Translation of "le tocó vivir"?

Question

Just wondering what the best translation of this would be. It is regarding a biographical sketch on Miguel de Cervantes.

Answer 1

Without better context I'd guess "it was his turn to live."

Thanks! Makes sense with the context and I guess was a more interesting way for the author to say "cuando vivio" - ArizonaGlen, Aug 17, 2011

Cool, you're welcome! - unMica, Aug 17, 2011

Answer 2

Thanks! Makes sense with the context and I guess was a more interesting way for the author to say "cuando vivio" -

It is not quite the same. "Suerte" comes from Latin sors/sortis, originally an object introduced in an urn that someone picked (or touched) to see who got lucky (or unlucky), like in a draw or raffle (nowadays called "sorteos" for the same reason). It is as if your fate was decided by the touch of one of these items, so Spanish uses this metaphor with "tocar" and "suerte" to talk about turns (each one will have to pick an item from the urn) and about your fate.

"Le tocó vivir" can have good or bad connotations depending on where and when you were born, because some are more fortunate than others in this sense, but it is more like describing that it was his fate, rather than just a plain "cuando vivió".

Thanks for the great response! It is nice to understand the nuances of the phrase. - ArizonaGlen, Aug 17, 2011