transparent

See also: Transparent

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin trānspārēns, trānspārēntis (“transparent”), present participle of transpareō, from Latin trans + pareō. Displaced native Old English þurhsīene.

Pronunciation

• (General American)
  • (without the Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA^(key): /tɹæn(t)sˈpæɹənt/, /tɹænz-/
  • (Mary–marry–merry merger) IPA^(key): /tɹæn(t)sˈpɛɹənt/, /tɹænz-/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /tɹæn(t)sˈpæɹənt/, /tɹænzˈpæɹənt/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adjective

transparent (comparative more transparent, superlative most transparent)

1. (of a material or object) See-through, clear; having the property that light passes through it almost undisturbed, such that one can see through it clearly.
   • 1897, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, chapter 19, in The Invisible Man: A Grotesque Romance, New York, N.Y., London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, →OCLC:

     "You make the glass invisible by putting it into a liquid of nearly the same refractive index; a transparent thing becomes invisible if it is put in any medium of almost the same refractive index."

   The waters of the lake were transparent until the factory dumped waste there.

   1. (graphic design) Of a graphical image or animated GIF, having parts that allow the background to show through.
2. (of a system or organization) Open, public; having the property that theories and practices are publicly visible, thereby reducing the chance of corruption.
3. Obvious; readily apparent; easy to see or understand.

   His reasons for the decision were transparent.

   I love playing poker with Steve, because he's so transparent.

4. (signal processing) Having the property of transparency, i.e. sufficiently accurate that the compressed result is perceptually indistinguishable from the uncompressed input.
5. (computing) Not noticeable because it happens automatically or in the background; invisible.
   • 2003, Rolf Oppliger, Security Technologies for the World Wide Web, page 34:

     In order to make that transparent to the user, browsers usually cache the usernames and passwords and retransmit them automatically each time they contact the server.

Usage notes

• (see-through, clear): The term translucent is similar in meaning, but describes a material or object that diffuses light as it passes through. Looking through a transparent substance (such as a window), one can recognize objects on the other side. Looking through a translucent substance (such as frosted glass), one cannot see objects clearly, only light and shadow.

Synonyms

• (see-through, clear): see-through, diaphanous, clear, crystalline, limpid, sheer
• (obvious): apparent, clear, obvious

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “see-through, clear”): opaque
• (antonym(s) of “obvious”): obscure, opaque
• nontransparent
• non-transparent

Coordinate terms

• translucent

Derived terms

• referentially transparent
• semitransparent
• transparently
• transparent pie

Related terms

• transparency
• transparently
• transparentness

Translations

see-through, clear

• Albanian: tejdukshëm (sq)
• Arabic: شَفَّاف (šaffāf)
• Armenian: թափանցիկ (hy) (tʻapʻancʻik)
• Asturian: tresparente (ast)
• Azerbaijani: şəffaf (az)
• Belarusian: празры́сты (prazrýsty)
• Bikol Central: silag (bcl)
• Bulgarian: прозра́чен (bg) (prozráčen)
• Catalan: transparent (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 透明 (zh) (tòumíng)

• Czech: průhledný (cs) m
• Danish: transparent, gennemsigtig (da), klar (da)
• Dutch: doorzichtig (nl), transparant (nl)
• Esperanto: travidebla
• Finnish: läpinäkyvä (fi)
• French: transparent (fr)
• Galician: transparente (gl)
• Georgian: გამჭვირვალე (gamč̣virvale)
• German: durchsichtig (de), transparent (de)
• Greek: διαφανής (el) (diafanís)

  Ancient: διαφανής (diaphanḗs)

• Gujarati: પારદર્શક (pārdarśak)
• Hebrew: שָׁקוּף (he) (shakúf)
• Hindi: पारदर्शक (hi) (pārdarśak), पारदर्शी (hi) (pārdarśī), स्वच्छ (hi) (svacch), शुद्ध (hi) (śuddh)
• Hungarian: átlátszó (hu)
• Icelandic: gagnsær, gegnsær (is)
• Indonesian: tembus pandang (id), bening (id), transparan (id)
• Ingrian: kirkas
• Irish: gléineach, trédhearcach
• Italian: trasparente (it)
• Japanese: 透明 (ja) (とうめい, tōmei)
• Korean: 투명하다 (ko) (tumyeonghada)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: zelal (ku)

