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2.1.1. Tense, mood, aspect, person (for verbs)
4.1. How to use punctuation marks
4.2. Punctuation in greetings and closings
5.1. Grammatical and Lexical Registers
5.2. Formal Register vs Informal Register
1. Post-edition at Unbabel
At Unbabel we have a unique approach to translation: each text submitted by a customer is translated by our Machine Translation system, and then corrected by our community of editors in an online platform. By editing the output of the software, the editors ensure the quality of the translations and confirm that the message is accurate (i.e., has the same meaning as the original), fluent (i.e., can be easily understood and sounds natural) and is in line with the style requested by the clients (i.e. respects their register and terminology). In order to help editors do the best job possible, we provide various types of information:
- Customer instructions, which include the identification of the client and his requests to personalize the translation, such as the register that must be used to address the recipient of the message. Following these instructions is vital to deliver translations that match the client’s expectations.
- Glossaries, which correspond to specific vocabulary and expressions used by the client, and that must be respected by the editors.
- Translation Memories, which correspond to stored segments (expressions, sentences or paragraphs) that have previously been translated and accepted for customer usage. They are useful for ensuring consistency across translations.
We also have Smartcheck, which is an application that checks the grammar, morphology, orthography and style of the translations while being edited. By using a large set of rules, Smartcheck flags words or groups of words that may present some kind of issue.
Finally, in order to deliver the best possible translation, we also provide these guidelines about your language specifications. Please, read them carefully and always follow these instructions in your editions.
2. Grammar
2.1. Agreement
2.1.1. Tense, mood, aspect, person (for verbs)
As for tense, unlike in English, the form of a Chinese verb never changes, regardless of whether it is present, past or future tense. However, Chinese adopts adverbs or particles such as “已经” “过” and “了” before or after a verbs to show the completion of an action. “过” often follows a monomorphemic element.
Example
Source text: This thing has been done.
✘ 这件事已经做。
✓ 这件事做过了。
✓ 这件事已经做了。
Please pay attention to the different tones by using these particles or adverbs. “了” is usually used in spoken Chinese under informal situations, while “已经” can be used both for formal and informal situations. For business-related materials like emails, websites, etc., please always use the formal expression.
Example
Source text: The operation has been completed.
✘ 此操作完成。
✓ 此操作已经完成。
Please note that in some cases, 已经 and 了should appear together, or 过and 了should appear together, depending on the context and tones.
Example
Source text: This thing has been done.
✘ 这件事做了。
✘ 这件事已经做。
✓ 这件事做过了。
✓ 这件事已经做了。
✓ 这件事已经完成。
✓ 这件事已经完成了。
As for mood, in English, there are some imperative sentences such as “Let’s…” to which should be paid careful attention when translating them into Chinese. Usually, most editors tend to translate them as “让我们来……”. This is more likely to be used in spoken Chinese. If it is in a formal context, please avoid using “让”.
Example
Source text: Let’s discuss about this plan.
✘ 让我们来讨论这项计划。
✓ 我们来讨论一下这项计划。
2.1.2. Number (nouns)
There are no differences between plural form and singular form in Chinese. The way to show the quantity of nouns is by using a number before it. However, do remember that when indicating multiple objects, the number should be followed by the appropriate unit of measurement (counter), especially after some system automatically inserted formats.
Example
Source text: {number} shirts
✘ {number} 衬衫
✓ {number} 件衬衫
2.2. Determiners
Unlike English, determiners are usually not used in Chinese. But as mentioned above, when there is a number before a noun, a proper classifier should be added after the number.
Example
Source text: Two buses
✘ 两巴士
✓ 两辆巴士
Also, depending on the context, demonstratives like ‘这’(this) or ‘那’ (that) may be added when necessary. Also, with regard to the plurality of the nouns, please consider adding the word ‘些’ after the demonstratives.
Example
Source text: The buses
✓ 这些/那些巴士 (depending on the context)
2.3. Prepositions
The translation of prepositions in Chinese may be tricky because the same preposition can be translated in different ways depending on the context. Sometimes, a preposition may be translated as a verb for readability.
Example
Source text: a tool for building code
✓ 用于创建代码的工具
✓ 适用于创建代码的工具
✓ 创建代码的工具
2.4. Pronouns
In general, it is not necessary to translate every pronoun into Simplified Chinese. As long as the meaning is not affected, please omit the pronouns for fluent flow of the text. In a business related material, please use "您" instead of "你".
