untranslatable

adjective

un·trans·lat·able ˌən-tran(t)s-ˈlā-tə-bəl

-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

ˌən-(ˌ)tran(t)s-ˌlā-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē

-(ˌ)tranz-

noun

… a revealing exposition of the untranslatability of a joke about weasels and tractors. —

Brian Logan

untranslatably

ˌən-tran(t)s-ˈlā-tə-blē

-tranz-

adverb

Examples of untranslatable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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 The pain that connects Rama and Laurence is like a secret language, an untranslatable grammar of alienation and loss. —

A.o. Scott, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2023 Impossible, as some thoughts and ideas are untranslatable, but I’m bound to try. —

Weike Wang, The New Yorker, 1 Feb. 2022 See all Example Sentences for untranslatable