Wortgetreuen

Wortgetreuen is the inflected form of the German adjective wortgetreu, which means faithful to the words of a source text. The term is used to describe translations, quotations, or renderings that aim to reproduce the original wording as closely as possible, rather than adapting the text for naturalness in the target language. The form wortgetreuen occurs when the noun it modifies is plural or in certain inflected positions (for example, die wortgetreuen Übersetzungen).

In practice, wortgetreu is common in translation studies and in legal or academic contexts where precise wording matters. A wortgetreue Übersetzung seeks to mirror the source structure and vocabulary, potentially at the expense of idiomatic fluency. This contrasts with more liberal or dynamic translation approaches that prioritize sense-for-sense readability over exact word order. The term also appears with quotations; a wortgetreues Zitat is one that reproduces the source wording nearly verbatim.

Examples include: Die wortgetreuen Übersetzungen der Verträge wurden von Fachleuten geprüft. In wissenschaftlichen Arbeiten wird auf wortgetreue Zitate geachtet. It is noted that idioms or culturally specific expressions often cannot be rendered fully wortgetreu without creating awkward or misleading phrasing, and translators may add clarifications or provide idiomatic notes to accompany a literal rendering.

Etymology: wortgetreu is composed of Wort (word) and treu (faithful), literally “faithful to the word.” The inflected form wortgetreuen reflects German adjective endings in plural contexts.