translate
trans·late/tɹɑːnzˈleɪt/verb, noun
translate is spelled T-R-A-N-S-L-A-T-E: 9 letters and 2 syllables (trans·late). It appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, translate means “To change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in translate?
| Letters | 9: T-R-A-N-S-L-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: trans·late |
| In writing | 8.5 times per million words; the 7,910th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| 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); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is translate?
Translate appears 8.5 times per million words in written English, the 7,910th 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 translate?
- UK /tɹɑːnzˈleɪt/
- UK /tɹænz-/
- UK /tɹɑːns-/
Translate has 2 syllables, split trans·late in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-to_translate.ogg, En-us-translate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with translate?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as translate from its last stressed vowel (/eɪt/, British pronunciation):
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 translate
- translates present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- translating participle, present
- translated participle, past, singular, he/she/it, plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does translate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another.
Hans translated my novel into Welsh.
- 2
To provide a translation of spoken words or written text in another language; to be, or be capable of being, rendered in another language.
Hans translated for us while we were in Marrakesh.
- 3
To express spoken words or written text in a different (often clearer or simpler) way in the same language; to paraphrase, to rephrase, to restate.
- 4
To change (something) from one form or medium to another.
The director faithfully translated their experiences to film.
- 5
To rearrange (a song or music) in one genre into another.
- 6
To change, or be capable of being changed, from one form or medium to another.
Excellent writing does not necessarily translate well into film.
- 7
To generate a chain of amino acids based on the sequence of codons in an mRNA molecule.
- 8
Senses relating to a change of position.
noun
- 1
In Euclidean spaces: a set of points obtained by adding a given fixed vector to each point of a given set.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate translate?
Wiktionary records 3 abbreviations of translate: tr., transl., xlate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Translate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | traduire , translater |
| German | übersetzen, übertragen, verdolmetschen, dolmetschen |
| Portuguese | traduzir, verter , trasladar, transladar |
| Spanish | traducir, trasladar, verter |
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 translate come from?
From Middle English translaten (“to transport, translate, transform”), from Anglo-Norman translater, from Latin trānslātus, perfect passive participle of trānsferō (“to transport, carry across, translate”). See also -ate (verb-forming suffix). Distant doublet of transfer, see collate and confer, delate and defer, as well as prelate and prefer among others. In this sense, displaced Old English wendan (“to translate,” also the word for “to turn” and “to change”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).