Editorial status

Published 2026-07-23 · Last reviewed 2026-07-23 · Next review due 2027-01-19

  • Review cadence: Every 6 months
  • Verification badge: Verified
  • Review status: Current
  • Evidence level: editorial
  • Content owner: ONULSURI Editorial

Read the AI editorial policy

Introduction

These prompts help you use an AI assistant as a translation and localization aid. They are useful for first drafts, but AI translation can miss idioms, cultural nuance, and domain-specific terminology.

For anything legal, medical, contractual, or safety-related, have a fluent human speaker (ideally a professional translator) review the output before it is used.

How to Use These Prompts

  1. Pick the prompt matching your translation task.
  2. Fill in the source text, source/target language, and any tone or glossary requirements.
  3. Paste into your assistant and review the translation.
  4. Have a fluent speaker check terminology and tone before publishing or sending.

Safety Notice

  • AI translation can miss idioms, cultural nuance, and domain terminology. Have a fluent human speaker review anything public-facing, and use a certified translator for legal, medical, or official documents.

Prompt Cards

General Text Translation

Translate a passage from one language to another with a note on ambiguous phrases.

Prompt template

Translate the following text from {{source_language}} to {{target_language}}. Keep meaning and register natural in the target language rather than word-for-word. Flag any phrase that is ambiguous or has no direct equivalent, and explain your choice in one line.

Text:
{{text}}

Placeholders

{{source_language}}Source language
Language of the original text. Example: English
{{target_language}}Target language
Language to translate into. Example: Japanese
{{text}}Text
The passage to translate. Example: We're excited to announce our new pricing plans, effective next month.

Example input

source_language: English · target_language: Japanese · text: pricing announcement sentence.

Filled-in example

Translate the following text from English to Japanese. Keep meaning and register natural in the target language rather than word-for-word. Flag any phrase that is ambiguous or has no direct equivalent, and explain your choice in one line.

Text:
We're excited to announce our new pricing plans, effective next month.

Expected output format

The translated text, followed by a short list of any ambiguous phrases and the reasoning behind the chosen translation.

Customization tips

  • Specify the register (formal/business vs. casual) since many languages have distinct forms.
  • Provide the intended audience (e.g. "for a general consumer announcement") to guide word choice.

Limitations

  • Machine translation can miss cultural nuance, humor, and idioms — review with a native or fluent speaker for anything public-facing.
  • Quality varies significantly by language pair; less common pairs may need extra review.

Safety notes

  • Do not rely on AI translation alone for legal, medical, immigration, or safety-critical documents — use a certified human translator.
  • Have a fluent speaker verify terminology before publishing customer-facing translations.

Translate While Preserving Tone

Translate text while explicitly preserving a specific tone (e.g. playful, formal, urgent).

Prompt template

Translate the following text from {{source_language}} to {{target_language}}, preserving the {{tone}} tone of the original as closely as the target language allows. If a perfect tone match isn't possible, explain the trade-off you made.

Text:
{{text}}

Placeholders

{{source_language}}Source language
Language of the original text. Example: Korean
{{target_language}}Target language
Language to translate into. Example: English
{{tone}}Tone
The tone to preserve. Example: playful and lightly humorous
{{text}}Text
The passage to translate. Example: 이 기능, 진짜 유용해요! 한번 써보시면 다시는 예전 방식으로 못 돌아갈걸요 :)

Example input

source_language: Korean · target_language: English · tone: playful and lightly humorous · text: enthusiastic product line.

Filled-in example

Translate the following text from Korean to English, preserving the playful and lightly humorous tone of the original as closely as the target language allows. If a perfect tone match isn't possible, explain the trade-off you made.

Text:
이 기능, 진짜 유용해요! 한번 써보시면 다시는 예전 방식으로 못 돌아갈걸요 :)

Expected output format

The translated text in the target tone, plus a one-line note on any trade-off made to preserve tone over literal meaning.

Customization tips

  • Give an example sentence in the target language that has the tone you're aiming for.
  • Ask for two versions if tone and literal accuracy conflict, so you can choose.

Limitations

  • Humor, sarcasm, and wordplay often don't translate directly — expect a rewritten equivalent rather than a literal match.

Safety notes

  • Have a fluent speaker confirm the tone lands as intended before using it publicly, since tone misreads can offend or confuse.

Translate with a Technical Glossary

Translate technical or domain-specific text while enforcing consistent terminology from a glossary.

Prompt template

Translate the following {{domain}} text from {{source_language}} to {{target_language}}. Use these exact terminology mappings wherever they apply, and keep terminology consistent throughout: {{glossary}}

Text:
{{text}}

Placeholders

{{domain}}Domain
Subject area of the text. Example: software / API documentation
{{source_language}}Source language
Language of the original text. Example: English
{{target_language}}Target language
Language to translate into. Example: German
{{glossary}}Glossary
Term mappings to enforce. Example: "endpoint" -> "Endpunkt"; "rate limit" -> "Ratenbegrenzung"
{{text}}Text
The text to translate. Example: Each endpoint enforces a rate limit of 100 requests per minute.

Example input

domain: API documentation · source_language: English · target_language: German · glossary: endpoint/Endpunkt, rate limit/Ratenbegrenzung · text: rate limit sentence.

