Build a Chinese terminology list from approved files. Resolve conflicting names, record context and owners, and hand over usable terms with each revision.
View the file review example ↓Start with a term somebody can approve
A useful Chinese terminology list tells the next translator which wording to use, where it applies and who approved it. A spreadsheet of extracted words is only a starting point.
Collect a small set of files that your team actually uses: the current source, the released Chinese manual or product page, and any approved naming list. Keep their revisions. A phrase from an old brochure may be unsuitable for a new product even when it appears frequently.
Keep the concept, context and decision together
Take the source word drive. It may refer to a motor drive, a storage device or the action of driving a mechanism. A single English-to-Chinese pair without context can spread the wrong choice across a manual. Record a concept description, a source location and the relevant product family beside the preferred Chinese term.
Treat company names, model identifiers and approved product names separately from ordinary vocabulary. A protected identifier may need to remain unchanged; an official Chinese name needs its approval reference. The existing names register is suitable for these decisions.
From reading to a project
Keep a Chinese terminology decision traceable
Term decision · fictional review record
- Concept
- DRIVE-DEMO / motor-control equipment, not a storage device
- Evidence
- Source manual revision C, section 4.2; Chinese candidate awaiting owner review
- Decision record
- Preferred Chinese wording / product scope / prohibited alternative / approver
- Status
- Candidate — approval date remains blank
Review status: questions to confirm
Match the source
Keep the product context and file revision beside each disputed term.
Name the decision owner
A candidate remains open until the responsible owner approves its use.
Plan the handover
Agree an editable return and record changes that the next batch must inherit.
Related published experience
Walvax BiotechnologyChinese → English
Vaccine-production process documentation, SOPs, quality-control standards and microbiology-testing procedures.
The 2017 Walvax record describes a dedicated termbase across 40+ vaccine-production documents translated from Chinese into English. It illustrates documented terminology work in the opposite direction; it is not evidence of a Chinese-target termbase or this fictional record.
For your Chinese terminology quotation, send a small matching source/Chinese file set, identify the versions approved for use, and list disputed concepts and the person who can decide. Agree the return format and whether a change log is required.
Resolve a conflict without erasing its history
If two released Chinese files disagree, keep both readings visible while the product owner decides. Record which file supplied each candidate, what the term means in this context, and whether the decision applies to earlier releases. Do not silently replace every matching string.
Use a status such as candidate, approved for this product, or superseded. A translator should be able to distinguish a useful reference from a mandatory choice. Leave the approver and decision date empty until the decision has been made.
Make the next delivery easier to use
Agree whether the return should include a spreadsheet, a termbase export or a short change list. Include the fields the receiving team can maintain; do not ask for a complex format simply because a tool supports it. Ownership and export scope belong in the project agreement.
A sensible first assignment is one representative file and its recurring disputed terms. Review the choices before applying them to the rest of the Chinese set. For sentence-level reuse rather than individual terms, use the separate translation-memory guide.