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dolmetschen

to interpret (orally)

verb DOL-met-shen Less Common

Origin: from Turkic via Hungarian 'tolmács'

Also means

to translate spoken speech

Usage Note

dolmetschen means to interpret spoken language in real time, as opposed to übersetzen (to translate written text): vom Deutschen ins Englische dolmetschen. The agent noun Dolmetscher names a (spoken-language) interpreter. Common in conference and court settings.

Examples

"Sie dolmetschte für die ausländischen Gäste."

Natural Translation

She interpreted for the foreign guests.

Literal Translation

She interpreted for the foreign guests.

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