Enough is enough

Question

Bastante es bastante bien........ Does that sound right to you? Gracias.

Thanks for the question! I have been using bastante and I much prefer the new (to me) basta ya. - LateToDinner, JUL 16, 2010

Answer 1

Good try, but this sounds extremely incorrect. What we need to try to do is to stop trying to translate literally, expressions we have in english to spanish. Sometimes, this DOES work, and our expressions do cross over such as 'correr el riesgo' for 'run the risk'. But more often than not, this approach will not work.

Instead, let's just try and first, capture the spirit of what we're trying to get across in english. When we say 'enough is enough', we're tired of something and we can't take any more. What might one say in this situation? Why not, 'ya es suficiente' or 'basta ya'. While these certainly will not translate to 'enough is enough' it's what I think the equivalent would be.

-Charlius-

I agree completely, Charlius. The secret to being a good translator is understanding the spirit , or deeper meaning, of the text. Depending on the situation, it may be more or less important to also try and keep close to the words - peregrinamaria, JUL 16, 2010

but, if we don't capture the mood, spirit, style and context of the expression, we are in danger of ending up with little more than a collection of words. - peregrinamaria, JUL 16, 2010

Great post, Charlius...I think that what you said regarding the intended meaning/spirit is especially true in regards to idiomatic usage such as this - Izanoni1, JUL 16, 2010

I figured with bastante bien, it isn't anything like literal at all though, not bastante es bastante......of course of I've heard ya basta tons of times, but I was hoping to stretch the boundaries. It's so boring to say ya basta , es suficiente always. - jeezzle, JUL 16, 2010

"Good try, but this sounds extremely incorrect." hahahahahahahahaha - epicfail, JUL 16, 2010

This is the correct answer, thread closed as it appears jeezle is not happy with the "correct" answer - 00494d19, JUL 17, 2010

Answer 2

¡Ya basta!

¡Basta ya!

¡Ya estuvo bueno!

Answer 3

HI Charlie,

Why not, 'ya es suficiente' or 'basta ya'.

This is the correct answer, of course Incorrect accepted answer deleted.

Answer 4

I, too, would say "¡Basta!" This is something I hear all the time from mothers to their children.

Answer 5

I love the expression: ¡Basta ya! It is so pithy, and in my opinion, so peculiarly spanish. Why try and improve upon it?

Answer 6

You can also just say "¡Suficiente!" if you say *"Enough is enough!"

But if you want to say something like "Enough is enough of this garbage!" (not just the expression by itself) you can say "Ya fue suficiente de tanta basura".

Answer 7

I don't really have much to add after such a great post by Charlius, but you might consider that the idiomatic expression "enough is enough" is very close in meaning/spirit to another expression, "(I have had/that's) enough already."

Answer 8

"Basta ya" o

"Se acabó"

Answer 9

you might also say, ya no mas! (sorry,I don't have the Spanish language symbols on my lap top)

You don't need them on your laptop. They are all located below the box where you typed your answer. Just click on the letter you need and it's inserted into your post. - --Mariana--, JUL 16, 2010

Answer 10

I could be wrong, but I think I once heard ¡Bastante! used to mean "Enough!"

Also, I wonder if one could say (as an attempt at something a bit different): ¡Demasiado! or ¡Ya es demasiado! ???

Would definitely wait to hear a Spanish-speaker's opinion on these suggestions, though.

no, ya es demasiado no es correcto web. - 00494d19, JUL 17, 2010

Answer 11

Well I was really hoping for something new but I guess "bastante es bastante bien" isn't it. Any one have any news to say it other than the old standbys "ya basta" and "es suficiente"? I'm always looking for new material. Gracias.