translation

/tɹænzˈleɪʃən/

//tɹænzˈleɪʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"translation" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“translation” has 18 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #3,731. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#3,731
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
18
tracked misspellings
6
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of translating, in its various senses:

Corpus desk

Index EN-translation · translation · English

translation · rank #3,731 · 18 variants · 6 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #3,731
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 6 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 18 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH towns

Nearest frequency peer: towns (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “translation”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “translation” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

translation vs translator
82% similar
translation vs translations
92% similar
translation vs translational
85% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for translation
PropertyValue
Headwordtranslation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/tɹænzˈleɪʃən/
Letters11
Frequency rank#3,731
Misspellings tracked18
Confusable pairs6
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “translation”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).translationlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “towns” (#3,730), “visible” (#3,732), “they'd” (#3,729). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “translation” is #3,731. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 18 spelling variants around translation (IPA /tɹænzˈleɪʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #3,731 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 18 likely wrong-spelling variants for translation, with forms such as "rtanslation", "tarnslation", and "tranlsation". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 6 confusable-pair relationships, "translator", "translations", "translational", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English translacioun (“transfer, translation”), from Anglo-Norman translacioun, from Latin trānslātiō, from trānslāt-, the supine stem of trānsferō (“to transfer, transport, transform, translate”). Equivalent to translate + -ion. Displaced nativ… The correct English form is translation, spelled T-R-A-N-S-L-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of translating, in its various senses:
  2. 2
    The act of translating, in its various senses:
  3. 3
    The act of translating, in its various senses:
  4. 4
    The act of translating, in its various senses:
  5. 5
    The act of translating, in its various senses:
  6. 6
    The act of translating, in its various senses:
  7. 7
    The act of translating, in its various senses:
  8. 8
    The act of translating, in its various senses:
  9. 9
    The act of translating, in its various senses:
  10. 10
    The act of translating, in its various senses:
  11. 11
    The act of translating, in its various senses:
  12. 12
    The act of translating, in its various senses:
  13. 13
    The product or end result of an act of translating, in its various senses.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how translation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. This old text needs translation into modern English before it is published.

Etymology

From Middle English translacioun (“transfer, translation”), from Anglo-Norman translacioun, from Latin trānslātiō, from trānslāt-, the supine stem of trānsferō (“to transfer, transport, transform, translate”). Equivalent to translate + -ion. Displaced native Old English wending.

This word in other languages

traducción(Español)traduction(Français)Übersetzung(Deutsch)tradução(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rtanslation
  • tarnslation
  • tranlsation
  • trannslation
  • transaltion
  • translaiton
  • translasion
  • translatino
  • translationn
  • translatoin
  • translattion
  • transllation
  • transltaion
  • transslation
  • trasnlation
  • trnaslation
  • trranslation
  • ttranslation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of translation - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

rtanslation2tarnslation2tranlsation2trannslation1transaltion2translaiton2translasion1translatino2
Edit distance from "translation"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "translation"?
"translation" is spelled T-R-A-N-S-L-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /tɹænzˈleɪʃən/.
What does "translation" mean?
As a noun, "translation" means: The act of translating, in its various senses:
What words are commonly confused with "translation"?
"translation" is commonly confused with "translator", "translations", "translational". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "translation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "translation" is /tɹænzˈleɪʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "translation"?
From Middle English translacioun (“transfer, translation”), from Anglo-Norman translacioun, from Latin trānslātiō, from trānslāt-, the supine stem of trānsferō (“to transfer, transport, transform, translate”). Equivalent to translate + -ion. Displ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "translation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

potentially#3,715contributed#3,681agriculture#3,796programming#3,835

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (18 here; floor ≥5).

destruction18 variantsheadquarters18 variantsorganisation18 variantsconsumption18 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list