--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The very same book, even if it is…" description: "\"The very same book, even if it is translated very accurately, let's say from Hebrew into English or from English into Hebrew, becomes a different book ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/amos-oz-1478_book_the-very-same-book-even-if-it-is-transla_1554420.jpg" --- # The very same book, even if it is translated very… ![“The very same book, even if it is translated very accurately, let's say from Hebrew into English or from English into Hebrew, becomes a different book because language is a musical instrument.” quote by Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/amos-oz-1478_book_the-very-same-book-even-if-it-is-transla_1554420.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/amos-oz-1478_book_the-very-same-book-even-if-it-is-transla_1554420.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/amos-oz-1478_book_the-very-same-book-even-if-it-is-transla_1554420.jpg) > “The very same book, even if it is translated very accurately, let's say from Hebrew into English or from English into Hebrew, becomes a different book because language is a musical instrument.” [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Translation changes a book because language carries cultural nuance and musicality, making each version distinct. **In simple terms:** Language shapes meaning, so translations differ. Key Takeaway Appreciate original language nuances. Themes translation language culture Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - literary analysis - cross‑cultural communication - teaching languages Key Concepts semantics musicality interpretation Questions to Reflect On - How does language affect your perception of a text? - Can a translation ever capture the original spirit? A Different Perspective Some meanings may be lost in translation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Different books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/different-books/) [Hebrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hebrew/) [Judaism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judaism/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Musical instruments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musical-instruments/) ## Related quotes > [Literature belongs first and foremost to the language in which it is being written. The very same book, even if it is translated very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/literature-belongs-first-and-foremost-to-the-language-in-which-it-is-2/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [In returning I read a very different book, published by an honest Quaker , on that execrable sum of all villanies, commonly called the Slave-trade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wesley/in-returning-i-read-a-very-different-book-published-by-an-honest/) [John Wesley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wesley/) > [Covers matter. In my experience, a different cover can make you think you're reading an entirely different book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/covers-matter-in-my-experience-a-different-cover-can-make-you-think/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Music is not a language. Any musical piece is akin to a boulder with complex forms, with striations and engraved designs atop and within,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iannis-xenakis/music-is-not-a-language-any-musical-piece-is-akin-to-a-boulder-with/) [Iannis Xenakis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iannis-xenakis/) > [So the language of musical harmony is an absolutely extraordinary one. It's a way of navigating one's emotional frameworks, but without the need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-collier/so-the-language-of-musical-harmony-is-an-absolutely-extraordinary-one/) [Jacob Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-collier/) > [I see music as one language. If one musical form eats its own tail, it dies. So it needs to be a mongrel, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sting/i-see-music-as-one-language-if-one-musical-form-eats-its-own-tail-it/) [Sting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sting/) > [What is jazz? It, It's almost like asking, What is French? Jazz is a musical language. It's a musical dialect that actually embodies the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branford-marsalis/what-is-jazz-it-it-s-almost-like-asking-what-is-french-jazz-is-a/) [Branford Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branford-marsalis/) > ['Out' was my real breakthrough, the novel that became a hit in Japan and sold a lot of books, so it was sort of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natsuo-kirino/out-was-my-real-breakthrough-the-novel-that-became-a-hit-in-japan-and/) [Natsuo Kirino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natsuo-kirino/) > [When I published my first work, I thought I would never be able to go back to Lebanon. I thought they'd arrest me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabih-alameddine/when-i-published-my-first-work-i-thought-i-would-never-be-able-to-go/) [Rabih Alameddine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabih-alameddine/) > [“While the Rumanian Radio was serializing (without my permission) How to be an Alien as an anti-British tract, the Central Office of Information rang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/while-the-rumanian-radio-was-serializing-without-my-permission-how-to/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [When one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/when-one-man-dies-one-chapter-is-not-torn-out-of-the-book-but/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [All mankind is one volume. When one man dies, a chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/all-mankind-is-one-volume-when-one-man-dies-a-chapter-is-not-torn-out/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [The English Bible - a book which, if everything else in our language should perish, would alone suffice to show the whole extent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-english-bible-a-book-which-if-everything-else-in-our-language/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When a translator translates my book, it is no longer just my book. It is the translator's book, too. So the book in another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-lipsyte/when-a-translator-translates-my-book-it-is-no-longer-just-my-book-it/) [Sam Lipsyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-lipsyte/) > [A good book, in the language of the book-sellers, is a salable one; in that of the curious, a scarce one; in that of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/a-good-book-in-the-language-of-the-book-sellers-is-a-salable-one-in/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) ## More by Amos Oz > [I find the family the most mysterious and fascinating institution in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-find-the-family-the-most-mysterious-and-fascinating-institution-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“All the profits that Papa made by the sweat of his brow from his mill she extorted from him and spent the lot on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/all-the-profits-that-papa-made-by-the-sweat-of-his-brow-from-his-mill/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Nobody ever predicted, a week before President Sadat came to Jerusalem in 1977, that his arrival would be the beginning of a peace