translator

/ˈtɹænzleɪtɚ/

//ˈtɹænzleɪtɚ// noun

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

"translator" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“translator” has 16 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,812. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,812
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
16
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person or thing that translates meaning from one language into another, particularly

Corpus desk

Index EN-translator · translator · English

translator · rank #11,812 · 16 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,812
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 16 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH transmit

Nearest frequency peer: transmit (+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 “translator”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “translator” 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).

translator vs translate
80% similar
translator vs translated
80% similar
translator vs transistor
80% similar

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

Key facts for translator
PropertyValue
Headwordtranslator
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈtɹænzleɪtɚ/
Letters10
Frequency rank#11,812
Misspellings tracked16
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “translator”

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).translatorlands here:

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

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “transmit” (#11,813), “Torres” (#11,810), “TS” (#11,815). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “translator” is #11,812. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 16 spelling variants around translator (IPA /ˈtɹænzleɪtɚ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,812 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 16 likely wrong-spelling variants for translator, with forms such as "rtanslator", "tarnslator", and "tranlsator". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "translate", "translated", "transistor", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Directly from Latin trānslātor and French translator, and also from Middle English translatour, from Old French translatour, translateur, etc., from Latin trānslātor, from trānslātus (“carried across”) + -or (“-er: forming agent nouns”), from trānsferō (“ca… The correct English form is translator, spelled T-R-A-N-S-L-A-T-O-R.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person or thing that translates meaning from one language into another, particularly
  2. 2
    A person or thing that translates meaning from one language into another, particularly
  3. 3
    A person or thing that translates meaning from one language into another, particularly
  4. 4
    A person or thing that translates meaning from one language into another, particularly
  5. 5
    A person or thing that translates meaning from one language into another, particularly
  6. 6
    A person or thing that translates meaning from one language into another, particularly
  7. 7
    Synonym of carrier, a person who transports something, now particularly (Roman Catholicism, rare) holy relics.
  8. 8
    Synonym of repairer, particularly of leather or cloth goods.
  9. 9
    A used and repaired shoe, boot, or other item of clothing.
  10. 10
    Synonym of repeater, a thing that automatically retransmits an incoming message along a telegraph line.
  11. 11
    A thing that converts energy from one form to another.
  12. 12
    The retinaculum of asclepiads.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. "You don't believe the Soviet Union is going to reduce its defense budget, do you?" Boggs asked. Premier Chou didn't wait for the translator to finish. "Never, never, never," he replied in perfect English.
  2. Mr. C. Blair Leighton... lithographer... was one of the earliest translators of water and oil pictures by the chromatic process.

Etymology

Directly from Latin trānslātor and French translator, and also from Middle English translatour, from Old French translatour, translateur, etc., from Latin trānslātor, from trānslātus (“carried across”) + -or (“-er: forming agent nouns”), from trānsferō (“carry across”), from trans (“across”) + ferō (“bear, carry”), q.v. Equivalent to translate + -or.

Synonyms

dubashinterpreter

This word in other languages

traductor(Español)traducteur(Français)Übersetzer(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • rtanslator
  • tarnslator
  • tranlsator
  • trannslator
  • transaltor
  • translaotr
  • translatorr
  • translatro
  • translattor
  • transllator
  • transltaor
  • transslator
  • trasnlator
  • trnaslator
  • trranslator
  • ttranslator

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of translator - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

rtanslator2tarnslator2tranlsator2trannslator1transaltor2translaotr2translatorr1translatro2
Edit distance from "translator"

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 "translator"?
"translator" is spelled T-R-A-N-S-L-A-T-O-R. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈtɹænzleɪtɚ/.
What does "translator" mean?
As a noun, "translator" means: A person or thing that translates meaning from one language into another, particularly
What words are commonly confused with "translator"?
"translator" is commonly confused with "translate", "translated", "transistor". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "translator"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "translator" is /ˈtɹænzleɪtɚ/. 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 "translator"?
Directly from Latin trānslātor and French translator, and also from Middle English translatour, from Old French translatour, translateur, etc., from Latin trānslātor, from trānslātus (“carried across”) + -or (“-er: forming agent nouns”), from trān... 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 "translator", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

absorption#11,828accelerate#11,829sacrificed#11,790blockchain#11,843

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (16 here; floor ≥5).

Alzheimer's16 variantscongestion16 variantsdependence16 variantsmisconduct16 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list