Chinese (Traditional) localization guide¶
Use these rules with the localization principles,
Qt interface rules and Chinese (Traditional) language guide.
Examples name their source (qtbase_zh_TW and linguist_zh_TW are Qt's
catalogs) or are marked constructed. They show grammar; the term table
decides terms.
Locale and register¶
- Locale
zh-hant, Qt catalogzh_TW: Traditional Chinese as written in Taiwan, with the punctuation of the Ministry of Education's 《重訂標點符號手冊》. Translate from the English; never convert Simplified Chinese text. - Leave the user unnamed: Chinese drops the subject. Where a pronoun is unavoidable, write 您, as Windows, Qt's catalog, Glyphs and FontForge do. Apple writes 你; FontLab does not. The application never says 我 or 我們.
- Plain written Chinese, neither bureaucratic (倘若) nor chatty (喔). No exclamation marks. 請 appears only in a sentence that asks the user to act (請再試一次。 Please try again., Font Book), never in a label.
Grammar of interface strings¶
| String | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Menu command | verb + object; no subject, no 請, no 。 | 新增錨點 (Add Anchor, Glyphs) |
| Button | verb of two to four characters | 取消, 安裝 (Cancel, Install, Font Book) |
| Checkbox or toggle | verb + object naming the on state; no 是否 | 顯示資訊面板 (Show Info Pane, Font Book) |
| Panel or dialog title | noun phrase | 字型資訊 (Font Info, Glyphs) |
| Status, in progress | 正在 + verb + object, never …中 | 正在列印字型 (Printing Font, FontForge) |
| Success | 已 + verb, before or after the object | %@ 已下載 (%@ downloaded, Glyphs) |
| Failure | 無法 + verb + object + 。 | 無法在這裡新增像素。 (Can’t add pixel here., Glyphs) |
| Empty or not done | 沒有 + noun, 未 + verb | 沒有警告或錯誤, 未選取 (No Warnings or Errors, not selected, Font Book) |
| Confirmation | 確定要 + verb + object + 嗎？ | 確定要刪除「%@」嗎？ (Are you sure you want to delete “%@”?, Font Book) |
| Tooltip | description without a subject | 匯出此主版的度量與調距資訊。 (Exports metrics and kerning information of the current master., Glyphs) |
A rule about a value takes 不能. A third-person English tooltip (Exports…) becomes a bare verb (匯出…). Cannot, Could not, Unable to and Failed to are all 無法; cannot find is 找不到 (找不到網路, Could not find network, Glyphs). Do you want to…? is 是否要…？. Add 成功 only where the source says successfully.
Compact labels¶
Shorten by removing function words, not by abbreviating. Drop 的, 一個, 進行, 可以 and 您的 wherever the phrase stays unambiguous: 匯出字型 (Export Font, Glyphs), not 對字型進行匯出. Prefer two-character verbs: 新增, 匯出, 移除.
Never shorten a term from the term table or drop a classifier after a count.
Keep the Latin short forms the source uses (UC, lc, UPM, PPM).
Plurals and placeholders¶
Qt gives Chinese one numerus form (nplurals=1; plural=0;). Write one
<numerusform> that reads correctly for 0, 1, 2 and 100, and drop the
source's (s): 已翻譯 %n 個條目 (Translated %n entry(s), linguist_zh_TW). Avoid words that presume several: 這些, 多個, 各.
A count needs a classifier between the number and the noun. 個 is the default; use the specific one where the noun has it: %{value1}@ 件問題 (%{value1}@ issues, Glyphs), 組 for pairs, 筆 for records, 種 for kinds, 次 for times. Never add 們.
A placeholder that stands for a name or a noun needs no ending or particle:
Chinese has no gender or case. Reorder numbered placeholders freely:
要使用 %2 上的 %1 需要驗證。 (Authentication needed to use %1 on %2.,
qtbase_zh_TW). An ordinal is 第 %1 個.
