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I'm translating a Japanese novel.

Here's a part of the novel I'm working with:

Aさんの指図をうけてお魚をつぎつぎ焼く人、ならんだおなべのスープをかき回す人、野菜を洗う人、きざむ人、できた料理を大皿に盛る人、人がかさなるようにはたらいています。 つくっても、つくっても、まだまだたりません。

I'm not sure what 人が重なるように働く means, between:

A. There are so many people so they need to be very close to each other while working.

or

B. Several people are working with the same thing. In this case, several people are grilling fish, several people are washing vegetables, several people are chopping vegetables, etc.

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The expression is not a common one, but I guess A is closer. Basically 重なる means something is on top of something else, and in this case, people are very close to each other as if they are layering. But whether each task is done by one person simply depends on the context, both are not wrong. The sentence describes the place is crowded with people busily working.

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  • Thank you very much. A is what I thought in the first place, but since it's not the meaning in the dictionary, I was not sure. Thank you for you clarification.
    – Metch
    May 20 at 2:32

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