How to know the meaning of a word without translating it?

Yes. 1. Use an english dictionary 2. Use context clues. This one is tricky because it can be innacurate so it depends on the situation. If you see a word a single time but just want to understand what is being communicated, you don't have to understand the exact meaning of the word, just make an educated guess. If you see the same unfamiliar word often, you will get a better understanding of what it means, but you still run the risk of it being slightly inaccurate. Overall, if you're going for accuracy, then a translator is often a good start

How can you possibly know 95% of the words in just months? Unless by "many months you mean 78 months? Depending on your native language (or your deep understanding of English) you'll be able to recognize cognates and sometimes use those to understand meaning. Also context help. But sometimes, you just need a dictionary.

Well, context clues could work, but that may not always be reliable to the true/full meaning of a word. For example, in contradictory or misleading contexts: >"Despite his **jejune** remarks, the audience was deeply moved." If you assume the sentence means his remarks were profound, you’d be wrong, as jejune actually means dull or naïve. Or, in poetry or literary works with abstract language: >"The stars wept in their **eldritch** sorrow, casting eerie shadows upon the land." The sentence suggests something mysterious, but eldritch specifically means weird, ghostly, or supernatural—context alone might not pinpoint it precisely.

There are a million words in the English language. Nobody knows close to 95% of them. You probably know 3000-5000 or so. That’s all that’s required for fluency. The only way to guess at a word’s definition and have a good chance of getting close to the correct answer is to use context clues in the surrounding text. “The young boy wasn’t very good at taking apart the feathers and **fletching** the arrow. Of course, he wouldn’t be. He was just a **neophyte**, after all, while I’d had years and years of experience.” Someone who didn’t know what “fletching” or “neophyte” meant could figure it out from the rest of the text in the quote above.

I’m a native speaker and I still have to look up words in the dictionary sometimes. In the English language there’s an estimated 900,000 words. That’s before you add in every new one being added everyday. Sometimes you can guess from context, sometimes you need more information to get to that point.

If you know 95% of words, you could use an English dictionary? Get an English definition of the word

Your claim is jumentous.

> any way to know the meaning of a word without having to translate Look for the word with Google **image** search.

Learn Latin and Greek prefixes https://excelenglishinstitute.com/using-greek-and-latin-prefixes-to-understand-words

If you know the root word + the affix, you'll be good. Also, context clues is the usual way. The sentence around the word will usually tell you what it means.

Knowing Latin and Greek roots can help, but I am a native English speaker who has a good vocabulary, and I still come across new words every few days. I know this because I write them down. (Today’s word was “cynosure”.) There is no shame in using a dictionary.

Do you mean you know the definition of every word in your native language? That seems unlikely but I guess all languages are different. I certainly still have to look up words, especially because so many words we learn a definition of come to us by reading books where we infer a meaning from context and actually that can often be wrong. Look at the word nonplussed. The definition decades ago meant confused/unsure. But in the US there arose a use of it as meaning 'not bothered/impressed', presumably from a literal reading of the word as non (not) and 'plussed' as a 'verbing' of the noun 'plus' where you are talking about good things, "having a job with a 2 hour lunch break is a big plus".

You can google the definition in english, which will make you better at speaking without having to translate in your had first

If you knew 95% of English words you wouldn’t need a dictionary, you’d BE a dictionary.

I make a theory about what the word means, substitute a simpler word, then look it up and see if I’m close.

One effective way to understand the meaning of a word without directly translating it is by focusing on context. When you encounter a new word, try to infer its meaning by looking at the surrounding words or the overall situation in which it’s used. Pay attention to its root, prefixes, or suffixes, as these can provide clues. Additionally, try using the word in different sentences or examples to see how it fits, which helps strengthen your understanding of its meaning without relying on translation. Over time, you'll develop a deeper intuition for words in context.

Memorising common prefixes and suffixes will help you with understanding a lot of new words, especially more advanced ones

The same way a native speaker does, by looking up the definition in an English dictionary. If you have a good grasp of English it's better to do that than to rely on your first language to figure it out. Not all translations are for 100% of the word, a word might mean something in another language for one of its definitions and something different for another of its definitions.

Try adding it to your vocabulary and create sentences with it throughout the day