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I looked up the word in my bilingual dictionary and the word (the translation) I'm looking for is:

  1. Blessing, favor
  2. Thanks to, owing to, due to
  3. Profitable, doing well (of an enterprise).
  4. Small amount of food taken home after ceremonial meal.

In my opinion, the first sense from those four is appropriate and likely to use. Here is the context, by the way:

Andy: What do you think of my eyes? The doctor said it's strabismus. Causing bad luck! this makes my appearance less attractive and no girl will be attracted to me!

Lucy: Hey! You should be grateful for the blessings given by God! Some people were born with blind eyes.

Does that sound natural? However, I'm also familiar with the word "gift" when I was watching English-subtitled anime.

X: you have nice hair!

Y: Yeah, it's a gift.

Since the word gift isn't listed in my bilingual dictionary, I confuse which word I should use.

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    "Count your blessings" is an idiomatic phrase equivalent to your "be grateful for the blessings given by God".
    – Kate Bunting
    Nov 15, 2021 at 9:16
  • 3
    By the way, we don't say "blind eyes" in this sense. The person is blind, the person does not have "blind eyes".
    – stangdon
    Nov 15, 2021 at 16:24
  • Can you first tell us what word, in what language, you're trying to translate?
    – Robbie Goodwin
    Nov 16, 2021 at 19:36
  • @RobbieGoodwin it's 'bendición' in Spanish.
    – user516076
    Nov 16, 2021 at 22:20
  • I speak no Spanish but Google translates that as the fairly obvious "benediction" or "blessing". Both are "given"; neither is a "gift" and Google's exposition doesn't seem to allow that, either: Invocación de la protección de Dios y su espíritu santificador sobre una persona, un lugar o una cosa; generalmente recitando un sacerdote unas palabras rituales o haciendo la señal de la cruz. "bendición episcopal" Expresión con la que se invoca la protección de Dios y su espíritu santificador sobre una persona, un lugar o una cosa. "el sacerdote leyó la bendición que el obispo había enviado"
    – Robbie Goodwin
    Nov 17, 2021 at 13:53

3 Answers 3

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Gift is certainly used in this context - indeed, there is a cliche, a "god-given gift". Or "He thinks he's god's gift to women".

But blessing also seems natural and fine in your context, if perhaps a little old fashioned.

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One could perhaps use grace here; after all, etymologically it is something to be grateful for. As Merriam-Webster puts it, it is an "unmerited divine assistance given to humans for their regeneration or sanctification".

Hey! You should be grateful for the grace bestowed upon you! Some people were born with blind eyes.

OK, "bestowed" is not exactly casual language, but then neither is the topic. And the duplication of the gratia root may be a bit awkward: Spelling out that one should be grateful for God's grace has a "pleonastic" air to it.

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An appropriate single word simply won't be found. The closest you might come would be "manna from Heaven" but that refers to food alone; nothing else.

It might help if you could clarify the contrast between "… the word 'gift' isn't listed in my bilingual dictionary…" and "I looked up the word in my bilingual dictionary and the translation I'm looking for is…"

Most things sent by God would be blessings, although some would be curses.

If you want good things given, blessings seems close… but anyone can give a blessing. It doesn't have to come from God…

Broadly, curses are not "given" but "inflicted" but that's probably a different topic.

Any person might well be "favoured" by God but that person might much more likely be "favoured" by another mortal; as with blessings, "favours" can come from anyone; not solely from God.

"Thanks/owing/due to" and "profitable, doing well (of anyone or thing)" in no way need to relate to God. Small amounts of food taken home after ceremonial meals would more likely be stolen from the temple than given by God.

As in your opinion, the first part of the first sense from those four is more appropriate and more likely to be used.

The "context" you give, by the way, will never work.

Andy: What do you think of my eyes? The doctor said it's strabismus. Causing bad luck! this makes my appearance less attractive and no girl will be attracted to me!

That so clearly doesn't work even in English, it looks more than likely to be an unnatural construction even in the language it came from.

Lucy: Hey! You should be grateful for the blessings given by God! Some people were born with blind eyes.

That does show the context but it also shows similar translation problems. What works, there, is solely "blessings". Native English speakers would tend more to "God's blessings" or "the blessings of God" than "the blessings given by God."

So no, none of that sounds natural.

When the word "gift" crops up in subtitled anime, please remember there's a great difference between "I'm familiar with…" and "I've come across…" or "I've seen/heard/read…"

Nice hair or whatever else, "It's a gift" works in that scenario and might well be short for "… a gift from God…" but it doesn't at all have to mean that. Either way, the context is too specific for the meaning to be applied generally.

("I confuse which word…" should probably be "I am confused about which word…")

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