Example
Source text: You may have to adjust some features of your device.
✘ 你可能必须调整设备的一些功能。
✘ 您可能需要调整您的设备的一些功能。
✓ 您可能需要调整设备的一些功能。
3. Orthography
3.1. Abbreviations
Abbreviations are usually not used in Simplified Chinese. When handling English abbreviations in translation, please apply the following general rules:
- The use of abbreviation should be based on the English source text.
- Abbreviation should not contain a space.
- English abbreviation of days of the week should be translated as follows:
Mon
|
Tue
|
Wed
|
Thu
|
Fri
|
Sat
|
Sun
|
周一
|
周二
|
周三
|
周四
|
周五
|
周六
|
周日
|
3.2. Capitalization
Generally, capitalization does not apply to Chinese characters. However, when dealing with the capitalized English characters such as proper nouns, please follow the original format.
Example
Source text: Please share this article on Facebook.
✘ 请在facebook上分享这篇文章。
✓ 请在Facebook上分享这篇文章。
3.3. Possessive adjectives
In English, possessives are frequently used. However, in Chinese, please avoid translating every possessive adjective, even if it is present in English (please refer to the examples in Pronouns above). In addition, please also avoid using too many “的” in a sentence. If the meaning is not affected, please omit “的” for readability.
Example
Source text: You can do many of the same things by using new tools.
✘ 您可以使用新的工具做很多相同的事情。
✓ 您可以使用新工具做很多相同的事情。
3.4. Foreign words
In Chinese, nearly all the foreign words have been localized, as microphone (麦克风), coffee
(咖啡), etc. Usually there are no specific rules for the translation of the foreign words. Please follow the most commonly used translation and avoid using uncommon forms. Since Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese may sometimes adopt different lexical forms for the same foreign word, different regions may also use different translation conventions for the same foreign words. Please use the appropriate translation based on the region.
Examples
Source text: hacker
✘ 骇客 (commonly used in Traditional Chinese)
✓ 黑客 (commonly used in Simplified Chinese)
Source text: strawberry
✘ 士多啤梨 (commonly used in Hong Kong)
✓ 草莓 (commonly used in other areas)
3.5. Numerals
Regarding format for numerals (written in numbers or words), please always respect the source text: if they are written as digits in the source text, this should be maintained in the translation; Similarly, if they are written as words, they should be translated to the target language.
In Chinese, both numerals (symbol that represents a number. e.g. 1, 2, 3, 234, etc.) and spelling out numbers (e.g. 一 (one), 二 (two), 三(three), 二百三十四(two hundred and thirty-four)) can be used in text, depending on the contexts. Please follow the following rules:
- When a numeral is used with measurement units, it should be written in number.
- When used in a date format, like MM-YY-DD, it should be written in number.
- When used in an equation or a function, it should be written in number.
- In other cases, if a numeral is used in the source, then the target should follow that form.
- If a letter is used in the source, usually, Chinese characters are used.
As for large numbers, unlike in English, there are no punctuation indicating groups of thousand. However, some characters (such as “百”, “千”, “万”) can be used to describe large numbers.
Example
Source text: 30,000,000
✓ 3千万
In English, a period is used to indicate the decimal place. Same applies to Chinese.
Example
Source text: $2.5
✓ 2.5美元
Please remember that there is no need to show the number symbol like # in Chinese.
However, some digital formats are rarely used in Chinese, for example "(I), (II), (III)" or "(i), (ii), (iii)", so please follow the following rules:
- If the English source use Arabic numerals or English letters, the Chinese translation shall remain in the original format. For example: “(1), (2), (3)” or “(a), (b), (c)”.
- If the English source use Roman numerals, please modulate them to Chinese style. For example: “ (I), (II), (III)” should be changed into “(一)、(二)、(三)”.
3.6. Symbols
In the use of symbols (%, /, |, { }, etc.), Chinese usually follows the English source format.
If the percentage is written in number with a % (such as 20%), it should be the same in Chinese translation. If the percentage is written in characters (as 5 percent), it can be translated as “5%” or “百分之五” in Chinese. Please note that there is no whitespace between the number and the symbol “%”.
- Note about the use of %: In retail contexts, discounts are typically communicated through the term "折" rather than through percentages. For instance, a 75% discount is referred to as "二五折," which means the consumer pays only 25% of the original price. This method is more aligned with Chinese understanding, making it easier for customers to grasp how much they are paying relative to the original price.
