Alibaba Style Guide GERMAN GERMANY 2019
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2019 Alibaba Style Guide GERMAN GERMANY ALIBABA INC | AliLanguage team VER1.2
CONTENT
INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................. 2
THE SG IN THE QUALITY ECOSYSTEM .................................................................................................. 2
OUR PRINCIPLES................................................................................................................................. 2
STYLE AND TONE ................................................................................................................................ 2
TERMINOLOGY ................................................................................................................................... 5
HUMOR & CULTURAL REFERENCES..................................................................................................... 7
CULTURAL REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................... 8
PRODUCT RELATED GUIDELINES ......................................................................................................... 8
CONTENT TYPE SPECIFICS ................................................................................................................... 8
UI .......................................................................................................................................................... 8
HELP CONTENT ....................................................................................................................................... 10
MARKETING ........................................................................................................................................... 10
PRODUCT TITLES ..................................................................................................................................... 13
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION............................................................................................................................. 14
INSTANT MESSAGES (IMS) ........................................................................................................................ 15
COMMENTS ........................................................................................................................................... 15
LEGAL ................................................................................................................................................... 16
MOBILE ................................................................................................................................................. 16
VIDEO ................................................................................................................................................... 17
LINGUISTICS ..................................................................................................................................... 17
SPELLING, GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION.................................................................................................... 18
ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................................................ 18
LOCALE CONVENTIONS .................................................................................................................... 19
NUMBERS .............................................................................................................................................. 19
DATES ................................................................................................................................................... 19
TIME FORMAT ......................................................................................................................................... 19
UNITS OF MEASUREMENT.......................................................................................................................... 19
CURRENCY ............................................................................................................................................. 20
ADDRESSES ............................................................................................................................................ 20
PHONE NUMBERS .................................................................................................................................... 20
TAGS AND PLACEHOLDERS ......................................................................................................................... 20
1Introduction
Hello and welcome to your Language Style Guide. The Alibaba Style Guide is intended to provide
everybody involved in the localization of DE-DE Alibaba products with professional, consistent and
clear standards that are specific to Alibaba’s needs.
The guide will help ensure the DE-DE version maintains consistency, accuracy, fluency and usability.
The SG in the Quality Ecosystem
The Style Guide is part of a "Quality Ecosystem" which includes other important references that
translators and reviewers should be aware of when translating and reviewing content for Alibaba.
These additional references include:
Product-specific information and trainings
When kicking-off new products, Alibaba will provide trainings and learning materials for
translators to better understand the products and language expectations. All the training
recordings and materials will be achieved in one place for future reference.
Glossaries
Our glossaries are stored in LARK and will be provided to translators along with projects if
applicable. When using the glossaries, remember not to limit yourself only to the glossary
for the product line of the project you are currently working, but feel free to search online
and make your best judgement based on the context.
LQE Tool and Error Categories
The LQE Tool is not just an error logging tool: its main purpose is to provide continuous
feedback to the translators and create a transparent communication channel. Reviewers
mark errors according to the error category associated with a specific type of error and
translators and reviewers can engage in a discussion that may result in an arbitration.
Our principles
Golden Rules
1. Focus on the user and all else will follow.
2. Familiarize yourself with the type of document and its target audience.
3. Make sure localized content is grammatically and syntactically correct.
4. Ensure the same terms are used for the same translation across all content.
5. Translate the meaning of the text, not just the words.
6. Make good use of all resources and reference materials.
Style and tone
General rules
2 Never use heavy, staid, or arrogant tone; translations should be clear, concise and flowing.
Example:
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Alibaba cloud uses Alibaba bringt Computing Alibaba verwendet
computing and und Algorithmen zur Datenverarbeitung und
algorithms to monitor Anwendung, um Algorithmen, um
for pollution and Umweltverschmutzung Umweltverschmutzung und
natural disasters as und Naturkatastrophen zu Naturkatastrophen zu
well as helping überwachen und überwachen und
businesses cut down Unternehmen bei der Unternehmen bei der Senkung
on carbon emissions. Senkung der des CO2-Ausstoßes zu
Kohlendioxid-Emissionen unterstützen.
unter die Arme zu greifen.
