting entry in Spanish: https://www.proz.com/kudoz/english-to-spanish/idioms-maxims-...
Muriel Vasconcellos (asker) Feb 23, 2019:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_good_deed_goes_unpunished
The phrase 'No good deed goes unpunished' is a sardonic commentary on the frequency with which acts of kindness backfire on those who offer them. In other words, those who help others are doomed to suffer as a result of their being helpful.
Muriel Vasconcellos (asker) Feb 23, 2019:
@Mario You're right about 'generous'. I changed my mind because it's the more common expression.
Muriel Vasconcellos (asker) Feb 23, 2019:
My thoughts The expression is intended to reflect deep cynicism. The character in my story is very bitter, having devoted his career to serving ideals that he held for his country, only to be imprisoned for his attempts. There is no room for exceptions in this statement--it is equivalent to 'all good deeds are punished'. It's intended to epitomize his thinking. I thought of "toda boa ação acaba sendo punida". Any more ideas?
Mario Freitas Feb 23, 2019:
@ Muriel Wasn't it "generous deed"? For "good deed" I agree with Matheus's suggestion, except for "impune". The context does not allow "impune" as the one who does the good deed shall not be punished.
"No good deed goes unpunished" in the context means every act of generosity will have negative reflexes or consequeces, but there is no place for "punishment" here.

Proposed translations

+6
3 mins
Selected

Nenhuma boa ação fica impune (ou sem punição)

Peer comment(s):
agree Jane Rezende
4 hrs
Obrigado, Jane!
agree Andrea Pilenso
5 hrs
Obrigado, Andrea!
agree Paulo Gasques
22 hrs
Obrigado, Paulo!
agree Spiridon : yes
1 day 8 hrs
Obrigado, Spiridon!
agree Eunice Brandão
1 day 9 hrs
Obrigado, Eunice!
agree Paulo Marcon
1 day 22 hrs
Obrigado, Paulo!
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you, Matheus!"
1 hr

toda boa ação tem reflexos negativos / toda boa ação terá consequências desagradáveis

Suggestion considering "good deed" instead of "generous deed"
After a bit of thought, I figured it would sound better in Portuguese as an affirmative phrase.
Something went wrong...
+1
1 hr

nenhuma boa ação fica por castigar/sem castigo

Sug.

É o que diz o Matheus, numa versão ligeiramente diferente.

https://www.publico.pt/2014/10/02/culturaipsilon/critica/imp...

https://observador.pt/opiniao/elogio-da-pequenez/

Deste lado do Atlântico, também costumo ouvir dizer muito "não se pode ser bom neste mundo" - que tem o mesmo sentido, i.e., que as boas ações nos trarão sempre dissabores.
Peer comment(s):
agree expressisverbis : Ou "não se pode ser honesto neste mundo".
17 hrs
Obrigada!
Something went wrong...
+1
5 hrs

(Ele acreditava) que o bem acaba sempre por virar-se contra quem o pratica.

Numa versão mais longa...

ou
O bem vira-se sempre contra quem o praticou.
Peer comment(s):
agree Tereza Rae
17 hrs
Obrigada, Tereza!
Something went wrong...
6 hrs

Nenhuma boa ação fica sem punição

Por tratar-se de uma peça, acho que a rima faz com que a frase tenha um efeito maior em português.
Something went wrong...
+1
6 hrs

nem sempre o bem triunfa

My suggestion...
Peer comment(s):
agree Margarida Ataide
6 hrs
Obrigada, Margarida!
Something went wrong...
+1
9 hrs

de boas intenções, o inferno está cheio

Sugestão, sempre achei este axioma o mais próximo que temos em relação ao sentido do apresentado em inglês.
Peer comment(s):
agree Julia Caldana : Concordo, mas acredito que essa tradução se aplique apenas em alguns contextos, já que traz uma conotação negativa ao agente da boa ação :)
1412 days
Something went wrong...
9 hrs

toda boa ação traz consequência negativas

Sug.
Something went wrong...
+2
13 hrs

«quem bondade tem, mil canseiras lhe vem»

No good deed goes unpunished may mean that a kind action might not be properly appreciated by the recipient, or it may mean that doing something kind will lead to expectations and demands for more help and benefits. The idea is that in the end, many people do not appreciate the effort behind a kindness, or may believe they deserve something that they do not. The phrase no good deed goes unpunished is a cynical twist on the idea that good people are rewarded for being good. In real life, this is often not the case. The proverb no good deed goes unpunished has been variously attributed to Walter Winchell, John P. Grier, Oscar Wilde and Clare Boothe Luce.
https://grammarist.com/proverb/no-good-deed-goes-unpunished/

https://books.google.pt/books?id=Gcc-AAAAQBAJ&pg=PT21&lpg=PT...

Auto da Feira, de Gil Vicente

Não sei se funcionará no contexto, mas julgo que vai ao encontro do sentido da expressão em inglês, já apresentado pelos colegas.
Note from asker:
Is this from Brazil or Portugal? If it's Brazilian, I would like to use it alongside the answer that I selected.
Peer comment(s):
agree Oliver Simões : Gostei. Penso que traduz bem o sentido original tanto semanticamente quanto do ponto de vista estrutural. A frase inglesa utiliza uma quase rima ("deed", "punished"). A sua tradução captou bem esta nuance!
3 days 17 hrs
Obrigada Oliveira, mas os créditos vão todos para o nosso Gil Vicente :)
agree Julia Caldana
1411 days
Obrigada, Júlia!
Something went wrong...
+2
2 days 10 hrs

Pobres, e mal agradecidos.

Muriel, depois de ver a sua explicação, ocorreu-me ainda esta expressão, espero que pelo menos ajude de alguma forma!

https://www.google.com/search?q="pobres e mal agradecidos"&o...
Peer comment(s):
agree expressisverbis
19 mins
agree Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
31 mins
Something went wrong...
4 days

As boas ações podem ter um mau resultado / um retorno negativo.

Although I agreed on expressisverbis' answer, I came up with my own. In this particular case, I would probably paraphrase the meaning of the English expression.

"The phrase No good deed goes unpunished is a sardonic commentary on the frequency with which acts of kindness backfire on those who offer them. In other words, those who help others are doomed to suffer as a result of their being helpful." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_good_deed_goes_unpunished

This blog post explains why a good deed sometimes has a negative consequence: https://www.joaomagalhaes.com/o-tao-do-reiki/2018/11/porque-...
Something went wrong...

Reference comments

4 days
Reference:

No good deed goes unpunished

"The phrase 'No good deed goes unpunished' is a sardonic commentary on the frequency with which acts of kindness backfire on those who offer them. In other words, those who help others are doomed to suffer as a result of their being helpful.

It has been attributed to several luminaries, including Billy Wilder,[1] writer Clare Booth Luce, American financier John P. Grier, banker Andrew W. Mellon,[2] and Oscar Wilde, although its actual origin has never been established."
Reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_good_deed_goes_unpunished

Something went wrong...
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