transliterate
verb
trans·lit·er·ate
tran(t)s-ˈli-tə-ˌrāt 
tranz-
transliterated; transliterating
: to represent or spell in the characters of another alphabet
Examples of transliterate in a Sentence
The Russian letter Я is usually transliterated in English as ya or ia.
Recent Examples on the Web
The moniker – transliterated from the Chinese name for the region – is a linguistic battleground reflecting deeper geopolitical tensions between Beijing and critics of its Tibet policy.
—
Steven Jiang, CNN Money, 1 May 2025
Image At times, the chatbot could not identify some modern slang terms and words that were transliterated from English to Arabic, two officers said.
—Sheera Frenkel, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
The two similar-sounding Chinese characters each have their own meanings, but none of particular significance when used to transliterate a foreign name.
—Raul A. Reyes, Newsweek, 22 Jan. 2025
Mother’s behavior cannot merely be transliterated into social history.
—Will Self, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
Textbooks that simply transliterate English into an Indian script are of limited use, says Aniket Sule, a professor at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education.
—Byvaishnavi Chandrashekhar, science.org, 5 Sep. 2024
Yet the naming customs — along with their origins and meanings — tell the reader a lot about what to examine, for instance, why there are dozens of ways to transliterate even common Indigenous place names.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 8 July 2024
The family and its spokespeople have transliterated their names as both Shem and Schem but used the former spelling on place cards at the news conference Tuesday.
—Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2023
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Steven Jiang, CNN Money, 1 May 2025
Image At times, the chatbot could not identify some modern slang terms and words that were transliterated from English to Arabic, two officers said.
—Sheera Frenkel, New York Times, 25 Apr. 2025
The two similar-sounding Chinese characters each have their own meanings, but none of particular significance when used to transliterate a foreign name.
—Raul A. Reyes, Newsweek, 22 Jan. 2025
Mother’s behavior cannot merely be transliterated into social history.
—Will Self, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
Textbooks that simply transliterate English into an Indian script are of limited use, says Aniket Sule, a professor at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education.
—Byvaishnavi Chandrashekhar, science.org, 5 Sep. 2024
Yet the naming customs — along with their origins and meanings — tell the reader a lot about what to examine, for instance, why there are dozens of ways to transliterate even common Indigenous place names.
—Michael Barnes, Austin American-Statesman, 8 July 2024
The family and its spokespeople have transliterated their names as both Shem and Schem but used the former spelling on place cards at the news conference Tuesday.
—Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 17 Oct. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Transliterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transliterate. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
transliterate
verb
trans·lit·er·ate
tran(t)s-ˈlit-ə-ˌrāt
tranz-
transliterated; transliterating
: to represent or spell in the characters of another alphabet
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