Use of several
foreign words
(Computing,
Kohlendioxid-
Emissionen), the
use of a
patronizing
expression (unter
die Arme zu
greifen) as well as
the heavy, staid
style (bringt ...
zur Anwendung)
cause an arrogant
tone.
Avoid awkward, unprofessional or offensive wording.
Example:
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Take your career to the Bringen Sie Ihre Karriere Bringen Sie Ihre Karriere auf
next level by becoming endlich ans Laufen und die nächste Stufe und lassen
certified on Alibaba lassen Sie sich auf Alibaba Sie sich auf Alibaba Cloud
Cloud. Cloud zertifizieren. zertifizieren.
3 Customers might
find this offensive
because this
implies that they
are not successful
in their job. The
overly colloquial
tone adds to this
offensive
impression.
If possible, prefer active voice instead of passive voice.
Example:
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Explore the Die Crowdsourcing- Erkunden Sie die
crowdsourcing AI & Lösungen für KI und Crowdsourcing-Lösungen für
machine learning maschinelles Lernen KI und maschinelles Lernen in
solutions in our können in unserer unserer Entwickler-
developer community. Entwickler-Community Community.
erkundet werden.
Do not use overlong sentences. If necessary, split one long English sentence into two or
more German sentences.
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Alibaba Cloud is Alibaba Cloud entwickelt Alibaba Cloud entwickelt
developing a suite of derzeit eine Suite von derzeit eine Suite von
cloud-based and AI- cloudbasierten und AI- cloudbasierten und AI-fähigen
powered solutions fähigen Lösungen, die zur Lösungen, die zur digitalen
that help drive the digitalen Transformation Transformation der Spiele
digital transformation der Spiele beitragen, beitragen. Davon werden Fans,
of the Olympic Games wovon Fans, Zuschauer, Zuschauer, Sportler,
which will benefit fans, Sportler, Wettkampfstätten und
spectators, athletes, Wettkampfstätten und Veranstalter gleichermaßen
venues, and Veranstalter profitieren.
organizers. gleichermaßen profitieren
werden.
4 Avoid inappropriate superlatives, heavy usage of possessive pronouns
Example:
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
We are the best Wir sind der beste Wir sind ein weltweit
provider. Anbieter. führender Anbieter.
Please turn on your Schalten Sie Ihr Gerät ein. Schalten Sie das Gerät ein.
your device.
Never translate literally or word-for-word. You won’t be penalized for improving on the
source content.
Example:
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Breaking down Barrieren niederreißen Wir machen neue
barriers of emerging und die digitale Welt neu Technologien zugänglich und
technologies and definieren definieren die digitale Welt
redefining the digital neu.
world
When deciding on the right tone to use, it is crucial to look at the different products you are
working on, the type of audience you’re aiming for and the original text used (the three are
often compatible).
Terminology
General rules
As words and phrases occur repeatedly in localization, consistency in translation is very
important.
1. For general technical terms not listed in the glossary, official expression will be used
whenever available.
2. If no standard terms have been officially defined, use the Microsoft glossaries as they
are the de facto industry standard for computer terminology in many languages.
3. If no appropriate translation for a term can be found through either the official channel
or Microsoft term base, dictionaries, published software, books, journals, technical
documents, etc. should be consulted and the most widely-used expression should be
adopted.
4. In addition, usage of search engines is often a good way to locate various translation
options and identify which translation option is most used or most popular in the
industry.
5. Only when all these fail, is the translator justified in creating his/her own translations.
5While it is important to adhere to the glossary, it should be emphasized that context is the deciding
factor. Often a word may take on a different meaning in a certain context not listed in the glossary.
