WPML’s glossary lets you create better translations by defining how you want certain words to appear in your site’s translations.
Why the Glossary is So Important
Your website’s content likely contains words, phrases, or names with multiple meanings. For both human translators and automatic translation, such words can be difficult to translate.
WPML provides a glossary that you can use to add context and correct translations to any words and phrases. It allows you to define the text you add as a Name or proper noun or General term.
This is especially important if you use automatic translations powered by DeepL. When DeepL automatically translates your WordPress site, it uses artificial intelligence (AI) to make sure the general terms from your glossary fit well into your sentence and use correct grammar.
For other situations, like when you use Google Translate or Microsoft Azure, or languages not supported by DeepL, the Advanced Translation Editor displays the terms from the glossary as suggested translations.
This is also helpful if you’re working with professional translators. It lets you maintain consistency in your translations and ensures the high quality of your website’s multilingual content.
How to Create Glossary Entries
You can easily add glossary entries and translations into each language by going to WPML → Translation Management. From there, click on the Tools tab and then the Glossary subtab.
Click on the Add New Entry button.
Enter the text you want to add to the glossary and add a description for it. The description is optional but recommended because it adds context.
Select the source language of the text.
Adding a new glossary term
In the next step, you need to define the type of text you’re adding and enter the suggested translations. The type of text you add and your translation method determine how the translations appear in your secondary languages:
Name or Proper Noun
When you add a Name or proper noun to your glossary, it appears in the translations exactly as you enter it in the default language. However, if you’re using automatic translation, the translation engine might adjust these terms to fit the grammatical rules of the target language.
General term
In contrast to names and proper nouns, General terms offer more translation flexibility. However, the way the text appears in translations depends on your translation method.
If you’re using automatic translation powered by the DeepL translation engine, artificial intelligence (AI) adapts the translation of a General term to the text. It makes sure the term uses correct grammar and follows the right sentence structure. This feature only works for DeepL and its supported languages.
In all other cases, the translations for General terms in the glossary serve as suggested translations. This includes the following scenarios:
When translating into languages not supported by DeepL
If you use translation engines Google Translate and Microsoft Azure
When working with professional translators
Adding a new glossary entry for a General term
Managing Glossary Entries
After adding a new term, it will appear in a table in the Glossary tab. You can search through the entries and filter them by Type.
You can adjust a term’s text, change its type, edit its translations, or delete it.
Bulk Importing and Exporting Glossary Using CSV Files
WPML allows you to easily import and export your glossary by using CSV spreadsheets. This way, you can prepare your glossary terms in one convenient place and import them instantly by uploading your CSV file to WPML. It also makes it easier to have the glossary terms reviewed by translators before updating your site.
To import or export glossary terms go to WPML → Tools, click the Glossary tab, and click the Import / export glossary button.
Importing or exporting your glossary using a CSV spreadsheet
WPML also provides a sample CSV file you can download and use as a template for preparing your own import spreadsheet.
Inserting Glossary Entries into Translations in the Advanced Translation Editor
When you use the Advanced Translation Editor to translate a post or page that includes terms from your glossary, you can see and insert the translations you specified in the glossary.
In this case, you will see the word highlighted in blue with a thin box around it. Hovering your mouse over the word will show you the suggested translation for it.
Hovering over a highlighted glossary term in the Advanced Translation Editor
Clicking on the Glossary terms icon in the Advanced Translation Editor also shows you information about the glossary term in the sentence.
Clicking on the glossary term icon when translating a page in the Advanced Translation Editor
