What is translation memory?

A translation memory is a database that stores previously translated sentences and suggests them when the same or a similar sentence comes up again.

It is one of the instruments that keeps multilingual content consistent. It guarantees that the same phrase is translated the same way every time — and that matters as much as a glossary for preserving the voice of a brand.

Its second benefit is cost: repeated content is not translated again. On content with high repetition — product descriptions, legal notices, interface strings — the saving is noticeable.

Small projects need no separate tool; keeping the strings in a single dictionary file serves a similar purpose. When a label’s counterpart in three languages sits side by side, consistency is preserved and what is missing becomes visible.

• Consistency — the same phrase is translated the same way everywhere.
• Cost — repeated content is not translated again.
• Used together with a glossary — one fixes sentences, the other concepts.
• For small projects one dictionary file is enough — no separate tool needed.

On this site the interface strings sit in a single file with the three languages side by side under each key. If a key is missing in one language the field is not rendered — a half-translated interface cannot come about.

It becomes most effective when used together with a glossary: the memory fixes sentences, the glossary fixes concepts. Without both, the same concept can be described with three different words on three pages.

It also protects the brand’s voice. A brand’s tone — formal or familiar, technical or narrative — is the thing most easily lost in translation, and fixing the repeated phrases limits that loss.

In small projects a single dictionary file does the same job instead of a separate tool: a key’s counterpart in three languages sits side by side and what is missing is seen at a glance.

• Consistency — the same phrase is translated the same way everywhere.
• Cost — repeated content is not translated again.
• Together with a glossary — one fixes sentences, the other concepts.
• Brand voice — fixing repeated phrases preserves the tone.
• For small projects one dictionary file is enough.

A note on limits: a memory helps with repeated content, not with original content. In a text where every sentence differs the gain is close to zero — its real value is in content with high repetition, such as interface strings and standard blocks.

Even a match returned from memory can come out at a different length in the target language; that difference is measured as text expansion.