Not all English words or phrases have matching translations. In some situations, semantically
equivalent translations rather than word-for-word translations are allowed or even encouraged.
The basic idea is that translators convey the essential meaning of the English messages in natural
target language.
6Humor & cultural references
Humor
There is frequent use of humor (or social jargon) in Alibaba products and marketing materials,
intended to catch the reader’s attention, help audience to remember the product and present the
product in a more informal way. While the translation must attempt to capture the humor of a
certain phrase or sentence, it should not do so at the cost of clarity.
Though humor may be a very useful tool to make the consumer feel identified with the brand, be
careful when using it in German making sure it is appropriate in a given context or with a certain
product or consumer group.
Forms of politeness
While English loves polite words and expressions such as "please", "thank you", "congratulations",
etc., other languages vary in their use. The politeness level also changes according to the product.
Please be mindful of how many times you actually thank/congratulate in your language, and don’t
overuse these phrases.
Hence, please be careful to be idiomatic (e.g. omitting the word "please" when it is not necessary).
Example:
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Please download the Bitte laden Sie die Datei Laden Sie die Datei herunter.
file. herunter.
Congratulations on your Herzlichen Glückwunsch Wir freuen uns, dass Sie sich für
purchase of XYZ. zum Kauf des XYZ. XYZ entschieden haben.
Exclamation marks
Though the usage of exclamation marks is pretty common in English, in German they should
only be rarely and carefully used
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
A Free Trial That Lets Beginnen Sie kostenlos mit Beginnen Sie kostenlos mit
You Build Big! Get mehr als 40 Produkten und mehr als 40 Produkten und
hands on experience Services! Services.
with 40+ products and
services for free.
Addressing the user
Unless otherwise instructed, please use the formal "Sie" and not the informal "du".
7Cultural References
Sensitive topics
If referring to any of the following topics or issues, make sure you do so in a way which is
respectful to all groups and could not be offensive to any group. Take particular care
regarding the following issues:
Race
Ethnicity
Sex and sexual orientation
Religion
Politics
Culture
Weight and body image
Gender
Age
As values and taboo subjects vary with individual cultures, potentially sensitive topics are
not limited to those listed above.
Product Related Guidelines
Product Lines Formality Audience
DingTalk Medium Consumers
YunOS Medium Consumers
LAZADA Medium Consumers
AliExpress Website Medium Partners
AliExpress Top Seller Medium Consumers
AliPay Medium Consumers
Youku Low Consumers
IPP High Legal owners
Alibaba.com Medium Partners
eWTP High Partners
Content Type Specifics
UI
When translating messages, the translation should be as concise as possible, since the space in the
8dialog box will be limited. Each user interface element should be handled as indicated below.
Menu names
Menu names are normally translated with nouns. When translating these elements, please
remember to follow German spelling/grammar rules, e.g. do not use the ampersand as an
abbreviation of the word "and" (ampersands may only be used for company names in German).
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Bags & shoes Taschen & Schuhe Taschen und Schuhe
Buttons/CTA
In German, buttons and CTA are normally translated with the infinitive form of the verb.
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Sign in Anmeldung Anmelden
Instructions
Text providing instructions to the client should use the imperative form, and the use of "bitte"
should be avoided. As mentioned in other sections of this guide, please remember to use the
formal tone for addressing the customer. Also, when a word in English has an equivalent in German,
the correct German word and spelling should used:
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Please enter your Bitte geben Sie Ihre Email Geben Sie Ihre E-Mail-Adresse ein.
email. ein.
Messages
Avoid accidentally following the English punctuation and using the passive voice. Also, try to use
the most concise and direct way to express the meaning contained in the source.
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Unfortunately, your Leider, musste Ihre Leider mussten wir Ihre Bestellung
order needed to be Bestellung von uns stornieren.
cancelled by us. storniert werden.
Common questions in messages in English start with "Do you want to…/ Do you wish to… / Would
you like to…” or “Are you sure you want to…?". Please be sure to be consistent here.
