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How to Translate an Article

From Craftpedia

How to Translate an Article

Welcome to Craftpedia’s translation guide! 🌍 This page explains how to translate existing articles into different languages using the built-in Translate extension.

Before you start...

There is a document on each country's portal called "List of Languages by Progress". Before you even start translating, please get yourself familiar with this document. Here is this document for Japanese portal. You should also know, that:

  1. Starting the translation of the new article means starting with the language #1 in the table. You cannot just pick any language and translate the article into it. This is extremely important, as the translation progress is being tracked in another document: Article Translation Metrics.
  1. If you have finished translating for now, please drop a line on the discussion page of the article being translated. Specify, what you've done and - what is even more important - what language number you've stopped on. This will later be recorded in the document specified in the previous item here in the list.
  1. If you see that some articles have been translated to even more languages than the others, that means, that new languages are coming. That means in turn that all of the articles have to be translated into those languages gradually.

Step 1: Is the Page Ready for Translation?

Before you begin, check if the article is already marked for translation.

  • If you see the link "Translate this page" at the top, you’re good to go!
  • If not, the page needs to be prepared first. You can:
    • Leave a message on the article’s Talk page, or
    • Contact a site administrator and request translation support.

Only pages prepared with <translate> tags can be translated.


Step 2: Start Translating

  1. Click Translate this page (top of the article).
  2. Choose your target language from the language menu.
  3. Translate each text block shown in the interface.
  4. Click Save after each segment.

🔹 You don’t have to finish everything at once — translations can be completed gradually.


Step 3: Review & Proofread

  • Double-check your grammar, spelling, and sentence flow.
  • Stay true to the meaning of the original content.
  • Leave template codes, references, and category tags untouched (e.g., Template:Infobox, <ref>, [[Category:]]).
  • Avoid literal or automatic translations — natural, cultural adaptation is preferred.

Step 4: View the Translation

Once saved, your translated version becomes live at:

https://[subdomain].craftpedia.wiki/index.php/Page_Title/langcode (For example: https://asia.craftpedia.wiki/index.php/Bizen_Ware/de)

Language links will also appear at the top of the original article, allowing users to switch easily.


Frequently Asked Questions

❓ I don’t see “Translate this page” → The article hasn't been prepared yet. Request it on the Talk page or ask an admin.

❓ Why are only parts of the text shown for translation? → Only content within <translate> tags is translatable. Other parts remain static.

❓ The translated page doesn’t show up → The translation might still be processing. Wait a few minutes or ask an admin to run the update script (if urgent).


Get Support

Need help or want to discuss a translation?

Thank you for helping bring Craftpedia to the world in many languages! 🌐