Filled-in example

Translate the following software / API documentation text from English to German. Use these exact terminology mappings wherever they apply, and keep terminology consistent throughout: "endpoint" -> "Endpunkt"; "rate limit" -> "Ratenbegrenzung"

Text:
Each endpoint enforces a rate limit of 100 requests per minute.

Expected output format

The translated text with glossary terms applied consistently, plus a note on any term in the text not covered by the glossary.

Customization tips

  • Keep your glossary in a reusable list and paste the same one into every related document for consistency.
  • Ask the assistant to flag any term it had to translate without a glossary match.

Limitations

  • The assistant may still miss a glossary term inside a compound word or unusual sentence structure — spot-check the result.

Safety notes

  • For safety-critical technical documentation (e.g. medical devices, industrial equipment), use a certified technical translator in addition to AI assistance.

Localize Marketing Copy

Adapt marketing copy for a target market, not just translate it word-for-word.

Prompt template

Localize (not just translate) the following marketing copy from {{source_language}} for a {{target_market}} audience. Adjust idioms, cultural references, and examples so they land naturally, but keep the core value proposition unchanged. List any reference you changed and why.

Copy:
{{text}}

Placeholders

{{source_language}}Source language
Language of the original copy. Example: English
{{target_market}}Target market
Country/region and language of the target audience. Example: France (French)
{{text}}Text
The marketing copy to localize. Example: Ready to hit the ground running? Our app gets you up and running in under five minutes — no strings attached.

Example input

source_language: English · target_market: France (French) · text: idiom-heavy marketing line.

Filled-in example

Localize (not just translate) the following marketing copy from English for a France (French) audience. Adjust idioms, cultural references, and examples so they land naturally, but keep the core value proposition unchanged. List any reference you changed and why.

Copy:
Ready to hit the ground running? Our app gets you up and running in under five minutes — no strings attached.

Expected output format

Localized copy in the target language, plus a short list of idioms or references that were adapted and the reasoning.

Customization tips

  • Share your brand voice guidelines so idiom substitutions stay on-brand.
  • Ask for a literal back-translation of the localized copy so you can sanity-check meaning drift.

Limitations

  • Cultural fit is subjective — validate localized copy with a native speaker or local team before publishing.

Safety notes

  • Have a local reviewer confirm claims comply with local advertising regulations, which vary by country.

Bilingual Proofreading

Check an existing translation against its source text and flag mismatches or awkward phrasing.

Prompt template

Compare this translation against the source text. Flag any mistranslation, omission, or awkward phrasing in the target language. For each issue, quote the problem phrase and suggest a fix.

Source ({{source_language}}):
{{source_text}}

Translation ({{target_language}}):
{{translated_text}}

Placeholders

{{source_language}}Source language
Language of the source text. Example: English
{{target_language}}Target language
Language of the translation to check. Example: Spanish
{{source_text}}Source text
The original text. Example: Please note that refunds are processed within 5-7 business days.
{{translated_text}}Translated text
The existing translation to check. Example: Tenga en cuenta que los reembolsos se procesan dentro de 5 a 7 días.

Example input

source_language: English · target_language: Spanish · source_text: refund policy note · translated_text: existing Spanish translation missing 'business'.

Filled-in example

Compare this translation against the source text. Flag any mistranslation, omission, or awkward phrasing in the target language. For each issue, quote the problem phrase and suggest a fix.

Source (English):
Please note that refunds are processed within 5-7 business days.

Translation (Spanish):
Tenga en cuenta que los reembolsos se procesan dentro de 5 a 7 días.

Expected output format

A list of flagged issues, each with the quoted problem phrase, why it's a problem, and a suggested fix.

Customization tips

  • Ask specifically about tone consistency if the translation was done by multiple people or over time.
  • Request a severity rating (critical meaning change vs. minor stylistic nit) for each flagged issue.

Limitations

  • The assistant may miss subtle regional variations (e.g. Spain vs. Latin American Spanish) unless you specify a dialect.

Safety notes

  • Treat this as a helpful second pass, not a substitute for professional review on contracts, legal notices, or medical instructions.

Customization

  • Always name the exact source and target language (and dialect/region if relevant) rather than a language family.
  • Provide a glossary for recurring technical or brand terms to keep translations consistent across documents.
  • Ask for a literal back-translation when you need to sanity-check meaning without speaking the target language.

Common Mistakes

Mistake: Publishing AI-translated legal or medical text without human review.

Fix: Route safety-critical or legal translations through a certified human translator.

Mistake: Assuming one translation fits all dialects of a language.

Fix: Specify the exact region/dialect (e.g. Latin American Spanish vs. European Spanish).

Mistake: Skipping terminology consistency across a multi-document project.

Fix: Maintain and reuse a glossary of approved term mappings for every related document.

FAQ

Is AI translation as good as a professional human translator?

It's a useful first pass, but professional human translators still outperform AI on nuance, idioms, and domain expertise — especially for legal, medical, or brand-critical content.

Can I use these prompts for certified or legal translations?

No. Certified translations (for immigration, legal, or official use) require a qualified human translator, often with formal certification. Use these prompts only for drafts or informal purposes.

How do I keep terminology consistent across a big project?

Build a glossary of term mappings and paste it into every related prompt, as shown in the technical glossary prompt above.

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