UI terms
When UI terms appear in messages or instructions, they should be translated consistently with
the UI term in the web site or app. Also, they should be written in smart quotes.
INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Um Ihre Bestellungen anzuzeigen, klicken Um Ihre Bestellungen anzuzeigen, klicken Sie auf
Sie auf Meine Bestellungen. „Meine Bestellungen“.
When UI terms are not translated in the software and these terms appear in any other context,
please provide the shortest, most accurate and most commonly used translation possible. If
necessary, please raise a query to alert the PM about the issue and receive further instructions.
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
What happens if my Was geschieht, wenn mein Was geschieht, wenn mein
9AliExpress order changes AliExpress-Bestellung als AliExpress-Bestellung als
to “Frozen Order”? „Frozen Order“ (Eingefrorene eingefrorene Bestellung
Bestellung) angezeigt wird? angezeigt wird?
Help Content
FAQ
FAQ titles should always be phrased as questions, as the following example shows. If a FAQ
question is using the first person, the same should be reflected in German.
SOURCE REVIEWED TARGET
What if the seller gave me fake Was ist, wenn mir der Verkäufer eine falsche
tracking number? Verfolgungsnummer gegeben hat?
The text below the title should directly answer the question posed in the title.
Instructions
When answering FAQs, instructions are normally given to the reader. In this case, the formal tone
(formal "Sie") for addressing the client should be used.
In this type of content, recurrent terms are frequent (such as "violation", "appeal", "working days",
etc.). Please kindly make sure to translate these terms consistently. Also, remember to keep
consistency for UI terms such as "Category service indicator assessment", "Manage Products",
"Seller Central", "Failed Product Assessment", etc.
Marketing
When translating marketing content, such as case studies, success stories and campaigns, it is of
vital importance that the translated text sounds as natural and fluent as possible. For this purpose,
we should not only avoid literal/word-for-word translation, but also detach from the grammatical
structures and punctuation in the source text and adapt them to sound more fluent and natural in
German.
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
“Alibaba Cloud has virtually „Alibaba Cloud verfügt über „Alibaba Cloud bietet
limitless storage space, and praktisch grenzenlosen praktisch unbegrenzten
an advanced range of Speicherplatz und ein großes Speicherplatz sowie ein
products available globally, Sortiment an weltweit zukunftsweisendes und vor
and for these reasons we verfügbaren Produkten und allem weltweit verfügbares
recommend more aus diesen Gründen Produktspektrum. Genau aus
companies to join Alibaba empfehlen wir auch anderen diesen Gründen raten wir
Cloud.” Unternehmen, der Alibaba auch anderen Unternehmen
Cloud beizutreten”. guten Gewissens dazu, sich für
Alibaba Cloud zu
entscheiden.“
Section headings
When translating section headings, try to keep structural consistency, as this will create an
10improved final effect.
Quotes
In case studies and success stories, it is common to find quotes from clients and customers. The
following guidelines should be taken into consideration when translating quotes:
1. Please remember that in German the comma is placed outside the quotation marks
2. When translating expressions like "said the CEO", it is recommended to use the present
tense rather than past simple or present perfect. Try to use various verbs and
expressions (as the one given in the example) to avoid repetitions.
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
“We would also like to „Wir würden gerne auch „Wir würden gerne auch andere
try other Alibaba andere Alibaba Cloud Alibaba Cloud Services
Cloud services such as Services ausprobieren, z. B. ausprobieren, z. B. ApsaraDB for
ApsaraDB for Redis, ApsaraDB for Redis, Redis, ApsaraDB for Memcache,
ApsaraDB for ApsaraDB for Memcache, Alibaba Cloud CDN und ApsaraDB
Memcache, Alibaba Alibaba Cloud CDN und for RDS“, so der CTO von Xi'an
Cloud CDN, and ApsaraDB for RDS,“ sagte Happy Yoga Software Technology
ApsaraDB for RDS,” der CTO von Xi'an Happy Co. Ltd.
said the CTO of Xi'an Yoga Software Technology
Happy Yoga Software Co. Ltd.