The curly brackets "{ }" are often used to display the automatically inserted content in a system, so please do not translate the English content within it. For example: in "visit {course_name}", "course_name" in { } should be kept in English. Only "visit" should be translated. Therefore, the translation should be "访问 {course_name}". Please note that there are no whitespace between Chinese characters and the symbols.
The symbol "&" is rarely used in Chinese, so in most cases, please change it into "和" and don't keep it in Chinese. However, when "&" is used in the name of a place, it is not necessary to always change it into "和". Instead, it can be omitted by integrating the two coordinated parts in the translation.
Example
Source text: Suwan Golf & Country Club
✓ 苏万高尔夫乡村俱乐部 (Suwan Golf & Country Club)
3.7. Whitespaces
Simplified Chinese usually doesn’t have whitespaces between characters/words.
Example
Source text: Are you facing this issue only with automatic upload?
✘ 您是否只在自动上传时 遇到这个 问题 ?
✘ 您是否只在自 动上传时遇到这个问题?
✓ 您是否只在自动上传时遇到这个问题?
However, there are some exceptions:
- Place a whitespace before and after foreign words
Example
Source text: On LeanCloud, the storage of data is done with AVObject.
✘ 在LeanCloud上,数据存储是围绕AVObject进行的。
✘ 在 LeanCloud上,数据存储是围绕AVObject 进行的。
✓ 在 LeanCloud 上,数据存储是围绕 AVObject 进行的。
Note: When it comes to product and brand names with mixed scripts, follow the official usage as defined by the brand, even if it deviates from general spacing rules:
Example
Source text: Douban FM
✘ 豆瓣 FM
✓ 豆瓣FM
- Place a whitespace before and after numbers
Example
Source text: I spent 5000 yuan on grocery shopping today.
✘ 今天出去买菜花了 5000元。
✘ 今天出去买菜花了5000元。
✓ 今天出去买菜花了 5000 元。
- Place a whitespace between numbers and units
Example
Source text: The speed of the optical fibre cable of my house is 10 Gbps, and the SSD is 20TB in total.
✘ 我家的光纤入户宽频有 10Gbps,SSD 一共有 20TB。
✓ 我家的光纤入户宽频有 10 Gbps,SSD 一共有 20 TB。
Exception: As mentioned before, there should not be any spacing between numbers and percentages or degrees.
Examples
Source text: Today's temperature gets as high as 33°.
✘ 今天的气温高达 33 °。
✓ 今天的气温高达 33°。
Source text: The new MacBook Pro gains a 15% boost on CPU performance.
✘ 新 MacBook Pro 有 15 % 的 CPU 性能提升。
✓ 新 MacBook Pro 有 15% 的 CPU 性能提升。
- Do not place whitespaces before or after punctuation in fullwidth form
Example
Source text: I just bought an iPhone, I'm very happy about this!
✘ 刚刚买了一部 iPhone ,好开心!
✓刚刚买了一部 iPhone,好开心!
4. Punctuation
4.1. How to use punctuation marks
The general rules for punctuation marks used in Chinese are as follows:
- Use full-width (,。?《》!)instead of half-width (, . ? “ ” !).
- One space should be left after each punctuation.
- No need to localize the dot in points. For example, in “1.”, “2.”, they should not be localized as “1。” ,“2。”.
The specific rules for each punctuation mark are as follows:
- Comma
Chinese comma (,) should be in full-width. Please note that unlike English, when enumerating several items in Chinese, the pause symbol (、) should be used instead of the comma.
Example
Source text: It should be adjusted according to its size, weight and length.
✘ 它必须根据尺寸,重量和长度进行调整。
✓ 它必须根据尺寸、重量和长度进行调整。
- Quotation Mark
When quoting what a person is saying in Chinese, please use the double quotes “ ” in half-width. When describing the name of a book, movie or magazine, please use the double quotes « » instead of “ ”.
Example
Source text: The magazine she gave me is New Opinion.
✘ 她给我的杂志是“New Opinion”。
✓ 她给我的杂志是《New Opinion》。
- En dash (–)
The en dash (–) is used to indicate a span or range of numbers, usually with spaces before and after.
Example
Source text: 3 – 5 days
✓ 3 – 5 天
- Em dash (──)
The em dash (──) is often used in a manner similar to parentheses, it can also substitute for something missing. Unlike in English, we use a double em dash (——) in Chinese. Oftentimes, the elements before and after the em dash can be integrated into one sentence in Chinese. If punctuation is needed, you may use ( ) to mark the supplemented element. Sometimes, it can be replaced by characters such as “如” and “即”.
