untranslatable

adjective

un·​trans·​lat·​able ˌən-tran(t)s-ˈlā-tə-bəl How to pronounce untranslatable (audio)
-tranz-
: unable to be translated : not translatable
an untranslatable phrase
a word untranslatable from German
Those reflective undercurrents would seem to be untranslatable to the screen.Mel Gussow
untranslatability noun
… a revealing exposition of the untranslatability of a joke about weasels and tractors. Brian Logan
untranslatably adverb

Examples of untranslatable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The lexical gap, where untranslatable words are found in one language but not others, can be easily filled by simply borrowing these words, OED executive editor Danica Salazar wrote in the update. Peter Guo, NBC news, 27 Mar. 2025 Their grief and their rage are nearly untranslatable, as though feelings in extremity can only be physical sensations—the language assails one with a blind and blunt force. Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025 Some of the film’s winking references are more esoteric than others, and a lot of wordplay and in-jokes are potentially lost on a non-Japanese audience: some of them are, according to the subtitles on my copy, basically untranslatable. Kambole Campbell, IndieWire, 15 Aug. 2024 Some days, we are caught in the misfires of untranslatable feelings or memories. Nic Rodríguez Villafañe, refinery29.com, 13 July 2023 See All Example Sentences for untranslatable

Word History

First Known Use

1655, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of untranslatable was in 1655

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Cite this Entry

“Untranslatable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/untranslatable. Accessed 8 Apr. 2025.

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