A Translation Memory and a glossary serve different purposes and complement each other perfectly in the professional translation process.
The key difference lies in the information they store:
Translation Memory (TM): Stores complete sentences or text segments, including their translations. This allows recurring content to be automatically identified and reused.
Glossary (terminology database): Contains individual technical terms, product names, abbreviations and their approved translations. It can also define preferred terms or terms that must not be translated (Do-Not-Translate).
Together, both tools ensure:
- Consistent terminology: Technical terms are used correctly and incorporated into consistent translations.
- Higher translation quality: Translators and AI systems reliably follow terminology and language requirements.
- More efficient translation processes: Fewer queries, fewer corrections and consistently high translation quality.