Numbers, punctuation and spacing¶
- Numbers:
1,234,567.89;25%with a half-width sign and no space. Digits and Latin letters are always half-width ASCII, never ＡＢＣ or １２３. - Han–Latin spacing: put one ordinary space (U+0020) between a Han
character and a Latin letter, a digit or a placeholder: 關於 %1 (About %1,
qtbase_zh_TW), 匯入 TrueType 集合 (Import TrueType Collection, Glyphs). Microsoft and Qt's catalog do this; Apple's interface writes no space. No space beside a full-width mark or a quotation mark, before(&X), or between a number and%. - Full-width marks in every string that contains Chinese: ， 。 ： ； ？ ！
、 （ ）, with no space on either side. A label colon is ：: 色調(&E)：
(Hu&e:,
qtbase_zh_TW). Microsoft's style keeps:,?and( )half-width; FontLab follows Qt's catalog and the handbook. Join parallel items with 、: A、B 和 C. A Taiwan font centres these marks in the em box: never substitute a character or add a space to move one. - Half-width marks in code, paths, numbers (
1,000,12:30), markup, strings that stay wholly Latin, and the mnemonic(&X). - Quotation marks: 「…」, with 『…』 inside, no spaces around them:
未知選項「%1」。 (Unknown option '%1'.,
qtbase_zh_TW). Never “…”. A source'x'or"x"around a name becomes 「x」; straight quotes stay in code and inside HTML tags. - Ellipsis: copy the source's
...or…unchanged and in the same position. Never …… or Apple's ⋯ (U+22EF). - Final period: 。 where the source ends with a period, none where it
does not. A source
!becomes 。. - Whitespace: keep the source's leading and trailing spaces,
\nand\t. Never add a space, a break or U+3000 to shape a line.
Mnemonics and key names¶
- Append the source's mnemonic letter, uppercase, in half-width parentheses
with no space before it: 開啟(&O) (&Open,
qtbase_zh_TW). It goes before a final colon or ellipsis: 色調(&E)：;C&ustom...becomes自訂(&U)...(constructed). - Write exactly
(&X): Qt strips that pattern on macOS. - Keep the source's letter, so sibling items stay unique. Never put
&before a Han character; add no mnemonic the source lacks. A label that stays Latin keeps its&in place. &&is a literal ampersand: write 和 or keep&&, never a single&.- Key names stay in Latin script as the source spells them: Shift, Ctrl, Alt,
Option, Cmd, Enter, Esc, Tab, Delete, Backspace. Space is 空白鍵 (Apple,
Qt); arrows are 向上鍵, 向下鍵, 向左鍵, 向右鍵. Keep
Ctrl+Sas written; add no 鍵 after a Latin key name.
Names and loans¶
- Latin script, exact case, no transliteration: product, company, typeface
and personal names (FontLab, OpenType, PostScript, Unicode, Python), format
names (VFJ, UFO), feature and table tags (
kern,OS/2), glyph names, extensions, unit symbols and code. - Embed a Latin name with a space on each side and its class noun after it:
Qt 外掛程式 (Qt plugin,
qtbase_zh_TW). No 《》 and no quotation marks around a product name unless the source quotes it. - Translate language, script and country names. An ordinary English word (layer, node) never stays in English, and a Chinese term is not followed by its English original in parentheses.
Script-specific rules¶
- Traditional characters in Taiwan's standard forms: 裡, 線, 為, 著; not 裏, 綫, 爲, 着.
- One Simplified character can be several Traditional ones: 后 is 後 or 后, 干 is 乾 or 幹, 复 is 復 or 複 (復原, 複製).
- Han characters have no case: keep case only inside Latin names and identifiers.
False friends and traps¶
The term table gives the term. These are the senses to reject.
- Mainland words, Taiwan word first: 檔案 not 文件 (in Taiwan a document), 設定 not 設置, 預設 not 默認, 視窗 not 窗口, 儲存 not 保存, 軟體 not 軟件, 程式 not 程序, 資訊 not 信息, 字型 not 字體, 匯出 not 導出, 復原 not 撤銷, 貼上 not 粘貼, 列印 not 打印, 滑鼠 not 鼠標, 螢幕 not 屏幕, 選單 not 菜單, 支援 not 支持, 相容 not 兼容.
- glyph is not character (字元). 字符 is ambiguous: the mainland word for character, and Glyphs' word for glyph; use it only as the term table says.
- script is a writing system (文字系統,
qtbase_zh_TW) or a Python script (腳本, Glyphs): read the control. - hinting is not 提示 (a tooltip); outline is not 大綱; a font table is not 表格; an OpenType feature is not 功能; weight is not 重量; master is not 大師; instance is not 範例.
- Machine-translation habits to remove: 被 passives (已被忽略 becomes 已忽略), 進行 + noun, 一個 for a, 當…時 for every when, 和 joining two verbs (use 並), 它, half-width commas, and long modifiers stacked before 的.
Review¶
Check in this order:
- Placeholders, markup,
\nand mnemonics(&X)match the source. - Each numerus entry: one form, with a classifier, right for 1 and for 100.
- A space between Han and Latin or digits; full-width ，：（）; 「」, never “ ”.
- No Simplified characters, mainland vocabulary, wrongly converted characters or 你.
- Terms match the term table: one concept, one term.
- Form by role: command, title, 正在…, 已…, 無法….
- Would a type designer in Taiwan say it this way?
