mistranslate
Americanverb (used with or without object)
Other Word Forms
- mistranslation noun
Etymology
Origin of mistranslate
Explanation
If you mistranslate something, you don't accurately describe or convey its meaning. It's easy to mistranslate a poem when you convert it from Spanish to English, failing to make its original meaning clear. When someone literally mistranslates a piece of writing or a section of speech, they use the wrong words when translating from one language to another. You can also mistranslate the intention of someone's words, even if you're not actually translating between two languages: "I managed to mistranslate my grandmother's message when I gave it to the gardener." Translate means "turn from one language to another," and mis- means "badly."
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.
When the interpreter is a no-show, family members often jump in to fill the gap - like the time Ray mischievously stepped up to "mistranslate" his school parents' evening to his own advantage.
From BBC • Dec. 27, 2021
I then heard the interpreter mistranslate this question into Mandarin as “Why didn’t the interpreter interpret everything?”
From The New Yorker • Oct. 12, 2015
Emoji also tend to mistranslate when sent between platforms, or they get jumbled if you don’t have the right font.
From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2014
Did they mistranslate “world’s largest professional network” as “professional network that people actually use”?
From Slate • Jun. 7, 2012
To translate it as ‘machine of the world’ is to mistranslate.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions 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.
