Need explaining a riddle that contains an English idiom I think.

[Meigyoku Thmn]

I'm not a native English speaker so I'm struggling.

There is a riddle that goes like this:

Katherina and Valentina were born on the 12th of September, one mysterious as the moon, the other cursed with short temper.

On the day Valentina turned two, Katherina was half her age.

Years have passed, filled with turmoil and rage.

The day she turned 10 Valentina remembered her sister with sorrow.

"How many years would I be her eldest, had she lived another tomorrow?"

I refered to the Japanese translation and found out that "had she lived another tomorrow" means "if she were still alive". So the actually question is "If she were still alive, how much older would I be than her?".

How can the sentence mean this, is it some kind of an idiom? I can't find it in any dictionary I know.

[Oichi]

"how many years would i be her eldest" means how much older she would be then her. Since she was only 1 year older then her when she was alive, she would be 9 if she was still alive. So the age gap is still just 1.

"On the day Valentina turned two, Katherina was half her age." this explains that the age gap is 1. Valentina is 2 and katherina is half her age which is just 1. So Valentina is only 1 year older then Katherina.

[Meigyoku Thmn]

Originally posted by Oichi:

"how many years would i be her eldest" means how much older she would be then her. Since she was only 1 year older then her when she was alive, she would be 9 if she was still alive. So the age gap is still just 1.

"On the day Valentina turned two, Katherina was half her age." this explains that the age gap is 1. Valentina is 2 and katherina is half her age which is just 1. So Valentina is only 1 year older then Katherina.

I already knew the logic for the answer of this riddle. What I don't understand yet is this phrase: "had she lived another tomorrow". I can't see how it can be understood as "if she were still alive". Honestly I had to refer to the Japanese translation to know this, as I'm not an English speaker.

[Oichi]

Originally posted by MeigyokuThmn:

Originally posted by Oichi:

"how many years would i be her eldest" means how much older she would be then her. Since she was only 1 year older then her when she was alive, she would be 9 if she was still alive. So the age gap is still just 1.

"On the day Valentina turned two, Katherina was half her age." this explains that the age gap is 1. Valentina is 2 and katherina is half her age which is just 1. So Valentina is only 1 year older then Katherina.

I already knew the logic for the answer of this riddle. What I don't understand yet is this phrase: "had she lived another tomorrow". I can't see how it can be understood as "if she were still alive". Honestly I had to refer to the Japanese translation to know this, as I'm not an English speaker.

Oh, I'm sorry!

It is kind of hard to explain but basically imagine on the day she died, she avoids whatever caused her death. So she "lives another tomorrow" and continues to live on her life like normal. So she is still alive.

"lives another tomorrow" is basically the same thing as "lives another day"

[Meigyoku Thmn]

Originally posted by Oichi:

Oh, I'm sorry!

It is kind of hard to explain but basically imagine on the day she died, she avoids whatever caused her death. So she "lives another tomorrow" and continues to live on her life like normal. So she is still alive.

"lives another tomorrow" is basically the same thing as "lives another day"

Thanks, so it turns out I misunderstood the meaning of "another tomorrow". It's not "one more tomorrow" (definite, one tomorrow more and nothing else) but "an other tomorrow" (indefinite, could be many more tomorrow after). English is hard.

[Oichi]

Originally posted by MeigyokuThmn:

Originally posted by Oichi:

Oh, I'm sorry!

It is kind of hard to explain but basically imagine on the day she died, she avoids whatever caused her death. So she "lives another tomorrow" and continues to live on her life like normal. So she is still alive.

"lives another tomorrow" is basically the same thing as "lives another day"

Thanks, so it turns out I misunderstood the meaning of "another tomorrow". It's not "one more tomorrow" (definite, one tomorrow more and nothing else) but "an other tomorrow" (indefinite, could be many more tomorrow after). English is hard.

Don't worry about it! Learning any language is hard, really.
Plus riddles are meant to be confusing, even I didn't really understand it at first and English is my first language.

You speak English very well!