Technology Co. Ltd.
3. After a quote, we normally find the name and position of the person. In English, it is
common to separate the name and position by commas. However, in German it is more
common to use prepositions. Also, remember that position names (director, chief
officer, etc.) are written in lower case, while department names (Financer, Human
Resources, etc.) are written in upper case.
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Timothy Yu, Founder Timothy Yu, Gründer und Timothy Yu, Gründer und CEO
and CEO, Snapask CEO, Snapask Holding Pte. von Snapask Holding Pte. Ltd.
Holding Pte. Ltd. Ltd.
If the city where the company is based appears, this would be separated by a comma from
the company name. The name of the country may also be added, so the reader can get a
clearer idea of where the company is from, in case they are not familiar with the city
Present tense in case studies, press releases etc.
Present tense makes sure that the text sounds up-to-date.
Past tense on the other hand gives the reader the impression that the press release is already
obsolete.
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
11Moving to Alibaba Durch den Wechsel zu Durch den Wechsel zu Alibaba
Cloud has eliminated Alibaba Cloud musste Cloud muss Worktile nicht mehr
the complications of Worktile nicht mehr länger länger eine interne IT-
having to maintain an eine interne IT-Infrastruktur Infrastruktur pflegen und kann
on premise IT pflegen und konnte sich sich nun intensiver auf die
infrastructure and nun intensiver auf die Entwicklung von Innovationen
enabled Worktile to Entwicklung von und die Herstellung besserer
focus more on Innovationen und die Produkte konzentrieren.
innovation and Herstellung besserer
building better Produkte konzentrieren.
products.
Third person in case studies/press releases etc.
A press release should always use third person as well as a neutral style.
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Beijing YC Technology Wir von Beijing YC Beijing YC Technology Co. Ltd
Co. Ltd. is a company Technology Co. Ltd setzen setzt auf Cloud-Computing,
betting on cloud auf Cloud-Computing, Social-Media und mobile
computing, social Social-Media und mobile Technologien, um Task-
media and mobile to Technologien, um Task- Management-Systeme über
enhance task Management-Systeme eine On-Demand-Anwendung
management systems über eine On-Demand- namens Worktile zu
through an on-demand Anwendung namens optimieren.
collaboration Worktile zu optimieren.
application called
Worktile.
Explanation of abbreviations
When abbreviations are used, the full term should be used when it occurs for the first time in the
text and the abbreviation should be indicated in brackets. In the text that follows, only the
abbreviation should be used.
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
[…] Object Storage […] OSS zusammen mit der […] Objektspeicherservice
Service (OSS) along CDN-Lösung von Alibaba (OSS) zusammen mit der
with Alibaba Cloud Cloud zur Beschleunigung Content Delivery Network
Content Delivery der Bereitstellung von (CDN-)Lösung von Alibaba
Network (CDN) Inhalten und zur Cloud zur Beschleunigung der
solution to accelerate Reduzierung der Bereitstellung von Inhalten und
12content delivery and allgemeinen Latenz. zur Reduzierung der
reduce overall latency. allgemeinen Latenz.
No filler words
Meaningful, informative words should be used. Filler words like „eigentlich“, „ziemlich“, „schon“,
„irgendwann“, „möglicherweise“ etc. are part of spoken language and not ideal in a
Marketing/press release context.
No long compound words
Long compound words impact the readability of Marketing texts. Instead such words should be
divided into several segments.
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
solutions in smart Intelligente Lösungen für die intelligente
video identification Videoidentifikationslösungen Videoidentifikation
Short sentences
Short sentences are easier to understand and should be preferred – in general (cf. example in the
section on Style and tone), but especially when it comes to Marketing texts.
