Meaning of "se contentait"

Question

Context "Le petit cochon se contentait de remuer sa grande marmite de soupe, et de rire. "

If I'm not mistaken "se contenter de" means 'to be satisfied with', but the translation of the text seems to translate it as "just/merely"

Yes, "just/merely" is a good equivalent in that case.
– guillaume31
Dec 11, 2015 at 15:20 — guillaume31, Dec 11, 2015 at 15:20

Fatalize · Accepted Answer · 2015-12-11 09:31:39Z

3

Se contenter de does indeed mean "to be satisfied with" but it also means by extension "to not do more than what one does".

So here, I would translate your sentence as

The little pig was satisfied to not do anything more than simply stir his big pot of soup, and laugh

answered Dec 11, 2015 at 9:31

Fatalize

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I'm not sure about the "satisfied" part. It seems to imply some degree of self-consciousness in the pig that doesn't really appear in the French sentence.
– guillaume31
Dec 11, 2015 at 15:19
@guillaume31 That's true I guess, but I can't think of a translation that would not imply this.
– Fatalize
Dec 11, 2015 at 15:27
"The little pig was just stirring his big pot of soup and laughing" ?
– guillaume31
Dec 11, 2015 at 15:33
1

Or "The little pig was simply stirring his big pot of soup and laughing"
– SwissFr
Dec 12, 2015 at 7:10

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