translate

translate — verb

1. to say or write what a piece of text or speech means using a different language

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveA2
Definition

to say or write what a piece of text or speech means using a different language

Example

Sahil translated the email from French into English for his boss.

translate + from + into + language

The company website was translated into five Asian languages last year.

passive: be translated into [language]

Common collocations
  • translate literally
  • translate accurately
  • translate roughly
  • translate freely
Synonyms
  • interpret

    Usually oral and immediate; an interpreter works with speech in real time

  • convert

    Broader — can apply to data, currency, or units, not just language

  • render

    More formal and literary, often implying stylistic sensitivity

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

translate + noun phrase

translate + from + language + into + language

translate + for + person

Usage Note

Frequently used with from (source language) and into (target language). When no object is given, the verb is intransitive: 'She translates for the ministry.' This is the only sense where a person doing the action is called a translator.

Common Mistakes

She translated the book in Chinese.
She translated the book into Chinese.
The target language requires into, not in.
I translated the teacher said we need books.
I translated what the teacher said about the books.
A that-clause directly after translate is unnatural; restructure the sentence.

2. to change an idea, plan, skill, or experience into a real and working result

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to change an idea, plan, skill, or experience into a real and working result

Example

The architect translated her rough sketches into detailed building plans for the project.

translate + noun + into + new form

Vinícius hopes to translate his passion for cooking into a successful restaurant business.

Common collocations
  • translate directly into
  • translate neatly into
  • translate easily into
Synonyms
  • convert

    Broader and more neutral; can apply to materials or formats

  • transform

    Suggests a bigger or more dramatic change in nature

  • turn into

    More informal and common in everyday speech

Grammar Patterns

translate + noun + into + noun

Usage Note

Always followed by into when specifying the outcome. Subject is typically an abstract thing: an idea, plan, skill, effort, or experience. This sense cannot be used with language names or actual text.

Common Mistakes

His hard work translated success.
His hard work translated into success.
The preposition into is required after the verb to link the cause and the result.

3. to understand what someone's statements or conduct are intended to convey, espec

3.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to understand what someone's statements or conduct are intended to convey, especially when the message is not directly stated

Example

Élise translated her manager's silence as a sign that the proposal was rejected.

translate + noun + as + interpretation

James translated the strange symbol as a warning about dangerous rocks ahead.

Common collocations
  • translate wrongly
  • translate simply
  • translate differently
Synonyms
  • interpret

    The more common word for assigning meaning; translate is slightly more formal here

  • read as

    Informal; often used about written signs or signals

  • understand

    More general; translate suggests a deliberate act of decoding

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

translate + noun + as + noun

how + translate + noun

Usage Note

Often takes as to introduce the interpretation: translate X as Y. Unlike sense 2, this sense is about reading a meaning into words or behaviour, not about producing a concrete outcome. Distinguish from sense 1: sense 1 changes actual language; sense 3 assigns meaning to signals that may not be language at all.

Common Mistakes

I translate his silence that he is angry.
I translate his silence as anger.
Use as, not a that-clause, after translate in this sense.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Translate focuses on changing written or spoken text from one language into another while keeping the meaning. Interpret is used mainly for oral language conversion in real time — an interpreter works with live speech at a conference, for example. Convert can apply to language but is far more common for currency, units, or file formats (convert dollars to euros, convert a PDF to Word). Render is a formal, often literary word that implies stylistic sensitivity — a translator might render a poem into English with attention to rhythm and tone. In daily life: 'Could you translate this document from Japanese?' (written), 'She interpreted for the delegation' (spoken), 'I converted the video file to MP4' (format).

translate ↗interpret ↗convert ↗render ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • translate word for word
  • translate from memory

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Translate comes from Latin translatus, meaning 'carried across'. This is the past participle of transferre ('to carry over'), formed from trans- ('across') and ferre ('to carry'). The word entered English in the 14th century with the language-changing sense. The broader meaning of 'changing into a new form' developed later, followed by the 'interpret' sense.