Numbers from 1 to 12 not as digits
Numbers from one to twelve should be written as words and not as digits (as opposed to numbers
13 and higher; those should be written as digits). If possible, numbers that are written as digits
should not be used at the beginning of the sentence.
Product Titles
We will not add commas in the title. Normally, titles are short enough and if we translate the
syntagms properly (with the help of prepositions) we don't need to add commas, because it does
not look like overloaded, as it happens in English.
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
Autumn European Sexy Herbstmode, im Sexy Herbstmode im westlichen
American Sexy Fashion westlichen Look, für Look für Damen
Fan Female Clothing Damen
On the other hand, if needed, it is allowed to add comma for separating segment portions.
WORD ORDER
13Product titles should be translated in a consistent word order.
MARKETING EXPRESSIONS
As long as we can, we will place the Marketing expressions in the first place.
ENGLISH GERMAN
New Neuheit!
Hot sale Hot Sale!
DIY DIY
Brand new (+name) Neue/s/r (+Produkt)
Original (+name) Original- (+producto)
To make it more understandable, let's say Marketing words are those that have the intention of
capture the look of the client, and do not refer to that product per se, but a more general concept.
Normally, when translated into German, we would treat them as nouns. Other examples of
marketing words, besides those on the list provided, could be: "Buy now! ", "New season! ",
"Season 2017", "Summer 2017", "Exclusive offer", etc.
Product description
Regarding the product description, we will follow the same instructions we described in the
introduction of this guide: short messages, concise, friendly but polite (not too informal), and
descriptive.
Write in clear, straightforward language. Introduce the main features and functions of the product.
Large amount of information and product specifications may be presented in lists for which the
following rules apply:
Punctuation at the end of bullet points should be consistent within a list.
Periods should only be used at the end of bullet points if all the items within the list
are complete sentences.
Translations should be concise, with key information presented first.
Translated bullet points can be re-ordered, so that the most important information is
presented to the user first.
SIZES
To find information about sizes in China, Europe and the US, please visit the following links:
https://alixblog.com/en/sizes-aliexpress/
http://www.fashion-bop.com/china-size-charts/
CONSISTENCY AND BRAND/PRODUCT NAMES
Please remember to keep consistency in the translation of words that describe products (e.g. not
using different translations for one term)
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
14Apple watch Exklusiv für die Apple Uhr Exklusiv für Apple Watch
exclusive AND
Für Apple Watch exklusiv
Instant Messages (IMs)
The IM refers to the 1-on-1 communication between the related vendor and customer, e.g. a reply
to a specific question or request. The IMs are divided into two domains: e-commerce and
social/travel:
- The e-commerce IMs should be translated in a formal, business style (e.g. "Sie").
- The social/travel IMs should be translated in an informal, conversational style (e.g. "du").
On both domains, wherever the gender is not clearly indicated in the source, the translation should
be gender-neutral, also.
SOURCE IMPROPER TRANSLATION PROPER TRANSLATION
Do you still have interest Interessierst du dich noch Interessieren Sie sich noch
about surgical suture für chirurgisches für chirurgisches
Nahtmaterial? Nahtmaterial?
Or even better:
Noch Interesse an
chirurgischem
Nahtmaterial?
dear friend,the right tracking Lieber Freund, die korrekte Lieber Kunde, die korrekte
number is 11111111111. Verfolgungsnummer lautet Verfolgungsnummer lautet
11111111111. 11111111111.
No , dear, it is portable, you Nein, mein Lieber, das Gerät Nein, das Gerät ist mobil und
can use in home. ist mobil, du kannst es kann zuhause verwendet
zuhause verwenden. werden.
The first example is an e-commerce type of IM. Both translations are correct; however, the first
one is written in an informal tone, which should be avoided in business conversations.
The second example is also an e-commerce type of IM. The improper translations uses "Freund"
to refer to the client. This is a colloquial practice and should also be avoided.
The third example has inappropriate colloquial tone and language. The English language often uses
"dear" to refer to the client, but in German we will omit it.
