Why AI Translation Gets Industry Terms Wrong — and How to Fix It with a Custom Glossary
Whether you're translating English to Japanese for a Tokyo-based client, English to Chinese for a cross-border trade deal, English to German for EU regulatory filings, or English to French for a Montreal partnership agreement — there's one problem that keeps coming back: AI mistranslates specialized terminology.
The issue isn't that AI is bad at translation. Modern AI-powered document translators handle everyday language remarkably well. The problem is that the same English word can mean completely different things depending on the industry — and AI doesn't always know which meaning to pick.
This article breaks down why this happens across multiple languages, how doc2lang's Custom Glossary feature solves it, and where to find authoritative terminology databases to build your own glossary.
Why You Need a Custom Glossary
The words that get mistranslated most often aren't obscure jargon — they're common English words that carry specialized meanings in specific industries or within your own company. This problem affects every language pair, whether you're translating English to Spanish, English to Korean, or English to Portuguese.
Here are the most common scenarios:
Company-specific abbreviations and department names. Every organization has its own internal shorthand. Your company's "GBS" might stand for "Global Business Services," but AI could translate it differently each time — "全球商业服务" in one Chinese paragraph, "グローバルビジネスサービス" in one Japanese paragraph, and something slightly different in the next. Your "CoE" (Center of Excellence) might come out as "卓越中心," "能力中心," or even "教育中心" depending on the context the AI infers.
Product names and brand names that shouldn't be translated at all. Your product is called "SmartFlow," but an English to Chinese translator renders it as "智能流程" (Intelligent Process), an English to Japanese translator turns it into "スマートフロー" (katakana transliteration), and an English to German translator leaves it as-is in one sentence but translates it as "Intelligenter Ablauf" in another. These names should stay in English — translating them creates confusion and damages brand consistency.
The same word means entirely different things across industries. "Bank" means a financial institution in finance but a riverbank in geography. "Draft" means a bill of exchange in trade but a rough version of a document elsewhere. "Equity" can be shareholder equity, ownership stake, or fairness. Without industry context, AI frequently picks the wrong meaning — regardless of the target language.
The same term gets translated inconsistently within a single document. This is perhaps the most frustrating issue. When you translate a 50-page English to French financial report, "Accounts Receivable" might appear as "comptes débiteurs" on page 2, "créances clients" on page 15, and "comptes clients" on page 30. All three are understandable, but using three different translations in the same document looks unprofessional.
A glossary solves all of these problems: you tell the AI "this word must always be translated this way," and it stays consistent across every page and every file.
Terms That AI Translation Gets Wrong Most Often
Below are terms that GPT-5.2 most frequently mistranslates across three major domains. Since doc2lang is powered by OpenAI's latest GPT-5.2 model under the hood, these same issues appear when translating documents — from English to Chinese, English to Japanese, English to German, English to French, or any other language — without a glossary:
Finance & Accounting
| English Term | What AI Often Produces | Correct Translation | Why It Goes Wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goodwill | CN: 善意 (kindness) · JP: 善意 (good intention) · DE: guter Wille (good will) | CN: 商誉 · JP: のれん · DE: Geschäftswert | AI defaults to the everyday meaning |
| Depreciation | CN: 贬值 (devaluation) · FR: dépréciation (can be ambiguous) | CN: 折旧 · FR: amortissement (for fixed assets) | Confused with currency devaluation |
| Accrued Expenses | CN: 累积费用 (accumulated costs) · JP: 蓄積された費用 (stockpiled costs) | CN: 应计费用 · JP: 未払費用 | "Accrued" has a specific accounting meaning |
| Revenue Recognition | CN: 收入识别 (income identification) · DE: Umsatzerkennung (literal) | CN: 收入确认 · DE: Umsatzrealisierung | Standard accounting term with a fixed translation |
| Accounts Receivable | CN: 应收账户 (receivable accounts) · FR: comptes recevables (literal) | CN: 应收账款 · FR: créances clients | Fixed collocation in each language |
