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Original Japanese: やがて、そんな生活に慣れはじめると、今度は物事をじっくりと考えることが苦痛になってきた。

Google translate: Eventually, as I began to get used to such a life, it became painful to think about things.

Microsoft translate: Before long, when I began to get used to such a life, it became painful to think about things carefully this time.

My own very very rough translation EDITED: In the end, that sort of life when I start to grow accustom to it, now without rushing everything my thoughts gradually become agony.

Why do the google translate and the Microsoft bing translate lack a “and” as I think the 慣れ is a continuative form connecting two phrases?

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    Toyu_Frey, you'd better read a simple textbook again and solidify the basics before trying real novels for native speakers. This usage of 始める is a JLPT N4 grammar point. This こと is a nominalizer, which is also N4. I feel you are learning inefficiently because the learning resource you're using doesn't match your level...
    – naruto
    Dec 14, 2020 at 13:31
  • @naruto I admit to sometimes not connecting what I've been taught in terms of the basics with what I read, and it is a ongoing issue. What kind of book or story would be appropriate to attempt translating for me, if not the one I have atm?
    – Toyu_Frey
    Dec 15, 2020 at 15:33
  • @naruto I understood that the koto is a nominalizer when I translated the sentence the first time, my notes have "to think/to remember verb; after an inflectable word, creates a noun phrase indicating something the speaker does not feel close to; ga particle; " for the "考えることが" segment of the original Japanese.
    – Toyu_Frey
    Dec 17, 2020 at 8:27
  • As I said, you have to master the basic grammar before trying long sentences. You seem to vaguely remember you learned about ～始める and こと somewhere in your classes, but you still cannot use them to make a reasonable translation. (By the way, 考える does not mean "remember".)
    – naruto
    Dec 18, 2020 at 7:34

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Verb stem + はじめる is a standard grammar pattern which means "to start/begin doing verb".

So, even though you really shouldn't be trusting Bing and Google translate, in this case they have got it right.

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  • I don't trust em, only using them to double check my translations when I find a roadblock in translation, lol. Thanks for the help!
    – Toyu_Frey
    Dec 14, 2020 at 10:14

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