Jisho

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D448b62ce0f250984b66447027107053
2 Replies ・ Started by Myriah at 2017-03-26 13:59:10 UTC ・ Last reply by 2Kmax at 2017-04-03 16:13:16 UTC
This is a discussion about 翻訳家

Best word for translator

Hello! I'm looking for the best word to use for "translator," to say for example, "I am a translator." 訳者 is labeled as a common word, but a google search suggests that 翻訳者 is actually the most common, although I like 翻訳家 because of the kanji 家 which seems to suggest a higher level of professionalism. Of course, I've just recently started studying Japanese, so I don't know much. I would love to hear what working Japanese translators use! :) Thanks!

A3359c156c445f2e76fa3744e6afc78d
Exilesama at 2017-03-31 23:55:18 UTC

翻訳者 is the most common word for it.

Source: 11 years of study :)

A6d8781069d228d478cfa3161cba3a21
2Kmax at 2017-04-03 16:13:16 UTC

Agree on 翻訳者 being the most common term for "translator," but 翻訳家 is indeed a better term for a professional translator as an occupation, as Myriah suggested. In spoken Japanese, however, neither seems to be in very common use; instead people tend to say 翻訳の仕事をしています = doing translation work. For "interpreter" (which many Americans loosely call a "translator") I noticed that Japanese people typically say 通訳です to mean "(I am/you are/she or he is) the/an interpreter."

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