翻訳
hon'yaku[hõ̞ɰ̃ja̠kɯ̟]
The English phrase 'translation' is translated into Japanese as 翻訳 (hon'yaku).
翻訳 is used to describe the act of translating between languages. If you want to refer to the translation process, you can use 翻訳作業. A person who performs this work is a 翻訳者, and a 専門翻訳者 is a specialized translator. When discussing technology, 翻訳機 refers specifically to a translation machine or software tool.
Meaning: act of translating between languages (noun)
Which one should you use?
翻訳 refers specifically to written translation, whereas 通訳 is used to refer to oral interpretation.
How do you pronounce it?
hon'yaku
Did you know?
- The word 翻訳 is composed of two characters: 翻 meaning 'to flip or turn over' and 訳 meaning 'to interpret'.
- In Japanese literary circles, a translation that is so faithful to the original that it feels unnatural in Japanese is sometimes criticized as 翻訳調, or 'translation style'.
- The character 訳 in 翻訳 can also be used as a noun meaning 'excuse' or 'reason' when someone is trying to justify an action.
Examples in context
- この翻訳はどう？How's this translation?This sentence is useful for asking for an opinion on a translation.Tatoeba #9210599 by small_snow, translation #9211471 by DJ_Saidez
- この翻訳、間違ってるよ。This translation is wrong.This sentence is useful for pointing out an error in a translation.Tatoeba #10023313 by small_snow, translation #8216145 by CK
- 翻訳を原文と比べてみよう。Let's compare the translation with the original.This sentence is useful for suggesting a comparison between a translation and an original text.Tatoeba #81448 by bunbuku, translation #322267 by CK
- この文章を英語に翻訳してもらえますか？Can you translate this text into English?
- 現在、専門翻訳者を募集しています。We are currently recruiting professional translators.
- 君は英語を日本語に翻訳できるの？Can you translate English into Japanese?
- 映画の字幕は誰が翻訳するんだろう。I wonder who translates the movie subtitles.
- 23 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Ren and Himari are discussing a book in the library.
- 蓮 Renこの本の翻訳はとても自然だね。Kono hon no hon'yaku wa totemo shizen da ne.The translation of this book is very natural, isn't it?
- 陽葵 Himariそうだね。読みやすいと思うよ。Sō da ne. Yomiyasui to omou yo.It is. I think it's easy to read.
- 蓮 Ren翻訳には時間がかかるだろうな。Hon'yaku ni wa jikan ga kakaru darō na.The translation probably took a long time.
- 陽葵 Himariきっと大変だったと思うよ。Kitto taihen datta to omou yo.I bet it was a lot of work.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “translation” translations and entries 翻訳, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