| Equity | CN: 公平 (fairness) · JP: 公平 (fairness) · DE: Gleichheit (equality) | CN: 股东权益 · JP: 株主資本 · DE: Eigenkapital | Classic polysemy |
| Provision | CN: 提供 (to provide) · FR: disposition (arrangement) | CN: 拨备 · FR: provision (comptable) | AI rarely selects the financial meaning |
| Impairment | CN: 损害 (damage) · JP: 障害 (disability) | CN: 减值 · JP: 減損 | Medical meaning overrides accounting usage |
International Trade
| English Term | What AI Often Produces | Correct Translation | Why It Goes Wrong |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill of Lading (B/L) | CN: 载货单 (cargo list) · JP: 船荷証券 (sometimes correct) · DE: Frachtbrief (waybill) | CN: 提单 · JP: 船荷証券 · DE: Konnossement | AI doesn't know the fixed trade term |
| Letter of Credit (L/C) | CN: 信用函 (credit letter) · FR: lettre de crédit (sometimes literal) | CN: 信用证 · FR: lettre de crédit / accréditif | Fixed trade terminology |
| FOB (Free on Board) | CN: 免费上船 (free to board) · JP: 本船渡し (sometimes correct) · DE: frei an Bord (literal) | CN: 离岸价 · DE: FOB (frei an Bord) | Incoterms should never be literally translated |
| Drawback | CN: 缺点 (disadvantage) · FR: inconvénient (drawback/flaw) · DE: Nachteil (disadvantage) | CN: 出口退税 · FR: drawback / ristourne douanière · DE: Zollrückvergütung | Trade meaning is completely different from everyday use |
| Customs Clearance | CN: 海关许可 (customs permission) · JP: 税関許可 (customs permission) | CN: 清关 · JP: 通関 | Standard industry term |
| Draft / Bill of Exchange | CN: 草稿 (rough draft) · DE: Entwurf (draft/design) · FR: brouillon (rough copy) | CN: 汇票 · DE: Wechsel · FR: lettre de change | AI almost always picks "draft" as "rough version" |
Legal & Compliance
| English Term | What AI Often Produces | Correct Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Consideration | CN: 考虑 (thinking) · JP: 考慮 (consideration) · DE: Überlegung (reflection) | CN: 对价 · JP: 約因 · DE: Gegenleistung |
| Force Majeure | CN: 强大力量 (powerful force) · DE: höhere Gewalt (sometimes correct) | CN: 不可抗力 · JP: 不可抗力 · DE: höhere Gewalt |
| Due Diligence | CN: 应有的勤勉 (proper diligence) · JP: 当然の注意 (natural caution) | CN: 尽职调查 · JP: デューデリジェンス · DE: Sorgfaltsprüfung |
| Indemnification | CN: 补偿 (compensation) · FR: compensation (generic) | CN: 免责补偿 · FR: indemnisation |
doc2lang's Custom Glossary Feature
doc2lang is an AI document translation platform powered by OpenAI's GPT-5.2 model. It supports English to Japanese, English to Chinese, English to German, English to French, English to Spanish, English to Korean, and 100+ other language pairs. It handles Word, Excel, PDF, PowerPoint, and many other formats while preserving the original layout.
Its Custom Glossary feature is specifically designed to solve the terminology problems described above.
Key Features
Define your own terms. Add terminology pairs (source language → target language) to ensure brand names, technical terms, and industry-specific vocabulary are translated consistently across all your documents.
Simple to use. After uploading your file and selecting the target language, simply add glossary entries in the translation settings. Enter the source term and your preferred translation — the system will prioritize your specified translations.
Works across all file formats. Whether you're translating an Excel financial statement, a Word contract, or a PowerPoint business proposal, the same glossary applies uniformly.
Deep integration with GPT-5.2. The glossary isn't a simple find-and-replace. It's injected as contextual guidance into the GPT-5.2 model, so the AI respects your terminology constraints while still producing natural, fluent sentences.
Pay-per-use, no subscription required. Adding a glossary costs nothing extra, making it accessible for small businesses and individual users.
How to Use It
- 1Visit doc2lang.com and upload your document
- 2Select your target language
- 3Find the Glossary section in the translation options and add your term pairs
- 4Click translate — the system automatically applies your glossary
- 5Preview the translation for free; pay and download only when satisfied
Real-World Test: GPT-5.2 Translation With vs. Without a Glossary
Since doc2lang runs on OpenAI's GPT-5.2 model, we tested the translations directly using GPT-5.2 to show the difference a glossary makes. We used five different language pairs to demonstrate that this problem — and its solution — is universal. All results below are actual outputs, not hypothetical examples.
