How do I create and use glossaries?

Learn how to create glossaries, add entries, and apply them to translations for consistent terminology across your help center.

Glossaries ensure consistent translation of brand terms, technical jargon, and specific terminology across all your translated content. This guide explains how to create glossaries, add entries, and use them during translation.

What Are Glossaries?

A glossary is a collection of source and target language pairs that define how specific terms should be translated. When you use a glossary during translation, the translation system ensures those terms are translated consistently.

Use glossaries for:

  • Brand names and product names
  • Technical terms with specific translations
  • Industry-specific terminology
  • Company-specific phrases or taglines
  • Terms that have multiple possible translations but you prefer one specific version

Creating a Glossary

Before You Start

Make sure you have:

  • Selected target languages for your organization
  • Terms you want to ensure consistent translation for
  • Source and target language pair in mind

Creating a New Glossary

  1. Navigate to the Glossaries section from your dashboard
  2. Click "Create Glossary" or "New Glossary"
  3. Fill in the glossary details:
    • Name: Choose a descriptive name (e.g., "Product Terms - English to French")
    • Source Language: Select the source language (usually your primary help center language)
    • Target Language: Select the target language for this glossary
  4. Add glossary entries (see below)
  5. Click "Create" to save the glossary

Glossary Language Pairs

Each glossary is created for a specific source and target language pair. For example:

  • English to French glossary
  • English to Spanish glossary
  • French to German glossary

You can create multiple glossaries for different language pairs or different purposes (e.g., "Technical Terms - EN to FR" and "Brand Terms - EN to FR").

Adding Glossary Entries

Entry Format

Each glossary entry consists of:

  • Source text: The term in the source language
  • Target text: How it should be translated in the target language

Adding Entries

When creating or editing a glossary:

  1. Enter the source text (e.g., "Translate Desk")
  2. Enter the target text (e.g., "Translate Desk" - keep brand names the same, or "Bureau de Traduction" if you prefer translation)
  3. Click "Add Entry" or press Enter
  4. Repeat for each term you want to include

Entry Examples

Brand names:

  • Source: "Translate Desk" → Target: "Translate Desk" (keep original)
  • Source: "Acme Corp" → Target: "Acme Corp"

Technical terms:

  • Source: "API key" → Target: "Clé API" (French)
  • Source: "webhook" → Target: "webhook" (often kept as-is)

Product features:

  • Source: "Help Center" → Target: "Centre d'aide" (French)
  • Source: "Knowledge Base" → Target: "Base de connaissances" (French)

Managing Entries

You can:

  • Add entries: Add new terms as you discover them
  • Edit entries: Update translations if needed
  • Delete entries: Remove terms that are no longer relevant
  • Import entries: Some systems allow bulk import (check if available)

Using Glossaries During Translation

Selecting a Glossary

When translating an article:

  1. Start the translation process as usual
  2. In the translation options, you'll see a glossary selector
  3. Select the glossary you want to use for this translation
  4. Or choose "Do not use glossary" to translate without one

Glossary Limitations

Glossaries have some limitations:

  • Single language only: Glossaries can only be used when translating to one target language at a time
  • Language pair specific: Each glossary works for one specific source-target language pair
  • Optional: Glossaries are optional - you can translate without one

If you select multiple target languages, the glossary option won't be available. You'll need to translate to one language at a time to use a glossary.

When Glossaries Are Applied

Glossaries are applied during the translation process. The translation system:

  1. Identifies terms in your source text that match glossary entries
  2. Uses the glossary translation for those terms
  3. Translates the rest of the content normally

This ensures consistent terminology while maintaining natural translation quality.

Managing Multiple Glossaries

Organizing Glossaries

You can create multiple glossaries for different purposes:

  • By topic: "Technical Terms", "Product Names", "Brand Terms"
  • By language pair: Separate glossaries for each language you translate to
  • By department: Different glossaries for different teams or content types

Choosing the Right Glossary

When translating:

  • Select the glossary that matches your content type
  • Use technical glossaries for technical documentation
  • Use brand glossaries for customer-facing content
  • Create specialized glossaries for specific domains

Updating Glossaries

Keep glossaries current:

  • Add new terms as you discover them
  • Update translations if terminology changes
  • Remove outdated entries
  • Review glossaries periodically for accuracy

Best Practices

Creating Effective Glossaries

  1. Start small: Begin with the most important terms, then expand
  2. Be specific: Include exact phrases and terms you want to control
  3. Keep it current: Update glossaries as terminology evolves
  4. Test translations: Review translations to ensure glossary terms are used correctly
  5. Document decisions: Note why certain translations were chosen

Entry Guidelines

  1. Use exact matches: Include the exact wording you want to match
  2. Include variations: Add common variations of terms if needed
  3. Consider context: Some terms may need different translations in different contexts
  4. Keep it manageable: Don't create overly large glossaries that are hard to maintain

Team Collaboration

  1. Share glossaries: Make sure team members know which glossaries to use
  2. Centralize management: Have one person or team manage glossary updates
  3. Document standards: Create guidelines for when to add new entries
  4. Review regularly: Schedule periodic reviews to keep glossaries accurate

Glossary vs. Translation Options

Glossaries work alongside other translation options:

  • Formality settings: Control the tone (formal, casual, default)
  • Glossaries: Control specific terminology
  • Both together: Use formality and glossary for best results

Learn more about translation options in What translation options are available?.

Troubleshooting

Glossary Not Available

If you don't see a glossary option:

  • Make sure you're translating to only one language
  • Verify you have a glossary for that language pair
  • Check that the glossary is properly created

Terms Not Translated Correctly

If glossary terms aren't being used:

  • Verify the source text matches the glossary entry exactly
  • Check that the glossary is selected during translation
  • Ensure the glossary is for the correct language pair
  • Review the translation to see if the term appears differently

Creating Glossaries for New Languages

When adding a new target language:

  1. Create a new glossary for that language pair
  2. Add entries for important terms
  3. Use the glossary when translating to that language

Next Steps

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