Example
Source text: The product features – flexibility and reliability are the key to success.
✘ 产品特点—灵活性和可靠性是成功的关键。
✓ 产品特点(灵活性和可靠性)是成功的关键。
✓ 产品特点如灵活性和可靠性是成功的关键。
- Period
Please use full-width Chinese period (。) except for English initials, trademarks, trade names, and company names which should be kept as the English format in the translation such as “U.S.A” and “New Discovery Ltd.”.
Please also use the English period (.) as a separator for a digit group or a filename such as “202.306.54” and “SERVE.doc”.
- Parentheses
Please use full-width parentheses()if the text surrounded by the parentheses includes double byte characters. There is no space between the full-width parentheses and the text outside of them.
Example
Source text: A charge (if applicable) will apply if it is cancelled now.
✘ 如果现在取消,将收取费用(如适用)。
✘ 如果现在取消,将收取费用 (如适用) 。
✓ 如果现在取消,将收取费用(如适用)。
Half-width parentheses ( ) should be used if the text surrounded by the parentheses is single byte characters and/or number. A single byte space should be left between the half-width parentheses and the text outside of them.
Example
Source text: China entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001.
✘ 中国于2001年加入世界贸易组织(WTO)。
✓ 中国于2001年加入世界贸易组织 (WTO)。
- Colon
Please use full-width colon (:) in Chinese translation. There is no space between the full-width colon and the subsequent characters.
Example
Source text: Please follow the instruction: download the file first.
✘ 请根据指示操作: 先下载文件。
✓ 请根据指示操作:先下载文件。
- Ellipsis
For the usage of ellipsis (…) in English, we use a double ellipsis (……) in Chinese instead. Please note that an ellipsis is not three periods (...). It’s a single punctuation.
Example
Source text: You can win coins, exp, boosters...
✘ 您可以获得金币、经验、道具...
✓ 您可以获得金币、经验、道具……
- Interpunct
When translating a foreign person’s name into Chinese, you should add an interpunct (·) between his/her given name and family name.
Example
Source text: Albert Einstein
✘ 阿尔伯特爱因斯坦
✓ 阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦
4.2. Punctuation in greetings and closings
In Chinese, when greeting to a recipient of a letter or an email, a colon (:) is usually used after the person’s name.
Example
Source text: Dear Mr. Zhang,
✓ 尊敬的张先生:
If the English text is like “Hi, Mr. Zhang”, then a comma is usually used after the name and an exclamation mark is used after the greeting. The translation is “张先生,您好!”. Please note that the person’s name is usually placed before the greeting in Chinese.
Example
Source text: Hi, Mr. Zhang
✘ 您好,张先生:
✓ 张先生,您好!
When closing a greeting, an exclamation mark is used in some expressions, although sometimes it is preferred to leave the closing without punctuation behind.
Examples
Source text: Best regards,
✓ 祝好!
✓ 顺颂商祺
Source text: Have a nice day
✓ 祝您有美好的一天!
5. Register
5.1. Grammatical and Lexical Registers
Register refers to the level of formality used in the text. It shows how our clients address their customers and contributes to the voice of the brand itself. Register may vary depending on the company, the brand, the service they offer, the customers, and the target language.
We make a first main distinction between grammatical and lexical register: the first one regards the the use of pronouns and verb person (for the languages to which this morphological feature is applied), while the latter is related to lexical choices, since some words and expressions also have a degree of formality or colloquialism.
Both these registers are also divided into formal and informal, as shown below.
5.2. Formal Register vs Informal Register
In Chinese, the formal register should be used in the formal occasions such as in workplace, business materials, etc. In some cases, informal register is also required by our clients in order to show the closeness or friendliness. So, it is important to select appropriate lexical items to maintain a proper formality in the translation. Some examples are listed below.
Category
|
English
|
Formal
|
Informal
|
Type of Register
|
Personal pronouns
|
you
|
您
|
你
|
Grammatical
|
Verbs
|
come
|
莅临 (光临)
|
来
|
Grammatical
|
Possessive pronouns
|
your
|
您的
|
你的
|
Grammatical
|
Greetings
|
Dear Sir/Madam
|
尊敬的先生/女士
|
先生/女士
|
Lexical
|
Closings
|
Best regards
|
此致敬礼!
