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特に見物するほど珍しい物もない

自分の匂いの染み付いていない巣穴ほど落ち着かない物はない。

I didn't think too much of the first line but it did feel a bit awkward to read, but when i saw this structure later on i got a bit confused.

There wasn't anything particularly special to go sight-seeing for.

One can't settle down until one gets used to their (new) place (aka after one's smell is ingrained into it).

This is the only way that this sentence could make sense, but i feels like it's saying the opposite. [One can't settle down until one gets used to their (new) place ] <-- not this?

charu
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  • Your translation, in essence, has the same meaning as the second sentence, but it is saying the opposite feeling about the opposite kind of place being described. The original sounds more like, "There is nowhere more unsettling than a place where one has not gotten used to / where one's smell has not ingrained into" – DXV Sep 05 '18 at 04:51
  • Your rough understanding of the sentences seems fine, but could you give us a more literal translation attempt? I don't see what led you to the opposite interpretation... – naruto Sep 05 '18 at 04:58
  • {Given [自分の匂いの染み付いていない巣穴], one cannot settle down}; {...} = 物? ; 物はない = {...} is not the case? – charu Sep 05 '18 at 05:02
  • in other words, the idea of "not being able to settle down, if one is not use to his new surroundings" is not true. - but this has to be true to make sense – charu Sep 05 '18 at 06:42

1 Answers1

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Aほど(に) + B(な) + Cは/も + (い)ない is a common construction.

If A is a noun, AほどB means "as B as A", and the sentence can be translated as "No C is as B as A." or "There is no C that is more B than A." If A is a verb, AほどB means "B (enough) to A" or "B to the point where A happens", and the sentence is translated as "No C is B enough to A".

  • 彼女ほど美しい人もいない。
    No one is as beautiful as she is.
  • これほど簡単な問題はない。
    There is no question that is easier than this one.

Therefore:

自分の匂いの染み付いていない巣穴ほど落ち着かない物はない。
Nothing is as unsettling as a den without my smell ingrained into it.

落ち着かない ("unsettling") is a relative clause that modifies 物.

naruto
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