--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To understand is to decipher. To hear…" description: "\"To understand is to decipher. To hear significance is to translate.\" — George Steiner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/george-steiner-4683_decipher_to-understand-is-to-decipher-to-hear-sig_1444358.png" --- # To understand is to decipher. To hear significance is to… ![“To understand is to decipher. To hear significance is to translate.” quote by George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/george-steiner-4683_decipher_to-understand-is-to-decipher-to-hear-sig_1444358.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/george-steiner-4683_decipher_to-understand-is-to-decipher-to-hear-sig_1444358.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2c0/george-steiner-4683_decipher_to-understand-is-to-decipher-to-hear-sig_1444358.png) > “To understand is to decipher. To hear significance is to translate.” [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding requires decoding meaning; hearing significance demands translation into one's own terms. **In simple terms:** Understanding is decoding; hearing is translating. Key Takeaway Decode meaning, then translate it. Themes communication interpretation meaning Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - reading academic texts - cross‑cultural dialogue - learning new languages Key Concepts semiotics translation cognition Questions to Reflect On - How do you ensure fidelity when translating meaning? - What is lost in translation? A Different Perspective Translation can never capture all nuances of the original. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significance/) ## Related quotes > [Everyone tries to decipher what I write as if there's a hidden message and I'm like, 'There's no hidden message.' I don't even put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camila-morrone/everyone-tries-to-decipher-what-i-write-as-if-there-s-a-hidden/) [Camila Morrone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camila-morrone/) > [People no longer try to decipher the mystery of life but choose instead to be a part of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-no-longer-try-to-decipher-the-mystery-of-life-but-choose/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [You look at them, the animals in the wild, and they stay the same. They have their rules which I cannot decipher, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michal-rovner/you-look-at-them-the-animals-in-the-wild-and-they-stay-the-same-they/) [Michal Rovner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michal-rovner/) > [Only that, nothing more - a tiny beam of light to show some hidden aspect of reality, to help decipher and understand it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/only-that-nothing-more-a-tiny-beam-of-light-to-show-some-hidden/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [I guess when I look over my shoulder at other designers, I feel like people are so definitive. It's so clear to me what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/i-guess-when-i-look-over-my-shoulder-at-other-designers-i-feel-like/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) > [My approach is not a scientific approach. For that, we have greater minds than mine. My approach is: I am in the possession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/my-approach-is-not-a-scientific-approach-for-that-we-have-greater/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“Listen with your eyes because here you cannot decipher what is said out of the effort of mouths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myung-mi-kim/listen-with-your-eyes-because-here-you-cannot-decipher-what-is-said/) Myung Mi Kim > [One can decipher another mans life experiences from the amount of stains on their mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-franciscus/one-can-decipher-another-mans-life-experiences-from-the-amount-of/) Steve Franciscus > [I'm not supposed to be able to speak clearly, and decipher what's going on in the media. 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I am trying to decipher the code, you know? 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An act of creation is in no hurry; it reads us, it privileges us infinitely. 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Without translation, we would inhabit parishes bordering on silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/every-language-is-a-world-without-translation-we-would-inhabit/) [George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) [Explore all 104 George Steiner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/) ## More Decipher quotes > [Everyone tries to decipher what I write as if there's a hidden message and I'm like, 'There's no hidden message.' 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I look for memory, where Mystery lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabeth-kubler-ross/i-look-for-mystery-and-try-to-decipher-it-while-knowing-it-is-an/) [Elisabeth Kubler-Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elisabeth-kubler-ross/) > [I work fitfully, in hope rather than in expectation, invent methods which last a week, and fill notebooks with tiny, illegible writing which often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-minghella/i-work-fitfully-in-hope-rather-than-in-expectation-invent-methods/) [Anthony Minghella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-minghella/) > [I'm not supposed to be able to speak clearly, and decipher what's going on in the media. I'm supposed to be the typical amateur…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-lewis/i-m-not-supposed-to-be-able-to-speak-clearly-and-decipher-what-s/) [Carl Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-lewis/) > [One can decipher another mans life experiences from the amount of stains on their mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-franciscus/one-can-decipher-another-mans-life-experiences-from-the-amount-of/) Steve Franciscus > [“Listen with your eyes because here you cannot decipher what is said out of the effort of mouths.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myung-mi-kim/listen-with-your-eyes-because-here-you-cannot-decipher-what-is-said/) Myung Mi Kim > [My approach is not a scientific approach. For that, we have greater minds than mine. My approach is: I am in the possession of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/my-approach-is-not-a-scientific-approach-for-that-we-have-greater/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [I guess when I look over my shoulder at other designers, I feel like people are so definitive. It's so clear to me what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-jacobs/i-guess-when-i-look-over-my-shoulder-at-other-designers-i-feel-like/) [Marc Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-jacobs/) > [Only that, nothing more - a tiny beam of light to show some hidden aspect of reality, to help decipher and understand it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/only-that-nothing-more-a-tiny-beam-of-light-to-show-some-hidden/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [You look at them, the animals in the wild, and they stay the same. They have their rules which I cannot decipher, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michal-rovner/you-look-at-them-the-animals-in-the-wild-and-they-stay-the-same-they/) [Michal Rovner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michal-rovner/) > [People no longer try to decipher the mystery of life but choose instead to be a part of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/people-no-longer-try-to-decipher-the-mystery-of-life-but-choose/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I'm an infant with Shakespeare; I'm kind of learning how to walk. I am trying to decipher the code, you know? I do my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-santiago-hudson/i-m-an-infant-with-shakespeare-i-m-kind-of-learning-how-to-walk-i-am/) [Ruben Santiago-Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-santiago-hudson/) Browse all 78 Decipher quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To understand is to decipher. 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