顺颂商祺!
|
祝好!(depends on specific occasion)
|
Lexical
|
6. Localization challenges
6.1. Proper nouns
Proper nouns refer to unique entities, such as persons, places, organizations, brands, events, etc. As foreign proper nouns are concerned, languages may adopt different rules regarding whether they should be translated or kept in the original language. When editing a text, you should follow your languages rules for all different types of proper nouns listed below. However, please note that if there is a glossary provided by the client that includes these types of units, you should always apply the glossary items.
6.1.1. People and names
The translation of a person name depends on the clients’ specific requirements. Some clients prefer to transliterate the foreign person name while others may prefer to keep it untranslated. If it is the former, usually, you should translate it literally. Note that for a famous person, please use the official translation or the one that is most commonly accepted in China. Translators can refer to Baidu Encyclopedia or the official Chinese websites. Since there may exist several homonyms for the same name, please use the most commonly used Chinese characters for the person name. Do remember to add a centered dot between the first name, middle name and last name.
Example
Source text: Harry Potter
✘ 哈力•波特
✓ 哈利•波特
6.1.1.1. Usernames and nicknames
Just as you wouldn’t translate an email address, you should not translate or transliterate usernames, gaming names, and other handles that are chosen by the users. These are generally unique to single individuals and translating or transliterating them may cause confusion.
6.1.2. Places
The translation of places also depends on the clients’ specific requirements. Some clients prefer to localize the name of a places while others may prefer to keep it untranslated. If it is necessary to translate the name of the place, please use the official or the most commonly accepted translation in China. Translators can refer to Baidu Encyclopedia or the official Chinese websites. Since there may exist several homonyms for the same name, please use the most commonly used Chinese characters for the place.
Example
Source text: Banff Park
✘ 班夫公园
✓ 班芙公园
6.1.3. Organizations
As for the translation of organizations, it depends on the clients’ specific requirements. Some clients prefer to localize the name of the organizations while others may prefer to keep it untranslated. If it is necessary to translate, please use the official or the most commonly accepted translation in China. Translators can make references to Baidu Encyclopedia or the official Chinese websites. Since there are many homonyms in Chinese, please use the most commonly used Chinese characters for the organization.
Example
Source text: McGill University
✘ 麦基尔大学
✓ 麦吉尔大学
6.1.4. Brands and products
As for the translation of brands and products, it depends on the clients’ specific requirements. Some clients prefer to localize the name of the brands and products while others may prefer to keep it untranslated. If it is necessary to translate, please use the official or the most commonly accepted translation in China. Translators can make references to Baidu Encyclopedia or the official Chinese websites. Since there are many homonyms in Chinese, please use the most commonly used Chinese characters. Unlike person names, please do not add a centered dot in the name of brand if the brand is named after the designer.
Examples
Source text: Estée Lauder
✘ 雅诗•兰黛
✓ 雅诗兰黛
Source text: LOUIS VUITTON
✘ 路易•威登
✓ 路易威登
6.1.5. Other entities
As for the translation of other entities such as art (paintings), events (festivals, theatre plays, etc.), please also follow the client’s specific requirements. Some clients prefer to localize the name of their brands and products while others may prefer to keep it untranslated. If it is necessary to translate, please use the official or the most commonly used translation in China. Translators can make references to Baidu Encyclopedia, the official Chinese websites or Douban Movie (for movies or plays). Since there are many homonyms in Chinese, please use the most commonly used Chinese characters for the names.
For example, “The Middle” is an American sitcom. There are many different translations for it such as “中产家庭”, “���右不逢源”, “左右为难”. Since Baidu Encyclopedia and Douban Movie both use “中产家庭”, please use this translation.
6.2. Acronyms and initials
When dealing with English acronyms and initials, please apply the following general rules:
- Acronym and initial letters should be all uppercased.
- If "s" is added at the end of English acronym, meaning plural, the "s" should be dropped when localizing into Chinese.
Example
Source text: The placeholders can be replaced by the HTMLs.
✘ 占位符可以被html替换。
✘ 占位符可以被HTMLs替换。
✓ 占位符可以被HTML替换。
Sometimes, in order to make readers understand what the acronyms stand for, an explanation in Chinese is needed. In such case, please put the Chinese translation or explanation in parentheses after the English acronyms at the first time it appears in the article. Then, only use the English acronyms in the rest of the text.
Example
Source text: PaaS
✓ PaaS(平台即服务)
6.3. Date format
When formatting the date, please use YYYY 年 MM 月 DD 日, and keep the numbers in digit form.