• Latin: pellūcidus, speculārius
• Latvian: caurspīdīgs, caurredzams, transparents
• Luxembourgish: duerchsiichteg
• Macedonian: прозрачен (prozračen), проѕирен (prodziren)
• Malay: lutsinar
• Maori: puata
• Marathi: पारदर्शक (mr) (pārdarśak), पारदर्शी (pārdarśī), स्वच्छ (svaccha), शुद्ध (śuddha)
• Norman: transpathent
• Norwegian: gjennomsiktig (no), transparent (no)
• Occitan: transparent (oc)
• Old English: þurhsīene
• Ottoman Turkish: شفاف (şeffaf)
• Plautdietsch: derchsechtich
• Polish: przezroczysty (pl), przejrzysty (pl), ażurowy (pl), bezbarwny (pl)
• Portuguese: transparente (pt)
• Punjabi: ਪਾਰਦਰਸ਼ੀ (pārdaraśī), ਪਾਰਦਰਸ਼ਕ (pārdaraśak)
• Romanian: transparent (ro) m or n, străveziu (ro)
• Russian: прозра́чный (ru) (prozráčnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: trìd-shoilleir, so-lèirsinneach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: прозиран

  Roman: proziran (sh)

• Slovak: priehľadný
• Slovene: prozoren, prosojen
• Spanish: transparente (es)
• Swedish: transparent (sv), genomskinlig (sv)
• Thai: ใส (th) (sǎi), โปร่งใส (bpròong-sǎi)
• Turkish: şeffaf (tr), saydam (tr)
• Ukrainian: прозо́рий (prozóryj)
• Volapük: dulogamovik (vo)
• Welsh: tryloyw (cy)

open, publicly visible

• Armenian: թափանցիկ (hy) (tʻapʻancʻik)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 公開／公开 (zh) (gōngkāi)

• Czech: průhledný (cs) m, transparentní (cs)
• Danish: gennemskuelig
• Finnish: läpinäkyvä (fi)
• French: transparent (fr)
• German: transparent (de)
• Hebrew: שקוף (he) (shaqúf)
• Hindi: खुला (hi) (khulā)
• Hungarian: transzparens (hu), átlátható (hu)
• Japanese: 透明 (ja) (tōmei), 可視化 (ja) (kashi ka)
• Luxembourgish: transparent
• Malay: telus
• Marathi: खुले (khule)
• Norman: transpathent
• Norwegian: gjennomsynlig, gjennomskuelig
• Polish: otwarty (pl), transparentny (pl)
• Portuguese: transparente (pt)
• Romanian: transparent (ro) m or n
• Russian: прозра́чный (ru) (prozráčnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: trìd-shoilleir
• Slovene: transparenten
• Spanish: transparente (es)
• Tagalog: aninagin, naaaninag
• Ukrainian: прозо́рий (prozóryj)

obvious

• Asturian: tresparente (ast)
• Bulgarian: явен (bg) (javen), очевиден (bg) (očeviden)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 明顯／明显 (zh) (míngxiǎn)

• Czech: zřejmý (cs), zřetelný (cs)
• Danish: åbenbar, klar (da), oplagt
• Esperanto: malkaŝema
• Finnish: läpinäkyvä (fi), ilmeinen (fi)
• French: transparent (fr)
• Galician: transparente (gl)
• German: erkennbar (de)
• Hebrew: גְּלוּי (he) (galúi)
• Hungarian: átlátható (hu), világos (hu)
• Irish: follasach, trédhearcach
• Japanese: 明らか (ja) (akiraka)
• Luxembourgish: transparent
• Norman: transpathent
• Norwegian: opplagt, åpenbar (no)
• Polish: jasny (pl), oczywisty (pl)
• Portuguese: transparente (pt), óbvio (pt), claro (pt)
• Romanian: clar (ro) m or n, evident (ro) m or n, limpede (ro) m or n, vădit (ro) m or n
• Russian: прозра́чный (ru) (prozráčnyj), я́сный (ru) (jásnyj), очеви́дный (ru) (očevídnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: trìd-shoilleir
• Spanish: transparente (es)
• Swedish: genomskinlig (sv)
• Volapük: klülabik (vo)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Albanian: ^{(please verify)} tejdukshëm (sq)
• Arabic: شَفّاف (šaffāf), ^{(please verify)} هَفَّاف (haffāf)
• Azerbaijani: ^{(please verify)} şəffaf (az)
• Dutch: ^{(please verify)} transparant (nl), ^{(please verify)} doorzichtig (nl)
• Esperanto: ^{(please verify)} malkaŝema
• Estonian: ^{(please verify)} läbipaistev (et)
• French: ^{(please verify)} transparent (fr)
• Georgian: ^{(please verify)} გამჭვირვალე (gamč̣virvale)
• Gujarati: ^{(please verify)} પારદર્શક (pārdarśak)
• Hindi: ^{(please verify)} निर्मल (hi) (nirmal), ^{(please verify)} स्वच्छ (hi) (svacch), ^{(please verify)} पारदर्शी (hi) (pārdarśī), ^{(please verify)} प्रकाशबेदा (prakāśbedā)
• Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} nyílt (hu)
• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} transparan (id)
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} trasparente (it)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 투명한 (ko) (tumyeonghan)
• Lithuanian: ^{(please verify)} skaidrus
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 透光 (zh) (tòu guāng)
• Mongolian: ^{(please verify)} тунгалаг (mn) (tungalag)
• Persian: ^{(please verify)} شفاف (fa)
• Romanian: ^{(please verify)} transparent (ro)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ^{(please verify)} провидан

  Roman: ^{(please verify)} providan (sh), ^{(please verify)} prozirno (sh), ^{(please verify)} progledno

• Slovak: ^{(please verify)} čistý
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} transparente (es)
• Swahili: ^{(please verify)} anga (sw)
• Tagalog: ^{(please verify)} nanganganinag, linaw, tagusang liwanag(light) o sinag(rays). water is clear-malinaw ang tubig, the sun rays penetrate the clear sky- Tagus ang sinag ng araw sa malinis na kalangitan/himpapawid. the direct tagalog equivalent is tagus/tagusan (penetration)
• Telugu: ^{(please verify)} పారదర్శకమైన (pāradarśakamaina)
• Turkish: ^{(please verify)} şeffaf (tr)
• Ukrainian: ^{(please verify)} прозорий (prozoryj)
• Uyghur: ^{(please verify)} süzük
• Vietnamese: ^{(please verify)} trong suốt (vi)
• Welsh: ^{(please verify)} tryloyw (cy)

Catalan

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin trānspārentem (“transparent”), present active participle of transpareō, from Latin trāns + pareō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [tɾəns.pəˈɾen]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [tɾəns.pəˈɾent]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [tɾans.paˈɾent]
• Rhymes: -ent

Adjective

transparent m or f (masculine and feminine plural transparents)

1. transparent

   Antonym: opac

Derived terms

• transparentment

Related terms

• transparència

Further reading

• “transparent” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “transparent”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
• “transparent” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “transparent” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

Czech

Noun

transparent m inan

1. banner or placard

Declension

Declension of transparent (hard masculine inanimate)

	singular	plural
nominative	transparent	transparenty
genitive	transparentu	transparentů
dative	transparentu	transparentům
accusative	transparent	transparenty
vocative	transparente	transparenty
locative	transparentu	transparentech
instrumental	transparentem	transparenty

Danish

Adjective

transparent

1. transparent

Noun

transparent c or n (singular definite transparenten or transparentet, plural indefinite transparenter)

1. banner
2. transparency, overhead

Synonyms

• (banner): banner n
• (transparency): overhead c

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Medieval Latin trānspārentem (“transparent”), present participle of transpareō, from Latin trāns + pareō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tʁɑ̃s.pa.ʁɑ̃/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

transparent (feminine transparente, masculine plural transparents, feminine plural transparentes)

1. transparent; see-through

   Le verre est transparent.

   The glass is transparent.

2. translucid; allowing light to pass through

   Le voile est transparent.

   The veil is translucid.

3. clear

   un ciel transparent ― a clear sky

   une lumière transparente — a clear light

4. transparent, easy to understand, unambiguous

   une allusion transparente ― an unambiguous allusion

5. unnoticed; invisible

   J’étais transparent à ses regards.

   I was invisible to him/her.

6. (figuratively) transparent; not hiding anything

   Notre comptabilité est transparente.

   Our accounting is transparent.

7. (linguistics) having the same meaning in several languages

   Antonym: faux-ami

   un mot transparent ― an international word

Related terms

• transparence

Descendants

• → Turkish: transparan

Noun

transparent m (plural transparents)

1. paper having ruled lines put underneath a white sheet of paper in order to write straight

   Cet enfant ne saurait écrire sans transparent.

   This child doesn't know how to write without ruled guides

2. (obsolete) screen lit from behind (now: enseigne lumineuse)

   Le soir, cette boutique avait pour enseigne un magnifique transparent.

   At night, this store had a magnificent backlit screen for a sign.

3. plastic film used to show images with an overhead, overhead transparency

   La présentation était trop rapide. J’ai à peine eu le temps de recopier les transparents.

   The presentation was too fast. I didn't even have the time to copy down the transparencies

References

• “transparent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Further reading

• “transparent”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

German

Etymology

18th century, from French transparent.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌtʁanspaˈʁɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

transparent (strong nominative masculine singular transparenter, comparative transparenter, superlative am transparentesten)

1. translucent (allowing light to pass through)

   Synonym: lichtdurchlässig

2. (less common) fully transparent; see-through

   Synonym: durchsichtig

3. (figurative) transparent

   Synonyms: durchschaubar, nachvollziehbar

Declension

Positive forms of transparent

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist transparent	sie ist transparent	es ist transparent	sie sind transparent
strong declension (without article)	nominative	transparenter	transparente	transparentes	transparente
	genitive	transparenten	transparenter	transparenten	transparenter
	dative	transparentem	transparenter	transparentem	transparenten
	accusative	transparenten	transparente	transparentes	transparente
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der transparente	die transparente	das transparente	die transparenten
	genitive	des transparenten	der transparenten	des transparenten	der transparenten
	dative	dem transparenten	der transparenten	dem transparenten	den transparenten
	accusative	den transparenten	die transparente	das transparente	die transparenten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein transparenter	eine transparente	ein transparentes	(keine) transparenten
	genitive	eines transparenten	einer transparenten	eines transparenten	(keiner) transparenten
	dative	einem transparenten	einer transparenten	einem transparenten	(keinen) transparenten
	accusative	einen transparenten	eine transparente	ein transparentes	(keine) transparenten

Comparative forms of transparent

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist transparenter	sie ist transparenter	es ist transparenter	sie sind transparenter
strong declension (without article)	nominative	transparenterer	transparentere	transparenteres	transparentere
	genitive	transparenteren	transparenterer	transparenteren	transparenterer
	dative	transparenterem	transparenterer	transparenterem	transparenteren
	accusative	transparenteren	transparentere	transparenteres	transparentere
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der transparentere	die transparentere	das transparentere	die transparenteren
	genitive	des transparenteren	der transparenteren	des transparenteren	der transparenteren
	dative	dem transparenteren	der transparenteren	dem transparenteren	den transparenteren
	accusative	den transparenteren	die transparentere	das transparentere	die transparenteren
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein transparenterer	eine transparentere	ein transparenteres	(keine) transparenteren
	genitive	eines transparenteren	einer transparenteren	eines transparenteren	(keiner) transparenteren
	dative	einem transparenteren	einer transparenteren	einem transparenteren	(keinen) transparenteren
	accusative	einen transparenteren	eine transparentere	ein transparenteres	(keine) transparenteren

Superlative forms of transparent

number & gender		singular			plural
		masculine	feminine	neuter
predicative		er ist am transparentesten	sie ist am transparentesten	es ist am transparentesten	sie sind am transparentesten
strong declension (without article)	nominative	transparentester	transparenteste	transparentestes	transparenteste
	genitive	transparentesten	transparentester	transparentesten	transparentester
	dative	transparentestem	transparentester	transparentestem	transparentesten
	accusative	transparentesten	transparenteste	transparentestes	transparenteste
weak declension (with definite article)	nominative	der transparenteste	die transparenteste	das transparenteste	die transparentesten
	genitive	des transparentesten	der transparentesten	des transparentesten	der transparentesten
	dative	dem transparentesten	der transparentesten	dem transparentesten	den transparentesten
	accusative	den transparentesten	die transparenteste	das transparenteste	die transparentesten
mixed declension (with indefinite article)	nominative	ein transparentester	eine transparenteste	ein transparentestes	(keine) transparentesten
	genitive	eines transparentesten	einer transparentesten	eines transparentesten	(keiner) transparentesten
	dative	einem transparentesten	einer transparentesten	einem transparentesten	(keinen) transparentesten
	accusative	einen transparentesten	eine transparenteste	ein transparentestes	(keine) transparentesten

Derived terms

• Transparent
• Transparentpapier
• Transparenz

Further reading

• “transparent” in Duden online
• “transparent” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Latin

Verb

trānspārent

1. third-person plural present active indicative of trānspāreō

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From French transparent, from Medieval Latin transparens, from Latin transparere.

Adjective

transparent (indefinite singular transparent, definite singular and plural transparente, comparative mer transparent, superlative mest transparent)

1. transparent (quality of a material)

Synonyms

• gjennomsiktig

Noun

transparent m (definite singular transparenten, indefinite plural transparenter, definite plural transparentene)
transparent n (definite singular transparentet, indefinite plural transparent or transparenter, definite plural transparenta or transparentene)

1. a banner
2. a transparency (for use with a projector)

Synonyms

• (banner): banner

References

• “transparent” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From French transparent, from Medieval Latin transparens, from Latin transparere.

Adjective

transparent (indefinite singular transparent, definite singular and plural transparente)

1. transparent (quality of a material)

   Synonyms: gjennomsiktig, gjennomsynleg

Noun

transparent m (definite singular transparenten, indefinite plural transparentar, definite plural transparentane)

1. a banner

   Synonym: banner

2. a transparency (for use with a projector)
3. a White Transparent cultivar of apple

Usage notes

• (banner; transparency): In these senses, this noun was considered grammatically neuter prior to a 2018 spelling decision.

References

• “transparent” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Polish

Etymology

Borrowed from French transparent, from Medieval Latin trānspārēns, present participle of transpareō, from Latin trans + pareō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tranˈspa.rɛnt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -arɛnt
• Syllabification: tran‧spa‧rent

Noun

transparent m inan

1. banner

Declension

Declension of transparent

	singular	plural
nominative	transparent	transparenty
genitive	transparentu	transparentów
dative	transparentowi	transparentom
accusative	transparent	transparenty
instrumental	transparentem	transparentami
locative	transparencie	transparentach
vocative	transparencie	transparenty

Further reading

• transparent in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• transparent in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French transparent, Medieval Latin trānspārēns, trānspārēntis (“transparent”), present participle of transpareō, from Latin trans + pareō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌtran.spaˈrent/

Adjective

transparent m or n (feminine singular transparentă, masculine plural transparenți, feminine and neuter plural transparente)

1. transparent

Declension

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative/ accusative	indefinite	transparent		transparentă		transparenți	transparente
	definite	transparentul		transparenta		transparenții	transparentele
genitive/ dative	indefinite	transparent		transparente		transparenți	transparente
	definite	transparentului		transparentei		transparenților	transparentelor

Related terms

• transparență
• transpărea

See also

• translucid
• străveziu
• clar
• limpede