The next few days will be marked by literary culture. Until May 12, the traditional Book Fair will be held in the City of Buenos Aires. This context provides a good opportunity to know what are the works that have been read for almost the entire planet thanks to translation into different languages. What is the most translated Argentine book?
A study of the Research Center of the PREPLY Language Platform revealed which are the most translated books according to their country of origin. The research conducts a detailed country ranking by country in which you can clearly see who are the foreign authors who seduce local readers, and vice versa.
Within the framework of the Book Fair 2025 at the La Rural Fairground, it is worth remembering that the translation is essential for literature and that it opens the door to a world full of new readings that enrich language. Yolanda of the weight, a specialist in Language of Prety, explains: “Reading is one of the best ways to enrich vocabulary when you are learning a new language, our teachers will agree on this and usually encourage their students to try to read some of the works of the language they are learning.”
And he adds: “Translated literature and, when you can, in its original language, it is a deep and motivating way to learn. It is not just about memorizing vocabulary: it is about entering a story and a vision of the world. And that is what makes learning make sense.”
As for the most translated books, the specialist explained that “every” bestseller “answers a question or concern that a society is asked at a certain time. Some books are” Longsellers “because they respond to concerns or fantasies that remain in force for several years. In that universe, it is worth reviewing the 5 most translated books in history:
1. The Bible
If we had to risk the most translated book in the world the answer is quite evident. The Bible, adding the new and old testament, was translated into 689 languages. It represents the history of the West and the data is framed that it is also the most read book in the world. It contains numerous books originally written in Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek Koiné.
2. The Little Prince
The Little Prince, first published in 1943, occupies second place in the ranking of the most translated books in the history of mankind. The creation of Antoine de Saint Exupéry has been translated into 300 languages and still still is a story that attracts new readers.
The book presents different characters that interact with the little prince and reviews all aspects of the human condition through a critical look. The protagonist travels from Planet on Planet, knowing characters that symbolize different aspects of the adult world: power, vanity, loneliness, obsession with work, among others.
3. Pinocchio
The great books touch important issues for the human being, and in that direction the third position of the ranking appears. One of those important issues for people is the lie, the central theme of Pinocchio. In Carlo Collodi’s book, written in 1881, the wooden doll that comes alive sees how his nose grows every time the truth is missing. The book served for several generations of parents to educate their children in honesty. Not only was it translated into multiple languages, it was also adapted to cinema, theater and television (such as the famous Disney version).
4. Tao Te Ching
The fourth most translated book belongs to the East. The Tao Te Ching is attributed to Lao TSE, written around the sixth century AC is composed of 81 short chapters in verse that transmit the wisdom of the Tao (the road), an invisible and natural force that governs the universe. It has become one of the fundamental publications for philosophy and Taoist religion. It has been translated into about 250 languages and is a fundamental reading for the believers of the Asian continent.
5. Communist Manifesto
In fifth place appears the communist manifesto written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848, a political text that laid the foundations of modern communism and was translated into 200 languages. It is a call to the revolution of the working class against the capitalist system and the exploitation of the workers by the bourgeoisie.
He maintains that the history of humanity is a class struggle, and proposes as a solution the abolition of private property, the collectivization of the means of production and the creation of a class without classes. Its global diffusion reflects the ideological influence of Marxism during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It was translated and distributed by communist parties and unions in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa especially
By way of bonus Track it should be noted that Alicia in Wonderland occupies the following position but is out of the top five. The lysergic story created by Lewis Carrol has inspired a lot of films, books and cartoons.
What is the most translated Argentine book?
And another bonus track is the case of the most translated book in Argentina. Its author has been Jorge Luis Borges (1889-1986), who accumulated awards of all kinds at the literary level. His book El Aleph, published in 1949 and brings together his most representative stories, heads the national ranking with translations in more than 25 languages. The story that gives title to the book revolves around a point in the space that contains all the points of the universe simultaneously, an idea as dazzling as disturbing.
The Argentine author has surpassed worldwide repercussions of the height of Augusto Roa Bastos or Mario Vargas Llosa, recently deceased, whose books were translated into 10 and 19 languages respectively.
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