Test 1: Company Internal Document — English to German Translation
This is the most universally relatable test. Every multinational company has internal project names, system names, and abbreviations that should never be translated — but AI doesn't know that.
Original text:
The GBS team has completed the Phase 2 review of Project Falcon. Please log the results in SmartFlow and notify the CoE lead. The PMO will schedule a follow-up with the APAC BU head next week. All findings must be uploaded to the OneView Dashboard before the next Steering Committee.
GPT-5.2 English to German translation WITHOUT a glossary:
Das GBS-Team hat die Phase-2-Prüfung von Projekt Falcon abgeschlossen. Bitte erfassen Sie die Ergebnisse in SmartFlow und benachrichtigen Sie den CoE-Leiter. Das PMO wird für nächste Woche einen Folgetermin mit dem Leiter der APAC Business Unit ansetzen. Alle Ergebnisse müssen vor der nächsten Sitzung des Lenkungsausschusses in das OneView-Dashboard hochgeladen werden.
Look at what happened:
| English Term | Without Glossary | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Project Falcon | Projekt Falcon (Germanized) | Internal code name — should stay as "Project Falcon" |
| APAC BU | APAC Business Unit (expanded) | Company uses the abbreviation "APAC BU" everywhere |
| Steering Committee | Lenkungsausschuss (translated to German) | Many multinationals keep this in English |
| OneView Dashboard | OneView-Dashboard (added German hyphen) | Product name — shouldn't be modified |
English to German translation WITH a glossary:
Das GBS Team hat die Phase-2-Prüfung von Project Falcon abgeschlossen. Bitte erfassen Sie die Ergebnisse in SmartFlow und benachrichtigen Sie den CoE-Leiter. Das PMO wird nächste Woche ein Follow-up mit dem Leiter von APAC BU ansetzen. Alle Erkenntnisse müssen vor dem nächsten Steering Committee in das OneView Dashboard hochgeladen werden.
All internal names and abbreviations preserved exactly as intended — even if you don't speak German, you can see the difference immediately.
Test 2: Trade & Maritime Terms — English to Japanese Translation
Trade terminology is where AI struggles most, because many trade terms have everyday meanings that are completely different from their specialized usage.
Original text:
The issuing bank confirmed the letter of credit subject to the applicant providing a clean bill of lading and a sight draft. The drawback claim was filed after customs clearance at the port of entry. The underwriter endorsed the policy, noting that the premium was subject to adjustment based on the vessel's flag state.
GPT-5.2 English to Japanese translation WITHOUT a glossary:
発行銀行は、申請人がクリーン船荷証券と一覧払手形を提出することを条件に、その信用状を確認しました。ドローバック（関税払戻）請求は、輸入港での通関後に提出されました。保険引受人は、船籍国に応じて保険料が調整される旨を付記して、保険証券に裏書きをしました。
Look at what happened:
| English Term | Without Glossary | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Clean Bill of Lading | クリーン船荷証券 (half-English katakana, half-Japanese) | Should be 無故障船荷証券 — the standard Japanese trade term |
| Sight Draft | 一覧払手形 (missing 為替) | Should be 一覧払い為替手形 — incomplete term |
| Drawback | ドローバック（関税払戻）(katakana with parenthetical) | Should just be 関税払戻し — the proper Japanese term, no need for katakana |
| Flag State | 船籍国 (ship registration country) | Should be 旗国 — the standard term in international maritime law |
English to Japanese translation WITH a glossary:
発行銀行は、申請人が無故障船荷証券および一覧払い為替手形を提出することを条件として、信用状を確認した。関税払戻しの請求は、入港地での通関後に提出された。保険引受人は、 船舶の旗国に基づいて保険料が調整の対象となる旨を記して、 保険証券に裏書きした。
Every term uses the correct, formal Japanese trade terminology — no katakana workarounds, no parenthetical explanations.
Test 3: Trade Contract — English to Chinese Translation
This test focuses on Incoterms and trade document terminology, where subtle differences matter in real contracts.
