I'd like to share some insights on using AI to translate articles. Here is the core philosophy:
The best translation is actually rewriting.
Achieving high-quality results requires breaking the process down into steps.
However, this depends on the scenario. For general translation needs, a single rewrite is usually sufficient. Given the capabilities of current Large Language Models—especially models like Gemini 3 Pro—the quality of a one-shot rewrite is already quite impressive.
If you are aiming for professional-grade translation, it is necessary to have the AI proofread and polish the text after that initial rewrite.
Crucially, do not attempt to cram translation, proofreading, and polishing into a single prompt, unless the content is extremely short.
The main reason is something I mentioned yesterday: while models can handle very long inputs, they tend to cut corners and suffer from severe hallucinations if the required output is too long.
Imagine translating a 2,000-word article. If you ask the model to rewrite, then proofread, and finally polish it all at once, the output could easily balloon to 5,000 - 6,000 words. By the time it gets to the end, the quality will degrade significantly.
Therefore, translation, proofreading, and polishing are best performed independently.
Let's start with translation. The prompt doesn't need to be overly complex. Simply asking it to "rewrite" works well, provided you specify the following:
- The style of the article
- A glossary of common terms or mappings
- The target audience (optional)
For proofreading, you need to provide both the original text and the translation. The goal here is to check for omissions and errors. If your requirement for precision isn't extremely high, you can skip this step.
For polishing, you do not need the original English text anymore; the translation alone is sufficient. At this stage, you just need the model to check if the results flow smoothly and if the phrasing adheres to native expression habits. The original text is no longer necessary.
Additionally, if the article is too long, you should split it into blocks. It is best to split by natural chapters or paragraphs; usually, splitting at the paragraph level is enough.
As for how to ensure continuity between the current block and the previous one, a simple and effective method is to add the source text and translation of the previous block into the context. This allows the translation of the next block to reference the content and style of the one before it.
Regarding how much history to retain, that depends on the model and the size of the blocks. Usually, the source and translation of the immediately preceding block are enough; you don't need too much history. In fact, sometimes providing no history at all works fine.
This process can be automated via a program using an API, or done manually within the model interface. Personally, I use Gemini. I create different "Gems" for different prompts, and when I need them, I simply paste the content into the corresponding Gem.