Imported from HorusGoul/trizum (packages/pwa/locale/AGENTS.md). Install upstream with npx skills add HorusGoul/trizum --skill locale. Copyright stays with the author.

Translation Guidelines for trizum

This document contains translation rules, terminology guidelines, and explanations for translating trizum to different languages.

Core Concepts & Terminology

Party

CRITICAL: The term "party" in trizum refers to a group of people sharing expenses together, NOT a celebration or social event.

• A party is a collection of participants who track shared expenses
• Users can create, join, and leave parties
• Parties have settings, participants, expenses, and balances

Key translations:

• Should translate to terms meaning "group", "collective", "shared expense group"
• Avoid words that mean "celebration", "festival", or "social gathering"

Examples of correct translations:

• Spanish: "grupo" ✅ (not "fiesta" ❌)
• French: "groupe" ✅ (not "fête" ❌)
• German: "Gruppe" ✅ (not "Party" ❌)

Expense

An individual spending entry recorded in a party. Represents money spent, typically with:

• Amount
• Who paid
• Who it's split among
• Date
• Optional description and attachments

Translation notes:

• Standard financial term, usually has direct translation
• Maintain consistency - use same term throughout

Participant

A person who is part of a party and shares in expenses.

Translation notes:

• Standard term meaning "person taking part"
• Keep consistent across all contexts

Balance

The financial state showing how much each participant owes or is owed.

Context:

• Can refer to individual participant's balance
• Can refer to overall party balance state
• Used in phrases like "balance your position", "impact on balance"

Translation considerations:

• Financial terminology - may have specific terms in target language
• Could be translated or kept as loanword depending on language conventions

Shares

When an expense is split among participants, each person's portion is called a "share".

Context:

• "Shares for {participant}" - showing individual's portion
• "Shares sum up to X" - validation/calculation messages

Translation considerations:

• Needs term for "portion", "part", or "share" of an expense
• Should be clearly distinct from financial "shares" (stocks) if context matters

Owes / Debt

Context:

• "X owes Y" - one participant owes money to another
• "owes" as standalone word in UI
• "Nobody owes you money!" - zero balance state
• "People that owe you money" - list heading

Translation considerations:

• Need clear verb for "to owe" (money)
• Distinguish from "debt" (noun) when needed
• Keep consistent tone - friendly vs formal

Action Terms

Mark as Paid

When an expense is marked as paid after a transaction occurs.

Context:

• Button text: "Mark as paid"
• Success: "Debt settled between X and Y!"
• Process: "Marking expense as paid..."

Translation considerations:

• Should clearly indicate the action of recording that payment occurred
• May need different phrasing based on formality level

Settle / Balance (verbs)

Settle: To resolve a debt between participants
Balance: To adjust one's position, see balance view

Translation considerations:

• May need different terms for these two concepts
• "Settle" is more about completing a transaction
• "Balance" is more about viewing/adjusting financial state

UI & Interaction Terms

Personal Mode

A view filter where users only see expenses relevant to themselves.

Translation:

• Should convey the idea of a filtered/personalized view
• Not about privacy, but about viewing perspective

Archive

Participants can be archived (hidden from active list but not deleted).

Translation:

• Should use standard archiving term in target language
• Keep consistent - same term for verb and adjective forms

Share Party

Action to share the party link with others.

Translation:

• Should use standard "share" verb (as in sharing links/items)
• Not about dividing expenses, but about sharing access

Formatting Rules

Placeholders

CRITICAL: Always preserve placeholders exactly as they appear:

• {0}, {1}, {name}, {amount}, etc. → Keep exactly as-is
• <0/>, <1/>, etc. → Keep exactly as-is (React component markers)
• {message} → Keep as-is (Lingui format strings)

Example:

Original: "Shares sum up to <0>{0} {1}</0> while the expense amount is <1>{amount} {2}</1>."
Correct:   [Translate around placeholders, keep placeholders unchanged]

Capitalization

Follow target language capitalization rules:

• English: Title Case for UI labels, sentence case for descriptions
• Spanish: Only capitalize proper nouns and sentence beginnings
• German: Follow German capitalization rules (nouns are capitalized)
• French: Follow French capitalization rules

General principle: Adapt to language conventions, don't force English capitalization rules.

Punctuation

• Use target language punctuation conventions
• Spanish: "¿" for questions, "¡" for exclamations
• French: Spaces before punctuation marks (:, ;, !, ?)
• German: Different quotation marks (« » or „ ")

Tone & Style

Formality Level

English tone: Casual, friendly, approachable

Translation approach:

• Match the original tone in target language
• Decide on formality level (tú vs usted, informal vs formal) and be consistent
• Consider target audience and cultural context

Consistency

Critical rules:

1. Use the same term for the same concept throughout
2. Maintain consistent formality level
3. Keep UI terminology consistent (buttons, labels, messages)

App-Specific Terms

trizum:

• Keep "trizum" as-is (app name)
• Don't translate app name

Bizum:

• Payment service name - keep as-is if it's a proper noun in target region
• Consider if equivalent services exist in target market

Tricount:

• Competing app name - keep as-is

Language-Specific Sections

Spanish (es)

Key Terminology

• Party → "grupo" (NOT "fiesta")
• Expense → "gasto" (singular), "gastos" (plural)
• Participant → "participante"
• Balance → "balance" (common in Spanish finance)
• Shares → "partes"
• Owes → "le debe" (verb, used between names: "X le debe a Y")
• Paid by → "Pagado por"
• Archive → "Archivar" (verb), "Archivados" (adjective)

Formality

• Current approach: Using "tú" form (informal)
• Consistent informal tone throughout

Common Phrases

• "Create a new Party" → "Crear un nuevo Grupo"
• "Add an expense" → "Añadir un gasto"
• "Mark as paid" → "Marcar como pagado"
• "Share party" → "Compartir grupo"
• "Welcome to the party, {0}!" → "¡Bienvenido al grupo, {0}!"

Translation Decisions

1. Balance: Using "balance" (loanword, common in Spanish finance)
2. Shares: Using "partes" (clear and appropriate)
3. Owes: Using "le debe" (more natural when used between two names: "X le debe a Y")
4. Settle/Balance (verbs): Using "saldar" for settling debts and "equilibrar" for balancing positions
5. Mark as paid: Using "Marcar como pagado" (current phrasing is clear)
6. Formality: Maintaining informal "tú" throughout the app

[Add other languages here as they are added]

Translation Workflow

Before Starting

1. Read this document thoroughly
2. Understand the context of trizum (expense splitting app)
3. Review existing translations if available
4. Identify any unclear terms and ask questions

During Translation

1. Maintain terminology consistency
2. Preserve all placeholders exactly
3. Follow target language formatting rules
4. Match the original tone (friendly, approachable)

After Translation

1. Review for consistency
2. Check all placeholders are preserved
3. Verify formatting follows target language rules
4. Test in context if possible

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

1. ❌ Translating "party" as celebration/festival
2. ❌ Changing or removing placeholders
3. ❌ Inconsistent terminology
4. ❌ Forcing English capitalization rules
5. ❌ Mixing formality levels
6. ❌ Translating app name "trizum"

Notes

• All translations should maintain the friendly, approachable tone of the original English
• Keep technical terms and proper nouns (trizum, Bizum, Tricount) as-is unless they have established local equivalents
• When in doubt, ask for clarification before translating
• Consider cultural context - some concepts may need adaptation beyond literal translation

Revision History

• 2025-01-XX: Initial translation guidelines created
• Established general rules for multi-language support
• Added Spanish-specific section