Original text:
The exporter submitted a draft drawn on the issuing bank, payable at 60 days sight. Upon customs clearance, the buyer shall endorse the Bill of Lading and surrender it to the carrier. The consignment is shipped on CIF Yokohama basis. The buyer may claim a drawback on re-exported goods, provided all original documentation is retained.
GPT-5.2 English to Chinese translation WITHOUT a glossary:
出口商提交了一张以开证行为付款人的汇票，付款期限为见票后60天。完成清关后，买方应背书提单并将其交还给承运人。该批货物按 CIF 横滨条件装运。对于复出口货物，买方可以申请退税，但前提是保留所有原始单证。
Look at what happened:
| English Term | Without Glossary | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Surrender | 交还 (return/hand back) | Should be 缴回 — the standard trade document term |
| Consignment | 该批货物 (this batch of goods — paraphrased away) | Should be 托运货物 — the actual trade concept |
| CIF | CIF (left as English abbreviation, unexpanded) | Should be 到岸价（成本加保险费加运费）— readers need the Chinese explanation |
| Drawback | 退税 (tax refund — generic) | Should be 出口退税 — more precise for trade context |
English to Chinese translation WITH a glossary:
出口商提交了一张以开证行为付款人开出的汇票，付款期限为见票后60天。完成清关后，买方应背书提单， 并将其缴回给承运人。该托运货物按到岸价（成本加保险费加运费）横滨条件装运。对于复出口货物，买方可以申请出口退税，但前提是保留所有原始单证。
Every trade term is precise and fully expanded — CIF is properly explained in Chinese, and no terminology is paraphrased away.
Test 4: Finance & Legal Mix — English to Chinese Translation
This test uses words where the everyday English meaning completely dominates over the specialized financial meaning — "instrument," "note," "call," "security," and "material" all have common meanings that AI tends to favor.
Original text:
The parties agree that adequate consideration has been provided under this instrument. The bank issued a note with a 90-day tenor, secured against the company's material assets. In the event of default, the trustee may call the security and distribute the proceeds on a pro-rata basis to all senior creditors.
GPT-5.2 English to Chinese translation WITHOUT a glossary:
各方同意，本文件项下已提供充分的对价。银行签发了一张期限为90天的票据，并以该公司的重大资产作为担保。若发生违约，受托人可执行该担保，并按比例将所得款项分配给所有优先债权人。
Look at what happened:
| English Term | Without Glossary | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Instrument | 文件 (document — generic) | Should be 票据 — a specific financial instrument |
| Note | 票据 (bill — vague) | Should be 本票 — a promissory note, more precise |
| Call the security | 执行该担保 (enforce the guarantee) | Should be 催收该担保品 — "call" means to demand repayment |
| Security | 担保 (guarantee — abstract) | Should be 担保品 — the physical collateral, not the concept |
English to Chinese translation WITH a glossary:
各方同意，在本票据项下已提供充分的对价。银行签发了一张期限为90天的本票，并以该公司的重大资产作为担保。若发生违约，受托人可催收该担保品，并按比例将所得款项分配给所有优先债权人。
"Instrument" correctly rendered as 票据, "note" specified as 本票, and "call the security" accurately translated as 催收该担保品.
Test 5: Legal Clause — English to French Translation
Legal translation requires extreme precision — a single wrong word can change the meaning of a contract clause.
Original text:
In the event of force majeure, neither party shall be liable for failure to perform its obligations. The defaulting party must exercise due diligence to mitigate damages. Any consideration already exchanged shall be subject to indemnification. This agreement is executed in counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original instrument.
GPT-5.2 English to French translation WITHOUT a glossary:
En cas de force majeure, aucune des parties ne pourra être tenue responsable de l'inexécution de ses obligations. La partie défaillante doit faire preuve de diligence raisonnable afin d'atténuer les dommages. Toute contrepartie déjà échangée fera l'objet d'une indemnisation. Le présent accord est signé en plusieurs exemplaires, chacun d'eux constituant un original.
