This is a popup for the Chinese version of L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux 'What is essential is invisible to the eye', from The Little Prince.

little prince L'essentiel

Translators use two patterns to translate the word l'essentiel ('what is essential').

Type I
ESSENTIAL THINGS
 
or
Type II
THE ESSENCE OF THINGS

Despite the rather large conceptual gap between the two, in actual use the difference is not large. Much more significant is the difference between translations that mean essential things and those that mean (very) important things. (Two translators don't translate 'essential' in this sentence, because it already appears in the previous sentence.)

1) Type I: 'Essential things' (32 translations).

Accounts for two-thirds of translations. L'essentiel is analysed as 'essential things', i.e., 'things that are essential'. The word essentiel itself is translated in several different ways. Most cluster around one of the two key concepts of 'philosophically essential' and 'very important'.

EXPRESSING L'ESSENTIEL AS 'THINGS THAT ARE ESSENTIAL'
 
Most, Truly
Essential
 的
Thing
  
'IMPORTANT THINGS' (14)
真正 / 真正
zhēnzhèng		 重要 / 重要
zhòngyào 		'important' 的
de		 東西 / 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
7
  重要 / 重要
zhòngyào 		'important' 的
de		 東西 / 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
4
  要緊
yàojǐn 		'vital, important, essential' 的
de		 東西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
1
最 zuì
'most'		 根本
gēnběn 		'basic, fundamental, essential, cardinal' 的
de		 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
1
最 zuì
'most'		 主要
zhǔyào 		'main, major, primary, principal' 的
de		 要点 yàodiǎn 'main points, essential, gist'
1
'ESSENTIAL THINGS' IN A PHILOSOPHICAL SENSE (14)
  本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì		 'essence, nature, innate character' 的
de		 東西 / 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
10
凡是...都
fán shì ... dōu
'all'		 本質
běnzhí 		'essence, nature, innate character' 的
de		 事 shì 'matter, affair, thing'
1
  实质性
shízhì-xìng		 'substantial, actual' 的
de		 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
2
  内在
nèizài 		'inherent' 的
de		 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
1
  精华
jīnghuá 		'cream, pick, essence, quintessence' 的
de		 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
1
'REAL, AUTHENTIC THINGS' (3)
  真正 / 真正
zhēnzhèng 		'real, true, actual, authentic' 的
de		 東西 / 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
2
  真實
zhēnshí 		'real, true, actual, authentic' 的
de		 事情 shìqing 'affair, matter, question, business'
1
'VALUABLE, PRECIOUS THINGS' (1)
  珍贵
zhēnguì 		'precious, valuable, rare' 的
de		 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
1
TOTAL
33

The most common words used for 'essential' are 重要 zhòngyào meaning 'important' (11 occurrences), and 本質 / 本质 běnzhí / běnzhì meaning 'of the essence' (11 occurrences).

'Thing' is mostly 東西 / 东西 dōngxi 'thing' (30 occurrences), the normal everyday word for 'thing' in Chinese. It's not a particularly refined term and referring to people is pejorative.

2) Type II: 'The essence of things' (13 translations).

This pattern speaks of the 'essence of things', i.e., the essence that lies inside things.

'Essence' is expressed as follows:

EXPRESSING L'ESSENTIEL AS 'THE ESSENCE OF THINGS'
 
Things'
Essence
  
事物的
shìwù de
'things'		 本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì		 'essence, nature, innate character'
6
一切事物的
yīqiè shìwù de
'all things'		 本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì		 'essence, nature, innate character'
1
  本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì		 'essence, nature, innate character'
1
  内中本质
nèizhōng běnzhì		 'internal essence'
1
事物的
shìwù de
'things'		 精髓
jīngsuì		 'marrow, pith, quintessence'
3
事物的
shìwù de
'things'		 真像
zhēnxiàng		 'real situation, facts, truth'
1
TOTAL
13

'Things is mostly translated as 事物 shìwù 'things' while 'essence' is most commonly 本質 / 本质 běnzhí / běnzhì

Taking the two different patterns together, the word 本質 / 本质 běnzhí / běnzhì 'essence, essential' is used in 19 translations, less than half the total number.

