This article explores the semantic challenges encountered in translating Katherine Mansfield’s short story A Cup of Tea from English into Uzbek. As a modernist writer, Mansfield’s language is rich in subtext, irony, and cultural nuance, which often poses difficulties in preserving meaning during translation. The study analyzes key lexical items, idiomatic expressions, and culturally bound references that resist direct equivalence in the target language. Using a comparative analysis of the original and selected Uzbek translations, the article identifies shifts in meaning, losses, and compensation strategies employed by translators. Emphasis is placed on how semantic nuances—such as connotation, tone, and implication—are affected by structural and cultural differences between English and Uzbek. The findings highlight the importance of context-sensitive translation strategies and underscore the translator’s role in mediating between linguistic systems and cultural frameworks to retain the author’s intended effect.