FontLab terminology and compact labels¶
Preserve deliberately uppercase source labels using the language’s case rules. Keep numeric controls compact with UPM, PPM and LSB/RSB (French AG/AD); explain the full terms in help. The Family Dimensions “Units Per eM:” label is an intentional expanded exception.
Use the current core memory and its approval status. OpenType lookup defaults to the translation of procedure, with a different term only when strong OpenType-specific evidence supports it. Explicit choices are German Lookup, French lookup, Polish procedura and Russian процедура. Ordinary searches, individual rules and OpenType features are separate concepts. Preserve literal code keywords and identifiers.
Translate Fusion with the fallback Welder. Use the core's phonetic FontAudit transliteration in non-Latin scripts, including Chinese; preserve FontAudit in code. Proposed spellings remain proposed. Before rebuilding a QPH, recover team edits and import their terms and notes into the core memory.
Compare mnemonic-split terms with unmarked labels. Keep labels compact, aiming for 120% of the English length in Dimensions and Glyph Window preferences without losing meaning. Omit redundant font, color or command wording when context supplies it. TTH labels can omit “use” and abbreviate TrueType hinting; help can explain more. A full harmonization requires three complete catalog reviews, then reconciliation of help with the final UI and verification of generated resources.
Current terminology¶
The Chinese (Traditional) term table, generated from localization/zh-hant-core.tmx, is the
terminology authority. Use its definitions to select the right concept and its notes for grammar and
usage. Check each entry’s status: team-approved decisions and proposed translations are distinct.
A proposed term still stays consistent across the interface and help; consistency does not confer approval.
For a missing term, translate the fallback original term and record the proposal with its reason.
The terms that other strings are built from:
| English | Chinese (Traditional) |
|---|---|
| glyph | 字符 |
| character | 字元 |
| family dimensions | 家族尺寸 |
| master | 主板 |
| instance | 實體 |
| interpolation | 內插 |
| axis | 變化軸 |
| variable font | 可變字型 |
| kerning | 調距 |
| kerning pair | 調距配對 |
| kerning class | 調距類別 |
| tracking | 字距調整 |
| metrics | 度量 |
| sidebearing | 側邊留白 |
| left sidebearing | 左留白 |
| right sidebearing | 右留白 |
| advance width | 字寬 |
| UPM | UPM |
| font unit | 字型單位 |
| baseline | 基線 |
| x-height | x 字高 |
| cap height | 大寫字高 |
| ascender | 上伸部 |
| descender | 下伸部 |
| overshoot | 出框微調整 |
| stem | 字幹 |
| counter | 字腔 |
| serif | 襯線 |
| terminal | 末端 |
| contour | 輪廓 |
| node | 節點 |
| handle | 控制桿 |
| segment | 線段 |
| extremum | 極值點 |
| element | 元素 |
| component | 組件 |
| reference | 參照 |
| layer | 圖層 |
| anchor | 錨點 |
| guide | 參考線 |
| hint | Hint |
| hinting | Hinting |
| autohinting | 自動 Hinting |
| feature | 特性 |
| lookup | 程序 |
| OpenType class | OpenType 類別 |
| mark | 標號 |
| ligature | 連字 |
| smart | 機靈 |
| Smart Corner | 機靈轉角 |
| Power Brush | 超能筆刷 |
| Power Guide | 超能參考線 |
| Power Nudge | 超能輕推 |
| Power Stroke | 超能筆畫 |
| Nudge | 輕推 |
| Servant node | 跟隨節點 |
| Genius node | 天才節點 |
| Tunni line | Tunni 線 |
| cousins | 表親 |
| Sketchboard | 速寫板 |
| Skin | 外皮 |
| Matchmaker | 紅娘 |
| match | 匹配 |
| True Fill | 如實填色 |
| Dream Up | 發想 |
| Remove Overlap | 移除重疊 |
| decompose | 分解 |
| panel | 面板 |
| property bar | 屬性列 |
Rapid tool and Quick Help references¶
The tool name is 拉皮德. Use 用拉皮德繪製 for Rapid draw and 用拉皮德編輯 for Rapid edit. Keep the name distinct from ordinary descriptions of speed and from the Vertical rapid and Horizontal rapid contrast classifications. Do not use Rapidograph as the tool name.
This is the local-script transliteration of Rapid. Its spelling follows the current TS catalog; the core records its review status separately.
For Quick Help, match tool, panel, option and command references to the current
TS catalog in the same control context. Keep inflection natural in sentences.
If a core entry differs, reconcile it with the catalog before regenerating
phrasebooks. A compact UI label and its full prose explanation can differ.
Check the current English conditions and consequences: disabling Cloud also
disables mark/mkmk generation, and mark generation requires Cloud. Preserve
mark and mkmk as literal OpenType feature tags.