Wikipedia>Northern Moonlight: Not required

2026-09-12T06:12:58Z

Not required

New page

{{Documentation subpage}}
{{High-use}}
{{Template shortcut|lit|literal|literally}}

This template uses single quotation marks ({{char|'…'}}), because Wikipedia's Manual of Style at [[MOS:SINGLE]] calls for [[Gloss (annotation)#In linguistics|simple glosses]] to be enclosed this way.

== Usage ==
* <code><nowiki>{{literal translation}}</nowiki></code> → {{literal translation}}
* <code><nowiki>{{literal translation|lk=yes}}</nowiki></code> → {{literal translation|lk=yes}}
* <code><nowiki>{{literal translation|lk=on}}</nowiki></code> → {{literal translation|lk=on}}
* <code><nowiki>{{literal translation|a}}</nowiki></code> → {{literal translation|a}}
* <code><nowiki>{{literal translation|''a'' A}}</nowiki></code> → {{literal translation|''a'' A}}
* <code><nowiki>{{literal translation|a|b}}</nowiki></code> → {{literal translation|a|b}}
* <code><nowiki>{{literal translation|a|b|c|d}}</nowiki></code> → {{literal translation|a|b|c|d}}

The template takes up to four separate translations (<code>|a|b|c|d</code>). If each meaning is a single word, using serial commas is another stylistic choice: <code>|a, b, c, d</code>

The usage of this template is preferred when the literal meaning of a word differs from its actual meaning; in other instances, {{tlx|gloss}} or {{tlx|translation}} may be more suitable.

== See also ==
* {{tlx|gloss}} – similar template but without "lit." lead-in.
* {{tlx|translation}} – for cases where it isn't obvious that the word is a translation, or when ambiguity isn't preferred, such as translating titles of works.
<includeonly>{{sandbox other||

[[Category:Language formatting and function templates]]
[[Category:Translation templates]]
}}</includeonly>
== TemplateData ==
{{TemplateData header}}
<templatedata>
{
"params": {
"1": {
"label": "Literal meaning",
"description": "Gloss for a term",
"type": "string",
"required": false
},
"2": {
"label": "2nd literal meaning",
"description": "Another meaning, if any",
"type": "string"
},
"3": {
"label": "3rd literal meaning",
"description": "Another meaning, if any",
"type": "string"
},
"4": {
"label": "4th literal meaning",
"description": "Another meaning (last possible), if any",
"type": "string"
},
"sortable": {
"label": "Sortable",
"type": "string",
"description": "In sortable tables, ignore 'lit.'"
},
"i": {
"label": "Italic",
"description": "If 'yes', the prefix 'lit.' is italicized. The meaning is still not italicized. Italics of either is almost never necessary stylistically.",
"type": "string"
},
"lk": {
"label": "Link",
"type": "string",
"description": "If 'yes' or 'on', adds a link to 'lit.' for the article on literal translation, overriding the default behaviour (not linked)."
}
},
"description": "Format as literal translation. Only use when the literal meaning differs from the idiomatic meaning; otherwise, use {{gloss}} or {{translation}}."
}
</templatedata>

Template:Literal translation/doc - Revision history

Wikipedia>Northern Moonlight: Not required