--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As a true translator you will take care…" description: "\"As a true translator you will take care not to translate word for word.\" — Horace" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/horace-172_care_as-a-true-translator-you-will-take-care_1616904.jpg" --- # As a true translator you will take care not to translate… ![“As a true translator you will take care not to translate word for word.” quote by Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/horace-172_care_as-a-true-translator-you-will-take-care_1616904.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/horace-172_care_as-a-true-translator-you-will-take-care_1616904.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/698/horace-172_care_as-a-true-translator-you-will-take-care_1616904.jpg) > “As a true translator you will take care not to translate word for word.” [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Translation should convey meaning, not literal word‑by‑word rendering. **In simple terms:** Translate ideas, not just words. Key Takeaway Focus on conveying intent. Themes translation language interpretation Mood thoughtful educational Type linguistic practical When to use this quote - literary translation - legal documents - software localization Key Concepts linguistics semantics Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle untranslatable concepts? - What compromises are acceptable in translation? A Different Perspective Literal translation may lose nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Care Translate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care-translate-6165040/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Take care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/take-care/) [Translate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translate/) [Translate Word](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translate-word-1186014/) [Translation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translation/) [Translator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translator/) [Translator Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translator-care-6165039/) [Translators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/translators/) [True Translator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-translator-6165038/) ## Related quotes > [“But Spanish and English aren't different languages, only extreme dialects of Latin. It's almost possible to translate word for word. 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The translator cannot ignore "lesser" words, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-rabassa/i-have-always-maintained-that-translation-is-essentially-the-closest/) [Gregory Rabassa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-rabassa/) > [I think every translator would tell you that when they look back at a poem they have translated, they want to pencil in changes.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lee-kercheval/i-think-every-translator-would-tell-you-that-when-they-look-back-at-a/) [Jesse Lee Kercheval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lee-kercheval/) > [Thomas Teal, a luminous translator of Jansson's twin talent for surface and depth, simplicity and reverberation in language, and someone who knows exactly how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/thomas-teal-a-luminous-translator-of-jansson-s-twin-talent-for/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [It's important to get a translator who will ask the questions in a sensitive and thoughtful way. 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He's the mailman of human civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pushkin/please-never-despise-the-translator-he-s-the-mailman-of-human/) [Alexander Pushkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pushkin/) > [What is the task of the translator? I think the task depends on the book and on the translator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/idra-novey/what-is-the-task-of-the-translator-i-think-the-task-depends-on-the/) [Idra Novey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/idra-novey/) > [A translator is essentially a reader and we all read differently, except that a translator's reading remains in unchanging print](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregory-rabassa/a-translator-is-essentially-a-reader-and-we-all-read-differently/) [Gregory Rabassa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregory-rabassa/) > [A satisfactory translation is not always possible, but a good translator is never satisfied with it. It can usually be improved. (Newmark)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-newmark/a-satisfactory-translation-is-not-always-possible-but-a-good/) [Peter Newmark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-newmark/) ## More by Horace > [Strange - is it not? That of the myriads who Before us passed the door of Darkness through, Not one returns to tell us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/strange-is-it-not-that-of-the-myriads-who-before-us-passed-the-door/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Finxerunt animi, raro et perpauca loquentis. (To action little, less to words inclinded.)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/finxerunt-animi-raro-et-perpauca-loquentis-to-action-little-less-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [No verse can give pleasure for long, nor last, that is written by drinkers of water.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/no-verse-can-give-pleasure-for-long-nor-last-that-is-written-by/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Fate with impartial hand turns out the doom of high and low; her capacious urn is constantly shaking the names of all mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/fate-with-impartial-hand-turns-out-the-doom-of-high-and-low-her/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [A word, once sent abroad, flies irrevocably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/a-word-once-sent-abroad-flies-irrevocably/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“Natales grate numeras? (Do you count your birthdays with gratitude?)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/natales-grate-numeras-do-you-count-your-birthdays-with-gratitude/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ In a moment comes either death or joyful victory. \[Lat., Horae Momento cita mors venit aut victoria laeta.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/in-a-moment-comes-either-death-or-joyful-victory-lat-horae-momento/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori - It is a sweet and becoming thing to die for ones country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/dulce-et-decorum-est-pro-patria-mori-it-is-a-sweet-and-becoming-thing/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [ Neither men, nor gods, nor booksellers' shelves permit ordinary poets to exist. \[Lat., Mediocribus esse poetis Non homines, non di, non concessere columnae.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/neither-men-nor-gods-nor-booksellers-shelves-permit-ordinary-poets-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Don't yield to that alluring witch, laziness, or else be prepared to surrender all that you have won in your better moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/don-t-yield-to-that-alluring-witch-laziness-or-else-be-prepared-to/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Avoid inquisitive persons, for they are sure to be gossips, their ears are open to hear, but they will not keep what is entrusted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/avoid-inquisitive-persons-for-they-are-sure-to-be-gossips-their-ears/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [“You may drive out Nature with a pitchfork, yet she still will hurry back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/you-may-drive-out-nature-with-a-pitchfork-yet-she-still-will-hurry/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [There is a proper measure in all things, certain limits beyond which and short of which right is not to be found. 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