Example
Source text: April 3, 2008
✘ 2008年四月三日
✓ 2008年4月3日
As for the day of the week, please use “星期X”, for example, Friday (星期五). If the English unit is an abbreviation, please use the format “周X”. For example, Fri (周五).
6.4. Time format
In Chinese, we tend to keep the numbers in the source text, but we must use half width colon (:) rather than full width colon (:).
Example
Source text: 12:30 p.m.
✘ 12:30 pm
✓ 下午12:30
For a time format in am/pm, we can either convert it in a 24 hour format or translate them as 凌晨/上午/下午/晚上 accordingly:
12 am
|
凌晨12点
|
3 am
|
凌晨3点
|
7 am
|
上午 7 点
|
12 pm
|
中午12点
|
6 pm
|
下午6点
|
9 pm
|
晚上 9点
|
6.5. Measures
Measures should not be converted unless explicitly specified in the instructions. In Chinese, there are appropriate official translations for measurement units (eg. 5 毫米 , 5 摄氏度), please follow them in the translation. However, sometimes the client may require keeping the abbreviations in English (e.g. 2 ft, 20 cm), in which case you should follow the client’s instructions. In all cases, there's a whitespace between the number and the unit of measurement.
6.6. Currency
Describe the different currencies in Chinese way. For example: for Euros, use “欧元”; for US dollars, use “美元” etc., and leave the currency values as in the source text.
Example
Source text: 100 dollars
✘ 100 dollars
✘ 一百美元
✓ 100 美元
Please directly change the symbol of currency into Chinese, instead of keeping it in the Chinese translation.
Example
Source text: $25
✘ $25美元
✓ 25 美元
6.7. Address format
When local addresses are used, please follow the Chinese word order, which is opposite to the English order, i.e. [country name + province name + city name + district name + street name + block name + unit number (room number)], and the postcode is placed at the end with a whitespace (if applicable).
Example:
中国湖南省长沙市和平区光谷大道13栋2单元502室内 邮编:401302
Please write the Chinese zip code as a six-digit block. When handling foreign addresses, please translate them with the official names in Chinese and follow the Chinese order. Sometimes the clients may require keeping the foreign addresses untranslated for accuracy. So please, follow the client’s instruction.
Example
Source text: 440 AIRPORT BLVD,BURLINGAME,CA94010,U.S.A
✓ 美国加利福利亚州柏林甘市机场大道440号 邮编:94010
7. Most frequent errors
There are some common problems in Chinese translations, and the most frequent errors are listed below for reference. Translators need to be careful in handling these cases to avoid making mistakes when doing editings.
- Overly literal
Usually “overly literal” translation is caused by word-for-word translation. If texts are translated directly without overall understanding of the paragraph, the contents may sound unnatural or even ridiculous. Strict word-to-word translation could also make the tone stiff and unnatural.
Example
Source text: If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
✘ 如果您有任何疑问,请不要犹豫和我联系。
✓ 如果您有任何疑问,请随时和我联系。
In addition, please pay attention if an idiom is used in the English source. In such cases, you should avoid word-for-word translation.
Example
Source text: He called me all kinds of names.
✘ 他叫我各种名字。
✓ 他用各种难听的话骂我。
- Lexical selection
There are a lot of polysemous words in Chinese. Translators shall choose the most appropriate word based on the context, otherwise, the translation may sound awkward.
Example
Source text: Unfortunately, the course has not been uploaded on the website.
✘ 不幸的是,该课程还没有上传到网站上。
✓ 遗憾的是,该课程还没有上传到网站上。
In Chinese, “不幸” is usually used to describe a miserable situation. However, in this sentence, “unfortunately” just means “unluckily”.
- Overuse of possessives
As mentioned before, it is common in English to use many possessives in texts. However, translating these possessives directly in Chinese may lead to unnatural translation and stiff tone. Too many “的” in one sentence can also affect the flow of the text. Therefore, editors need to consider omitting certain “的” for the sake of a better readability.
Example
Source text: You must fill in with your detailed information such as your name, age and occupation.
✘ 您必须填写您的详细的信息,例如您的姓名、年龄和职业。
✓ 您必须填写您的详细信息,例如姓名、年龄和职业。
8. Useful online resources
English Chinese translation dictionaries
Bilingual dictionaries
Encyclopedia
English verb conjugator
English grammar guide
English dictionaries
Thesauruses
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