Lately, I have been assigned translation work, and this time I would like to share some thoughts and casual talk about specialized terminology translation.

For someone like me who is not familiar with technical terms, I feel that I am not so much translating as learning specialized terminology.

When I first looked at ApparelX categories, there were so many unfamiliar technical terms that not only Japanese but also my Chinese became a problem.

"Lining" and "interlining"

For example, I knew the difference between the most basic lining and interlining, but when translating into Chinese, I wondered: is "lining" called "chèn bù" in Chinese? Is "interlining" also called "chèn bù"??? Wait, are they the same??? When I looked it up in a dictionary, it explained it as shown in the image below, and both were translated as "chèn bù".

Looking more deeply, there are many ways to say it: "lining" -> "lǐ chèn", "lǐ liào", "lǐ zi", "lǐ bù"; "interlining" -> "chèn lǐ", "chèn bù", "chèn diàn". Since there is no unified term, and because the Japanese opposites "front" and "back" are translated into the Chinese "face" and "inside", I chose the translation for "lining" as "lǐ liào".

The difference between "press fastener" and "snap button"

Also, in my personal impression, I thought a "press fastener" and a "snap button" were the same thing. I had the impression that both used the Chinese term "àn kòu," but after looking it up, I found that a "press fastener" is one type of "snap button".

In Chinese, the character "àn" means the Japanese verbs "to fasten" or "to press down," and "kòu" means "button," so this type of button is called "àn kòu."

Incidentally, a press fastener consists of two parts each on the top and bottom, four parts in total, so in Chinese it is called "sì hé kòu." A press fastener is attached to fabric with a dedicated machine, such as a hand press machine, using a snap fastener installation tool.

Both press fasteners, hand press machines, and snap fastener installation tools are sold on ApparelX, and they are very popular, so please have a look.

ApparelX Global is still in the process of being improved, so I think there are many shortcomings. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Lastly, while doing translation work, there were times when I could not find an appropriate Chinese equivalent, but through the examples above, I can learn unfamiliar words while doing the work. Translation and proofreading may seem unremarkable, but unless you do it yourself, you cannot understand the value within it. Unremarkable things can be amazingly good.