Comments
This refers to the comments left by the customers to share with the public their recommendations
about the products and services. The translation should sound like informal but not too colloquial
comments.
There are also the replies from the vendors to their customers. The messages from the vendors
should sound polite as they are written to the customers.
15SOURCE IMPROPER TRANSLATION PROPER TRANSLATION
Hi, my friend, Thanks for Hallo, mein Freund, danke Hallo, vielen Dank für Ihren
your comments. für deinen Kommentar. Kommentar.
The above example is a reply left by the vendor to the customer. The improper translation is too
colloquial. A more formal tone is recommended.
SOURCE IMPROPER TRANSLATION PROPER TRANSLATION
Blue background is darker - Der dunkle Hintergrund ist
and worse than foto. dunkler und schlechter als
auf dem Foto.
I reccomend the product. - Ich kann das Produkt nur
empfehlen.
In the examples, both translations are accurate. These are comments left by the customers
regarding their negative and positive appreciation of the product. Even though the source text is
sometimes written ungrammatically or with incorrect punctuations, the translation has to follow
the grammar and norms in German writing.
Legal
Legal content should be translated into clear, unambiguous legal language. A mistake in legal
writing can result huge losses, both financial and to a company's image and reputation.
All legal translations must be reviewed by the Alibaba legal team before being released for use.
Though the legal review process is not the responsibility of translators, translators must ensure
quality and accuracy before the product is passed to the legal team.
Accuracy, clarity, and succinctness are the watchwords of good legal writing. Legal writing
emphasizes facts, and as such facts should be stated clearly and placed before other forms of
information when possible.
Plain language should be used in legal writing to aid ease of understanding. Where appropriate,
the correct legal (and of course, consistent) terminology should also be used.
Long sentences should not be split up; if needed, a semicolon may be used instead.
Mobile
The main goal of localizing mobile apps is to make the user feel like the app has been developed
specifically for their region. In order to achieve this goal, the following guidelines should be
considered:
The biggest challenge that translators face when localizing mobile apps is the limited space.
In order to avoid truncation, translators should try to keep a similar character length to the
16source. When this is not possible, standard abbreviations should be used. Articles can also
be omitted when there are space constraints.
In general, when nouns are used in English, nouns should be used in German.
In general, when verbs are used in English, the infinitive should be used in German.
Punctuation in the source text should be followed, except when this creates a punctuation
issue in German.
Video
When creating subtitles for a video, it is important to consider that the time is limited, so the
translation must be as concise as possible. Therefore, try to avoid long grammatical structures,
delete any repetitions and use compensation when needed. Focus on conveying the same meaning
as the source in as little words as possible.
Lines and subtitles
One subtitle comprises two lines. The total number of characters (including spaces) in a subtitle
shouldn’t be over 80 characters, 40 per line (takes 5 seconds to read).
When dividing lines and subtitles, units of meaning can’t be broken (i.e., “noun + verb” and “noun
+ adjective” have to be in the same line/subtitle).
Typography
1. It is recommended to use sans serif fonts, as they are easier to read on screen and allow to
introduce more text in the same amount of space.
2. There is no need to add double question/exclamation marks (??/!!) to indicate emphasis, since
the reader can get this information from the voice in the video.
3. There is no need to add ellipsis (…) between subtitles, as they take up unnecessary space.
4. In most cases, the n-dash is not used at the beginning of a dialog. If there are two characters
speaking in the same subtitle, then it is acceptable to use the n-dash.
Italics
Italics is used for voice-overs, voices that can be heard over the phone, song lyrics, book titles or
newspaper headings that appear on screen, etc.
Color
In German, color is not used for subtitles, which are normally white (may differ depending on
requirements).
Linguistics
GENERAL RULES
17During translation, please always make sure that the translation is accurate in meaning and,
correct in form.
Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation
Please always make sure to follow German spelling, grammar and punctuation rules according to
the Duden (www.duden.de).
