Japanese

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Kanji in this term
つう
Grade: 2
やく
Grade: 6
しゃ
Grade: 3
on’yomi
Alternative spelling
通譯者 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

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Compound of 通訳 (tsūyaku, interpretation) +‎ (-sha, -er, someone who does something).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [t͡sɨᵝːja̠kɯ̟ᵝɕa̠]

Noun

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(つう)(やく)(しゃ) (tsūyakusha

  1. an interpreter (someone who listens to speech in one language, and repeats that content in another language)

Usage notes

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Although the term 通訳 (tsūyaku) can mean both interpretation and interpreter (the person doing the interpretation), the term 通訳者 (tsūyakusha) refers more specifically to the person.

The term 通訳人 (​tsūyakunin) appears in more dictionaries.[1][2] The term 通訳者 (tsūyakusha) may have gained currency as a parallel construction to 翻訳者 (hon'yakusha, translator), for which there is no 翻訳人 (hon'yakunin) form.

Synonyms

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  • 通弁 (つうべん, ​tsūben)
  • 通事 (つうじ, ​tsūji)
  • 通訳 (つうやく, ​tsūyaku)
  • 通訳人 (つうやくにん, ​tsūyakunin)

References

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  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN