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Dil hai ki manta nahin

is a phrase from a popular Hindi song and movie of the same name. Literally translated, it means "The heart doesn't listen" or "The heart refuses to obey."

Does it capture the idea in English that the heart has its own desires and emotions, often conflicting with logic or reason? To my knowledge, it suggests a sense of emotional turmoil or restlessness, where the heart is driven by its own impulses and refuses to conform to rational thought.

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    You could translate it as My/The Heart Has a Life of Its Own.
    – fev
    Commented Aug 31 at 7:47
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    English speakers who know some French may know the famous quotation from Pascal, « Le cœur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point » ("The heart has its reasons that reason does not know"), which conveys much the same meaning.
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Aug 31 at 7:53
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    Is the movie a love story? I suspect so. Your title probably wants to say that a person fell in love with someone despite knowing it was not a good idea.
    – fev
    Commented Aug 31 at 7:55
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    @MichaelHarvey: I lived in France (Caen uni) back in the early 70s for the second year of my degree in English & French Language & Literature, but until now I've never been consciously aware of the (emphatic?) use of point instead of pas. I could read French reasonably well even before starting the degree course, but it wasn't until I actually lived there that I learnt to speak the language. And one of the first things I picked up about spoken French was that the first 2 words of Je ne sais pas were pretty much "optional extras" in conversational contexts!
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Aug 31 at 12:21
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    @FumbleFingers - but they provided us with the cinq à sept.
    – Michael Harvey
    Commented Aug 31 at 14:42

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The closest English idiom is probably the heart wants what it wants.

It's a pretty universal sentiment that human beings are driven by both logic/reasoning and emotion, and that sometimes these two things are in conflict. Our logic and reasoning ability is usually represented by our head or mind, and our emotional side by the figurative heart.

English speakers would recognise 'the heart wants what it wants' as an idiom, but your translated expression would be widely understood without too much thought.

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I can't speak to what of the Hindi is being captured or missed since I don't know the language, but in English the commonly used phrase "it has a mind of its own" means that a thing won't submit to your will.

I'm trying to set this pup tent up but the fiberglass rods have a mind of their own.

This cabinet door won't stay shut. It has a mind of its own.

So you could say The heart has a mind of its own to say that the human heart won't submit to being ruled, bringing into play the commonplace mind-heart conflict that FumbleFingers refers to.

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It's long been common in English to refer to the heart ruling the head...

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...where the heart is seen as the source of emotions, desires, and the head represents logic, rational thought.

OP's context seems to be one where logical reasoning is unable to call up specific emotions, which is not a common thing for Anglophones to think. We only normally have the concept of logic being able control of emotions in the sense of suppressing overt display of emotion.

For example, you might conceal your dislike for your despicable boss because logic tells you if you don't, you might lose your job. But logic can't make you fall in love with his equally despicable daughter in hopes that might lead to marriage and a position on the board of directors! Emotions don't work like that.

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  • FumbleFingers, as you pointed out, anglophone cultures often see logic as a way to manage emotions, not create them. Logic can't force feelings like love or enthusiasm. Your example shows this: logic can hide dislike but can't create romantic feelings. "The heart refuses to obey" means emotions can't be controlled by logic, while "the heart ruling the head" suggests emotions guide rational thinking. So, "The heart refuses to obey" fits better for 'Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin'."
    – Mohd Nafees Shah
    Commented Aug 31 at 11:35
  • Yes, that's exactly it. Anglophones are dominant in "Western Civilization", which is often characterized as being different to most if not all others (Near Eastern, Far Eastern, Ancient Roman / Greek, etc.) because it promotes and defends the individual over the collective. In the context of a "collective-oriented" society, it's probably easier to imagine individuals being able to force themselves to experience "collectively suitable" emotions - but Western Civilization tends to work against that.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Aug 31 at 11:57
  • Exactly! You've perfectly summarized the cultural dynamics at play. Western Civilization's emphasis on individualism makes it harder for people to force themselves to feel certain emotions, aligning with the phrase
    – Mohd Nafees Shah
    Commented Aug 31 at 12:07
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You have the meaning correct.

In fact the literal translation isn't too far from how we would express the same sentiment in English.

The idea of the mind - generally - restraining the heart but the heart occasionally refusing to obey its wisdom is a common theme through human existence.

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