Some additional information:
Complete sentences should show a period in German, if the English source does not have
one.
Do not use a comma between two main clauses that are connected with "und" or "oder".
Please use a comma for all infinitive clauses ("erweiterter Infinitiv").
If technically possible, German „smart quotes“ should be used. Should that not be possible,
"straight quotes" are accepted.
Though the English source may use m-dashes, in German only n-dashes are accepted.
A range may be expressed with the word "bis" (to) or with an n-dash without a space
character, e.g. 10–15 Artikel
After a colon, please use upper case if a complete sentence follows.
If using an ellipsis, the corresponding special character should be used (ALT+0133), not
merely entering three periods.
There must be a non-breaking space between numbers and symbols, such as currency
units, unit of measure, or other mathematical symbols: 100 g; 250 GB, etc.
When commas ('') are used to indicate inches (5,5''), there should be no space between the
number and the commas. However, if "in" (or "Zoll")is used, then there should be a space
(5,5 in (Zoll)).
There must be a comma between units and decimals, e.g. 13,65 $.
There should be no spaces between a slash and the following word.
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
$5.90/month $ 5,90 / Monat $ 5,90/Monat
Compound nouns with product/brand/company names should be spelled with or without
hyphen as found in the official webpage of the corresponding brand, company or product.
Acronyms and Abbreviations
When German translations of English acronyms and abbreviations do exist and are commonly
used, these should be used as such:
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
DP DV EDV
18When German translations of English acronyms and abbreviations do exist, but may be confused
or are not that commonly used, these should be used with an explanation:
SOURCE INCORRECT TARGET REVIEWED TARGET
UPS UPS USV
(unterbrechungsfreie
Stromversorgung)
When English abbreviations and acronyms are also common knowledge in German, they may be
used as such without further explanation:
SOURCE TARGET
USB USB
If the English source shows abbreviations and acronyms that are not commonly used, an
explanation should be added detailing the full English term and German translation.
Locale Conventions
Numbers
1. DECIMALS
Europe: we will use the comma to separate decimals.
2. THOUSANDS
In four digits numbers, a period should be used, e.g. 9.500.
Dates
1. Order: day, month, year (14. Oktober 1951).
2. Letters and numbers: the common option is to combine letters and numbers (14. Oktober
1951)
3. When dates are written only with numbers: day, month and year are separated by a period:
12.9.08 or 12.09.2018 (depending on the required format).
4. The order year, month and day, should be used only in international scientific documents
(ISO system).
Time format
Unlike the (US) English, which knows two formats (12 and 24 hour format), the time in German is
written in the 24 hour format.
Units of measurement
Units in measurement are standardized symbols used internationally, hence, there is no need to
translate them into German as the symbol is already international.
They are not followed by abbreviation dot: not 3 kg.*, but 3 kg
19 We will leave a non-breaking space between the number and the symbol: not 3kg*, but 3 kg
They will be written in lower case or caps, depending on each case, determined by ISO
standard.
Currency
Currency units (spelled out or as special character, e.g. $, €, etc.) may be place in front of or after
the figure, e.g. 250 Euro or Euro 250.
Note: Usage of currency character is preferred.
Addresses
Name Surname
Street plus number
postal code CITY
COUNTRY
URLs and Hyperlinks
When you use a website address, do not capitalize any part of it: http://www.aliexpress.com
and www.aliexpress.com.
If applicable, us localized web addresses (if in doubt, doublecheck with PM)
Punctuation should be outside the actual link.
Phone numbers
Phone and fax numbers will be written in pairs of three and two numbers with a space between
them. The prefix number appears in parenthesis, e.g. (040) 123 456 78.
The prefix number may also be separated with a hyphen: 040-123 45 67.
The extension is added by using a hyphen, e.g. (040) 132 45-67.
Tags and placeholders
When translating web pages and UI messages, you may see HTML tags and placeholders. Both
tags and placeholders must be handled specially.
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