translate
Local multilingual translation via Ollama — 119 languages, no API key, no network, no data leaves the machine. Use when translating to/from Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, or any other language. Also for localization, i18n text, and roundtrip validation. Qwen3:32b on Apple Silicon — faster and cheaper than cloud APIs.
Source facts
- Repository
- ryanmaclean/skills
- Last source activity
- April 15, 2026 at 08:48
- Detected SKILL.md language
- English
- Stars
- 1
- Forks
- 0
Install options
The review-first prompt is selected by default. You can switch to a direct command or download a local copy.
Review the source files
Read SKILL.md and any companion files shown by SkillsMP before deciding whether to install.
File Explorer
3 filesShowing SKILL.md
SKILL.md
Source instructions · Read-only preview- name
- translate
- description
- Local multilingual translation via Ollama — 119 languages, no API key, no network, no data leaves the machine. Use when translating to/from Japanese, Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Russian, Arabic, or any other language. Also for localization, i18n text, and roundtrip validation. Qwen3:32b on Apple Silicon — faster and cheaper than cloud APIs.
# translate — Local Translation via Ollama
Offline-first. Qwen3 via Ollama. No data leaves the machine.
## Models (64GB unified memory)
| Model | Size | Use |
|-------|------|-----|
| `qwen3:32b` | 20GB | Default — best quality |
| `qwen3:30b` | 19GB MoE | Fast — near-same quality |
| `qwen3:14b` | 9.3GB | Acceptable quality, fastest |
```bash
ollama pull qwen3:32b # one-time
```
## Run the script
```bash
# Translate text to a target language
nu script/translate.nu "Japanese" "technical-formal" "Your text here"
# From a file
nu script/translate.nu "Japanese" "technical-formal" \
--file /path/to/input.txt
# Round-trip validation (EN -> JP -> EN)
nu script/translate.nu "Japanese" "technical-formal" \
"Your text" --roundtrip
```
## Workflow checklist
```
Translation Progress:
- [ ] 1. Choose target language and register (see registers table below)
- [ ] 2. Run: nu script/translate.nu "Language" "register" "text"
- [ ] 3. Verify: does output read naturally? Check for register flattening.
- [ ] 4. For critical text: run --roundtrip and compare back-translation
- [ ] 5. For legal/published copy: use Qwen-MT API instead (see cjk.md)
```
## Registers (Japanese)
| Context | Register |
|---------|----------|
| Engineering spec, PR | `technical-formal` |
| Stakeholder report | `formal` |
| Slack / team chat | `casual` |
| Customer-facing docs | `polite` |
| Legal / contract | `keigo` |
## Thinking mode
- `/no_think` — default, faster, use for technical docs and UI strings
- `/think` — use for literary passages, ambiguous register, irony
## CJK detail
For CJK-specific system prompts, register rules, honorific mapping,
chengyu handling, and Korean verb ending nuances: see [cjk.md](cjk.md)
## Shell escaping rule
**Never** interpolate text into jq strings. Always `--arg` + pipe via `@-`.
The script handles this correctly. See [cjk.md](cjk.md) for the pattern.
## Limitations
- Qwen3:32b local vs Qwen-MT API: local strong, Qwen-MT better for legal/published
- Proper nouns: verify katakana readings for obscure new names
- No pitch accent reconstruction for TTS output
View on GitHub