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
Mel Gussow
untranslatability
ˌən-(ˌ)tran(t)s-ˌlā-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē
noun
-(ˌ)tranz-
… a revealing exposition of the untranslatability of a joke about weasels and tractors.
—Brian Logan
Brian Logan
Examples of untranslatable in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Actually, one of the greatest literary geniuses of Romania from the 19th century, untranslatable because of the beauty and use of his language, a man named Ion Creangă, and one of these vulgar stories is adapted by him.
—Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 8 Aug. 2025
How to write about the splash of untranslatable white paint and make of it a story with a clear beginning, middle and end?
—Literary Hub, 25 July 2025
Writer/director Ryan Coogler understands that, just as every language has words that are untranslatable or very hard to express any other way, there are things that cinema can say like nothing else.
—Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 18 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for untranslatable
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Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 8 Aug. 2025
How to write about the splash of untranslatable white paint and make of it a story with a clear beginning, middle and end?
—Literary Hub, 25 July 2025
Writer/director Ryan Coogler understands that, just as every language has words that are untranslatable or very hard to express any other way, there are things that cinema can say like nothing else.
—Chris O'Falt, IndieWire, 18 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for untranslatable
Cite this Entry
“Untranslatable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/untranslatable. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
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