interpretation
in·ter·pre·ta·tion/ɪnˌtɝpɹəˈteɪʃən/noun
interpretation is spelled I-N-T-E-R-P-R-E-T-A-T-I-O-N, 5 syllables: in·ter·pre·ta·tion. The wrong spelling people search most is intepretation: about 20 Bing searches a month in the United States (September 2025 to August 2026), about 1 in 127 of all searches for the word. Interpretation is a noun meaning “An act of interpreting or explaining something unclear; a translation; a version”. The plural of interpretation is interpretations.
How many letters and syllables are in interpretation?
| Letters | 14: I-N-T-E-R-P-R-E-T-A-T-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5: in·ter·pre·ta·tion |
| In writing | 17 times per million words; the 4,934th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | 1; the most searched, intepretation, about 20 Bing searches a month (all of them) |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How do you spell interpretation?
Interpretation is spelled I-N-T-E-R-P-R-E-T-A-T-I-O-N. One wrong spelling is searched or written often enough to measure; together they are about 1 in 126 of the searches for interpretation in either form.
Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026). Wrong spellings are taken from Wiktionary entries tagged "misspelling" and its obsolete or nonstandard forms, Wikipedia's Lists of common misspellings and the codespell dictionary, then measured. The proofreader's marks show the change that corrects each one.
How common is interpretation?
Interpretation appears 17 times per million words in written English, the 4,934th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce interpretation?
- UK /ɪnˌtɜːpɹəˈteɪʃən/
- US /ɪnˌtɝpɹəˈteɪʃən/
- Australia /ɪnˌtɜːpɹəˈtæɪʃən/
Interpretation has 5 syllables, split in·ter·pre·ta·tion in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-interpretation.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-interpretation.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with interpretation?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as interpretation from its last stressed vowel (/eɪʃən/):
- situation
- association
- population
- administration
- operation
- organization
- application
- location
- generation
- foundation
- conversation
- investigation
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of interpretation
- interpretations plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does interpretation mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An act of interpreting or explaining something unclear; a translation; a version.
The interpretation of a dream, or of an enigma
- 2
A sense given by an interpreter; an exposition or explanation given; meaning.
Commentators give various interpretations of the same passage of Scripture.
- 3
The discipline or study of translating one spoken or signed language into another (as opposed to translation, which concerns itself with written language).
I believe that interpretation, particularly consecutive interpretation, is an art. I also believe, however, that the skill of consecutive interpretation can be taught, but only up to a point.
- 4
The power of explaining.
- 5
An artist's way of expressing thought or embodying a conception of nature through art.
- 6
An act or process of applying general principles or formulae to the explanation of the results obtained in special cases.
- 7
An approximation that allows aspects of a mathematical theory to be discussed in ordinary language.
- 8
An assignment of a truth value to each propositional symbol of a propositional calculus.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate interpretation?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of interpretation: interp..
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Interpretation in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | interprétation |
| German | Interpretation, Auslegung , Deutung , Dolmetschen |
| Portuguese | interpretação |
| Spanish | interpretación |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does interpretation come from?
From Middle English interpretacioun, from the Anglo-Norman form of Old French interpretacion, from Latin interpretātiō, noun of action from interpretor (“to explain, expound, interpret, understand, conclude, infer, comprehend”). Morphologically interpret + -ation.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).