lost in translation

adjective

Unable to be understood due to having been poorly translated.

“The message of the Japanese Prime Minister's speech was lost in translation.”

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Meanings

adjectivelost in translation (not comparable)
  1. idiomaticnot comparableUnable to be understood due to having been poorly translated.

    The message of the Japanese Prime Minister's speech was lost in translation.

    1 more example

    I tried reading the instruction manual but many of the steps were unfortunately lost in translation.

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 翻譯腔 /翻译腔
  • 翻譯腔 /翻译腔 (fānyìqiāng)unable to be understood due to having been poorly translated
Finnish kadota käännöksessä
  • kadota käännöksessäunable to be understood due to having been poorly translated
Cite this entry
APA

lost in translation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lost%20in%20translation

MLA

“lost in translation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lost%20in%20translation. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “lost in translation,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/lost%20in%20translation.

Source: lost in translation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.