In addition, in some translations words meaning l'essentiel also appear in the preceding sentence (On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur):

Previous sentence
This sentence
 
事物的本质
shìwù de běnzhì
'essence of things' 		真正重要的东西
zhēnzhèng zhòngyào de dōngxi
'truly important things'		 3
-- 1
这
zhè
'this'		 1
真實的東西
zhēnshí de dōngxi
'true things'		 真正重要的東西
zhēnzhèng zhòngyào de dōngxi
'truly important things'		 1
事物的真偽和重要性
shìwù de zhēnwěi hé zhòngyào-xìng
'the truth or falseness and importance of things' 		事物的精髓
shìwù de jīngsuì
'the quintessence of things'		 1

Five of them use 事物的本质 shìwù de běnzhì 'essence of things'. So putting it all together, a total of 24 translations use the word 本質 / 本质 běnzhí / běnzhì, about half the total.

This is still well ahead of the total 11 occurrences for the second most common expression, 重要 zhòngyào 'important'.

English and French originals

In translating l'essentiel, there is a very interesting difference between translators working from the original French and those working from the English of Katherine Woods.

Expressions meaning 'essential things' (本質的東西 / 本质的东西 běnzhí de dōngxi / běnzhì de dōngxi, etc.) are favoured by translators from the French (20 in French-based versus 11 in English-based translations).

'ESSENTIAL THINGS' AS FOUND IN TRANSLATIONS FROM THE FRENCH
 
Most, Truly
Essential
 的
Thing
  
真正 zhēnzhèng 重要 / 重要
zhòngyào 		'important' 的
de		 東西 / 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
5
  重要 / 重要
zhòngyào 		'important' 的
de		 東西 / 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
2
  本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì		 'essence, nature, innate character' 的
de		 東西 / 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
9
  实质性
shízhì-xìng		 'substantial, actual' 的
de		 東西 / 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
2
  内在
nèizài 		'inherent'
的
de
 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
1
  真正 / 真正
zhēnzhèng 		'real, true, actual, authentic' 的
de		 東西 / 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
2
TOTAL
21

Within the 20 occurrences, there is not a huge variety of expression. Compare this with the variety in translations from the English:

'ESSENTIAL THINGS' AS FOUND IN TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ENGLISH

 
Most, Truly
Essential
 的
Thing
  
  重要 / 重要
zhòngyào 		'important'
的
de
 東西 / 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
2
真正zhēnzhèng 重要
zhòngyào 		'important'
的
de
 東西 / 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
1
  本质
běnzhì		 'essence, nature, innate character'
的
de
 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
1
  本質
běnzhí 		'essence, nature, innate character'
的
de
 事 shì 'matter, affair, thing'
1
  要緊
yàojǐn 		'vital, important, essential'
的
de
 東西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
1
  精华
jīnghuá 		'cream, pick, essence, quintessence'
的
de
 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
1
  珍贵
zhēnguì 		'precious, valuable, rare'
的
de
 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
1
最 zuì
'most'		 根本
gēnběn 		'basic, fundamental, essential, cardinal'
的
de
 东西
 dōngxi		 'thing'
1
最 zuì
'most'		 主要
zhǔyào 		'main, major, primary, principal'
的
de
 要点 yàodiǎn 'main points, essential, gist'
1
  真實
zhēnshí 		'real, true, actual, authentic'
的
de
 事情 shìqing 'affair, matter, question, business'
1
TOTAL
11

Although only 11 translations from the English use Type 1, there are 8 different ways of expressing 'essential'!

The second pattern, that of 事物的本質 / 事物的本质 shìwù de běnzhí / shìwù de běnzhì 'the essence of things', is more common in translations from the English.

'ESSENCE OF THINGS' AS FOUND IN TRANSLATIONS FROM THE ENGLISH
 
Things'
Essence
事物的
shìwù de
'things''		 本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì		 'essence, nature, innate character'
4
一切事物的
yīqiè shìwù de
'all things''		 本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì		 'essence, nature, innate character'
1
  内中本质
nèizhōng běnzhì		 'internal essence'
1
事物的
shìwù de
'things''		 精髓
jīngsuì		 'marrow, pith, quintessence'
3
事情的
shìqing de
'situation's'		 真像
zhēnxiàng		 'real situation, facts, truth'
1
TOTAL
10

Compare this with only three in translations from the French:

'ESSENCE OF THINGS' AS FOUND IN TRANSLATIONS FROM THE FRENCH
 
Things'
Essence
事物的
shìwù de
'things''		 本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì		 'essence, nature, innate character'
2
  本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì		 'essence, nature, innate character'
1
TOTAL
3

The reason for this difference can only be surmised. Could it be due to a difference in how l'essentiel and 'what is essential' are grasped or perceived? Could it be that l'essentiel is much more likely to be interpreted as 'essential things', while 'what is essential' is more likely to be interpreted as 'the essence of things'?

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