translator

translator — noun

1. someone who takes written text in one language and produces an equivalent versio

1.名詞B1
釋義

someone who takes written text in one language and produces an equivalent version in another language, doing this as a regular paid job

例句

Yumi works as a translator for a Tokyo publishing house, turning English novels into Japanese.

collocation: work as a translator

The United Nations hired several translators to prepare a report in all six official languages.

passive: hired to prepare documents in [languages]

同義詞
  • interpreter

    handles spoken language in real time, not written documents

  • transcriber

    writes down spoken words in the same language, rather than converting between languages

  • localiser

    adapts content for a specific regional market, going beyond word-for-word translation

文法句型

translator + of + language

work as + a translator

用法筆記

Frequently followed by of + language (a translator of Arabic poetry) or from/into (translator from Italian into English). When the focus is on spoken language, interpreter is the preferred term.

常見錯誤

❌She worked as a translator at the UN conference, interpreting the secretary-general's speech.
✅She worked as an interpreter at the UN conference.
💡A translator handles written text; an interpreter handles spoken conversation in real time.
❌He is a Chinese translator.' (ambiguous)
✅He is a translator of Chinese.' or 'He is a translator who works in Chinese and English.
💡Adding 'Chinese' alone can mean either the source or the target language.

2. someone who listens to what a person says in one language and immediately says t

2.名詞B1
釋義

someone who listens to what a person says in one language and immediately says the same message in another language, helping people who speak different languages understand each other

例句

Karim served as a translator for the trade delegation, helping them talk with local suppliers.

collocation: serve as a translator for [group]

At a medical conference, a translator whispered the speech into Cantonese for the doctors.

同義詞
  • interpreter

    the standard professional term for someone who converts spoken language in real time

  • linguist

    broader term; can refer to anyone skilled in languages, not necessarily doing conversion work

文法句型

act as + a translator

serve as + translator + for + [group]

用法筆記

In modern English, interpreter is more common than translator when referring to spoken language. Translator in this spoken sense is still understood but may sound informal or slightly old-fashioned. Many professional contexts (conferences, courts, hospitals) use interpreter.

常見錯誤

❌The hospital hired a translator for the Mandarin-speaking patient.' (if the patient speaks, not writes)
✅The hospital hired an interpreter for the Mandarin-speaking patient.
💡Hospitals need real-time spoken help, which is interpretation.

3. a software program that reads instructions written in one computer language and

3.名詞B2
釋義

a software program that reads instructions written in one computer language and creates equivalent instructions in a different computer language

例句

The team used a translator to convert the old COBOL banking system into Java code.

collocation: convert [language] into [language]

A good code translator checks the output structure, not just the original program's words.

同義詞
  • compiler

    a specific type of translator that turns source code into machine code for direct execution

  • transpiler

    a translator that converts between high-level programming languages (e.g., TypeScript to JavaScript)

  • converter

    general term for any tool that changes one format into another, not limited to programming languages

文法句型

[language] translator

translator + for + [language]

用法筆記

In computing, translator is a broad term that covers compilers (which produce machine code) and transpilers (which produce higher-level code). Not interchangeable with interpreter, which executes code line by line without producing a separate output file.

常見錯誤

❌Python uses a translator to run code.
✅Python uses an interpreter to run code.
💡An interpreter runs code directly; a translator produces new code in a different language.