Synonyms

transliterate

American

[trans-lit-uh-reyt, tranz-] / trænsˈlɪt əˌreɪt, trænz- /

verb (used with object)

transliterated, transliterating

to change (letters, words, etc.) into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language.

to transliterate the Greek Χ as ch.

transliterate British

/ trænzˈlɪtəˌreɪt /

verb

(tr) to transcribe (a word, etc, in one alphabet) into corresponding letters of another alphabet

the Greek word λογοσ can be transliterated as ``logos''

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

transliteration noun
transliterator noun

Etymology

Origin of transliterate

First recorded 1860–65; trans- + Latin lītter(a), litter(a) letter ¹ + -ate ¹

Explanation

To transliterate is to rewrite something in a different alphabet. When you transliterate the name Пётр from Russian into English, it's generally spelled Peter. Transliterate comes from two Latin roots, trans, or "across," and littera, "letter or character." It's related to translate, with an important distinction: when you translate something, you interpret its meaning and put that in a different language. When you transliterate, you're simply changing the alphabet in which a word is written, so that it can be read or pronounced in a different language.

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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.

The best an English translation can do is to transliterate the Greek letters—“Ototototoi”—or go with something like “Woe is me!” or “Alas!”

From The New Yorker • Jan. 7, 2019

In attempting to devise an alphabetic system with which to transliterate Chinese, Mr. Zhou was continuing an orthographic tradition that went back at least to the 16th century.

From New York Times • Jan. 14, 2017

Maybe there was too much internal debate on how to best transliterate it.

From The Guardian • Feb. 19, 2013

Though most of the world’s languages have no written form, people are beginning to transliterate their mother tongues into the alphabet of a national language.

From New York Times • Dec. 9, 2011

Haug shall transliterate for me the grammatical forms into your alphabet.

From Chips From A German Workshop. Vol. III. Essays on Literature, Biography, and Antiquities by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023