# Website translations > A good website is like a good paper: easy to follow, clear and concise, with a clean, refined presentation. > > — N0zoM1z0 The same standard applies in every language. A translation should help someone understand the example and try it. Clear, accurate wording matters more than a literal imitation of English sentences. ## Edit a translation Use the Python environment in [the website README](../README.md). Pick a language from `languages.json`, then edit its `messages.po` in a text editor, Poedit or another gettext editor. Each entry includes its source page and line: ```po #: website/public/faq/index.html:200 msgctxt "page:faq/index.html" msgid "How do I install REA?" msgstr "如何安装 REA？" ``` Change `msgstr`. Keep `msgid` and `msgctxt`. Add reviewer notes with `#` comments when useful. Shared navigation uses the `shared` context; page-specific wording has its own context. The same English sentence may need different wording in a different case study. ```sh python3 scripts/website.py translations status --language zh-CN python3 scripts/website.py translations check --language zh-CN python3 scripts/website.py serve ``` Open . The language selector opens the equivalent page in another edition. Check the page you edited, its figures and its copy buttons. Rebuild a running preview with `python3 scripts/prepare-website.py`. Before submitting a change, run `python3 scripts/website.py check`. Use `translations check --strict` to require every message to be translated. ## Keep complete sentences and protected evidence Paragraphs remain complete translation units. Inline emphasis, links, code and literal commands use named placeholders: ```po #. {ph0}: #. {ph1}: msgctxt "page:index.html" msgid "Already know RE? {ph0}Skip to analysis guides →{ph1}" msgstr "已经了解逆向工程？{ph0}直接看分析指南 →{ph1}" ``` Move a linked or emphasized phrase when your language needs a different sentence order. Keep its opening and closing placeholders around that phrase. Preserve each placeholder exactly once per occurrence. Checks reject missing placeholders and broken tag nesting. Interaction messages use names such as `{speed}` and `{seconds}`; keep those names too. Code blocks, inline code and `translate="no"` spans are copied from the source. Commands, filenames, paths, URLs, hashes and observed values must retain their meaning. Never translate `npx rea-agents@latest setup` into prose. Preserve product names such as REA, Codex, Claude Code, Ghidra and Homebrew. Explain technical terms in the surrounding text when needed. In these articles, an **agent** is the reader's AI coding assistant. A **call** is a function call; a **library** is a software library. A **port** means adapting a program to another platform. An **oracle** is a concrete reference or checker used to verify a reconstruction. Translate those meanings rather than unrelated dictionary senses. Distinguish native machine-code analysis from local analysis, and .NET assemblies from assembly instructions. Android names the operating system; C names the programming language. Read the whole sentence when a dictionary sense would change what the software does. Review the question, REA's findings, the agent's reasoning and the verification result together. Keep recorded versions, milestone counts, unknowns and source attribution accurate. Blog essays can use a personal voice. Translated quotes should be identifiable as translations and retain a link to the original. ## Update the English source ```sh python3 scripts/website.py sync python3 scripts/website.py translations extract python3 scripts/website.py translations status python3 scripts/website.py check ``` Extraction generates `messages.pot` and merges it into each PO catalog. Unchanged sentences keep their translations and reviewer comments. Changed sentences start empty; removed entries are retained as obsolete translation memory. Nothing silently accepts a guessed match. An editor's `fuzzy` entry remains pending until someone reviews it and removes the flag. If a page needs a missing or fuzzy message, its language route temporarily shows the complete English page with a visible notice. It has `noindex` and stays out of the sitemap and translated `hreflang` alternatives. Links from ready pages lead to ready editions or the English source. Completing the required entries restores the translated page and its search metadata at the next build. Runtime messages affect only pages that use their script; an untranslated dinosaur status does not turn the FAQ into an English fallback. `public/` remains the authored English site. `_site/` is disposable generated output. The sitemap discovers every ready edition automatically. Pages and Cloudflare publish this same artifact. No translation API runs during a build or in a reader's browser. Figure labels and accessibility descriptions are included in the catalogs under `figure:`. Keep labels short enough for the diagram. Interaction text is extracted directly from `t("message")` calls in `public/assets/*.js`, with source locations in the catalog. Keep named values instead of concatenating translated fragments. ## Language coverage and initial translations `languages.json` lists the same editions as the English root README and the translations in `docs/readme/`, with native names, standard language tags and text direction. English keeps its existing routes; other editions use a language prefix such as `/ja/` or `/pt-BR/`. Arabic and Persian use right-to-left page layouts; code and numeric demos remain left to right. The two Notes target applications and the downloadable source archive remain the original investigation inputs. Greek (`el`) has a translated README and a complete website catalog, including setup guides, case studies, articles and Contributors. Like the other editions, it uses the labeled English fallback when a future source change leaves a required translation missing or pending review. Malayalam (`ml`) has a translated README and a pending website catalog. Its website messages remain untranslated and use the labeled, nonindexable English fallback described above; the README translation does not establish website translation coverage. The first catalogs started with machine-assisted drafts. They include editorial corrections to navigation, prompts and technical terminology. Traditional Chinese started from the Simplified Chinese draft and is maintained independently. Further language review and more natural phrasing are welcome. Submit the PO changes with the page and language you checked; a screenshot can help explain a layout issue. ## Why gettext PO catalogs have source references, reviewer comments and explicit pending translations. They can be edited locally and can later be connected to Weblate without replacing the site's translation format. This keeps one authored layout and a small offline build instead of maintaining separate HTML trees. See [GNU gettext's PO format](https://www.gnu.org/software/gettext/manual/html_node/PO-File-Entries.html), [Weblate's translation workflows](https://docs.weblate.org/en/latest/workflows.html) and [Google's localized-page guidance](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/specialty/international/localized-versions).