process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/nobody-ever-predicted-a-week-before-president-sadat-came-to-jerusalem/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Every country in the world should follow the example of President Trump and move the embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. But simultaneously, there should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/every-country-in-the-world-should-follow-the-example-of-president/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Actually, who hasn't been through the ghastly experience of sitting in front of a blank page, with its toothless mouth grinning at you: Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/actually-who-hasn-t-been-through-the-ghastly-experience-of-sitting-in/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [I think loathing begets fanaticism, and in the end, loathing begets hatred and violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/i-think-loathing-begets-fanaticism-and-in-the-end-loathing-begets/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Literature is about telling stories. Now, the gift of literature is that, in some lucky cases, reading a novel or a story makes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/literature-is-about-telling-stories-now-the-gift-of-literature-is/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Very often, fanaticism begins at home. It begins inside the family. It begins with the urge to change our kin, to change our beloved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/very-often-fanaticism-begins-at-home-it-begins-inside-the-family-it/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [When I need to take a side, I write a newspaper article and I tell my government, "You should not do that, you should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/when-i-need-to-take-a-side-i-write-a-newspaper-article-and-i-tell-my/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [We have to carry through to the next day and hope that we will be okay tomorrow as we are today and in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/we-have-to-carry-through-to-the-next-day-and-hope-that-we-will-be/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Trump is many things. He is pampered. He is an immature man. He is a teenager craving unconditional, endless love from everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/trump-is-many-things-he-is-pampered-he-is-an-immature-man-he-is-a/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [The only way to keep a dream, any dream at all, to keep a dream perfect and rosy and intact and unsullied is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/the-only-way-to-keep-a-dream-any-dream-at-all-to-keep-a-dream-perfect/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [“Judaism and Christianity, and Islam too, all drip honeyed words of love and mercy so long as they do not have access to handcuffs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/judaism-and-christianity-and-islam-too-all-drip-honeyed-words-of-love/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [Never cut loose from your longings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/never-cut-loose-from-your-longings/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) > [If people are pro-Israel, they are pro-Israel one-hundred-and-twenty percent. If they are anti-Israel or pro-Palestinian, they tend to be pro-Palestinian one-hundred-and-twenty percent. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/if-people-are-pro-israel-they-are-pro-israel-one-hundred-and-twenty/) [Amos Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) [Explore all 223 Amos Oz quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/) ## More Book quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. There is nothing like a child who knows more about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-cooper/i-have-many-who-keep-me-going-i-am-very-fortunate-in-this-sense-there/) [Floyd Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-cooper/) > [I think books in which people are really happy and things are going well are probably the most challenging novels there are to write,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/i-think-books-in-which-people-are-really-happy-and-things-are-going/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I don't think I have made as much of my life as I should have. I should have written more books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/i-don-t-think-i-have-made-as-much-of-my-life-as-i-should-have-i/) [Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-m-schlesinger-jr/) > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [There are great books in this world and great worlds in books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/there-are-great-books-in-this-world-and-great-worlds-in-books/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [The purpose of this book is to supply, in the form suitable for laymen, guidance in the adoption and execution of an investment policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-graham/the-purpose-of-this-book-is-to-supply-in-the-form-suitable-for-laymen/) [Benjamin Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-graham/) > [But I think that of all the literature that I studied, the book that did more than any other to fire my enthusiasm was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/but-i-think-that-of-all-the-literature-that-i-studied-the-book-that/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [It's amazing to see things that are suggested in the book fully developed and so brilliantly realized through the artistry of the designers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/it-s-amazing-to-see-things-that-are-suggested-in-the-book-fully/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“But I’ve developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/but-i-ve-developed-a-great-reputation-for-wisdom-by-ordering-more/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) [Browse all 29,378 Book quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The very same book, even if it is translated very accurately, let's say from Hebrew into English or from English into Hebrew, becomes a different book because language is a musical instrument.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Amos Oz" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/the-very-same-book-even-if-it-is-translated-very-accurately-let-s-say/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Book" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/the-very-same-book-even-if-it-is-translated-very-accurately-let-s-say/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/amos-oz-1478_book_the-very-same-book-even-if-it-is-transla_1554420.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/amos-oz-1478_book_the-very-same-book-even-if-it-is-transla_1554420.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc7/amos-oz-1478_book_the-very-same-book-even-if-it-is-transla_1554420.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The very same book, even if it is translated very accurately, let's say from Hebrew into English or from…” — Amos Oz", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Amos Oz", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amos-oz/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The very same book, even if...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/the-very-same-book-even-if-it-is-translated-very-accurately-let-s-say/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amos-oz/the-very-same-book-even-if-it-is-translated-very-accurately-let-s-say/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```