mistranslation
Americannoun
-
mistranslations
plural
-
the act of translating incorrectly.
-
a word, sentence, etc., that has been translated incorrectly.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A mistranslation of that “hold” instruction as “adhere to your medication” dangerously reverses the meaning, while being similar enough that it might score decently.
From Slate ● Oct. 16, 2026
In his introductory essay, curator Moshayedi reveals that the show’s title is his mistranslation of the Farsi word for “empathy.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
In many Latin American countries, a public notary is the equivalent of a lawyer, and notario fraudsters rely on this mistranslation to fake credentials.
From Salon ● May 2, 2026
After Omar arrives in America, much of the opera’s drama is channeled through what the production’s director, Kaneza Schaal, called “a contest of languages,” involving much translation and mistranslation.
From New York Times ● May 19, 2022
Some have argued that it’s a mistranslation in the bible.
From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely
What started it all, writes historian Karl Dannenfelt, was a series of mistranslations and misunderstandings.
From National Geographic ● May 1, 2023
Thankfully, in the meantime, most mistranslations still just lead up to a laugh: According to a 2016 study in International Journal of Communication, there’s a Chinese restaurant called Translate Server Error.
From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2022
What irked Steven Stalinsky, MEMRI’s executive director, was that few reporters came to his nonprofit to obtain its side of the story, which was that there were no mistranslations or distorted editing.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 2, 2017
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: September 5, 2013 Because of a transcription error, an earlier version of this article included some mistranslations of Vladimir V. Putin’s televised remarks.
From New York Times ● Sep. 5, 2013
For those who give more attention to translations, I could wish that some competent and impartial person would compile a list of mistranslations and present them as a separate treatise.
From Love's Final Victory by Horatio
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
