Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

undertranslate

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: un-der-trans-late
IPA

15

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

4

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To translate (language) in insufficient detail, or failing to translate certain elements.

Example Sentences

"Secondly, there is a tendency to undertranslate, viz. to normalise by generalising, to understate, in all translation but particularly in literary translation."
"Only Borell and Adam undertranslate this opener as "What brings you here, Adler?""
"I was told specifically that they were going to undertranslate differences between, say, present and aorist infinitives, because there was no agreement on how to handle the differences."

Etymology

From under- + translate.

Word Breakdown

Prefix: under

Inflected Forms

undertranslates (present, singular) undertranslating (participle, present) undertranslated (participle, past) undertranslated (past)

Frequently Paired Words

undertranslation overtranslate

Questions

What does undertranslate mean?: To translate (language) in insufficient detail, or failing to translate certain elements.
Where does undertranslate come from?: From under- + translate.

How to pronounce undertranslate

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “undertranslate”.
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