Look at what happened:
| English Term | Without Glossary | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Due Diligence | diligence raisonnable (French paraphrase) | In international legal practice, "due diligence" is often kept in English |
| Executed | signé (signed) | Should be "conclu" (concluded/entered into) — more precise in contract law |
| Instrument | original (the word "instrument" was dropped entirely) | Should be "acte" (legal instrument/deed) |
English to French translation WITH a glossary:
En cas de force majeure, aucune des parties ne sera responsable de l'inexécution de ses obligations. La partie défaillante doit faire preuve de due diligence afin d'atténuer les dommages. Toute contrepartie déjà échangée fera l'objet d'une indemnisation. Le présent accord est conclu en exemplaires, dont chacun constituera un acte original.
"Due diligence" kept in English as preferred in international contracts, "executed" correctly rendered as "conclu," and "instrument" properly translated as "acte."
Bonus: Cross-Document Consistency
When you translate a full set of project documents — a pitch deck (PPT), a financial forecast (Excel), and a partnership agreement (Word) — it's critical that the same term is translated the same way everywhere. This applies whether you're doing English to Chinese, English to Japanese, English to German, English to French, or any other language pair.
Since GPT-5.2 processes each translation independently, the same word can easily receive a different translation in each file:
Without a glossary — the same word gets a different translation in each file:
| English Term | File A (PPT) | File B (Excel) | File C (Word) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equity | CN: 股权 (equity stake) | CN: 权益 (rights) | CN: 公平 (fairness) |
| Provision | JP: 規定 (regulation) | JP: 引当金 (reserve) | JP: 条項 (clause) |
| Endorsement | DE: Befürwortung (approval) | DE: Bestätigung (confirmation) | DE: Indossament (bill endorsement) |
With a unified glossary applied in doc2lang:
| English Term | File A (PPT) | File B (Excel) | File C (Word) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equity | CN: 股东权益 ✅ | CN: 股东权益 ✅ | CN: 股东权益 ✅ |
| Provision | JP: 引当金 ✅ | JP: 引当金 ✅ | JP: 引当金 ✅ |
| Endorsement | DE: Indossament ✅ | DE: Indossament ✅ | DE: Indossament ✅ |
Authoritative Terminology Databases Worth Bookmarking
Not sure about the standard translation of a specific term? These authoritative databases can help you build a high-quality glossary for use in doc2lang — whether you need terms for English to Chinese, English to Japanese, English to French, English to German, English to Spanish, or dozens of other languages:
1. IMF Terminology
URL: imf.org/en/About/Terminology
Domains: Money & banking, public finance, balance of payments, economic growth
Languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish
Why it's useful: Over 17,000 entries, continuously updated by the IMF Language Services team. The go-to reference for financial translation across all major language pairs.
2. IATE (Interactive Terminology for Europe)
URL: iate.europa.eu
Domains: Finance, trade, law, environment, agriculture, and more
Languages: All 24 official EU languages (including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, and more)
Why it's useful: One of the world's largest multilingual terminology databases with over 700,000 entries (~7 million terms). Especially valuable for English to German, English to French, English to Spanish, English to Italian, and other European language pairs. The entire database is available for free download.
3. UNTERM (United Nations Terminology Database)
URL: unterm.un.org
Domains: International law, trade, human rights, economic development
Languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish
Why it's useful: The official UN terminology standard. Essential for translating international organization documents — particularly useful for English to Chinese, English to French, English to Spanish, and English to Arabic translation.
4. WIPO Pearl
URL: wipo.int/pearl
Domains: Patents, intellectual property, technical standards
Languages: 10 languages including English, Japanese, Chinese, Korean, German, French
Why it's useful: Specialized in IP and patent terminology. Invaluable for technology companies, particularly for English to Japanese and English to Korean patent translations.
5. WTO Terminology
Domains: International trade rules, tariffs, dispute resolution
Languages: English, Spanish, French
Why it's useful: The authoritative source for international trade terminology, covering tariff barriers, anti-dumping measures, rules of origin, and more.
6. TERMIUM Plus
Domains: Finance, law, technology, medicine, and more
Languages: English, French, Spanish
Why it's useful: A comprehensive terminology database maintained by the Government of Canada. Particularly helpful for English to French translation given Canada's bilingual requirements.
Conclusion
AI translation already performs remarkably well on general text. But as our real-world tests show, specialized domains still trip up the AI — whether it's turning "Project Falcon" into "Projekt Falcon" in a German English to German translation, rendering "clean bill of lading" as half-English katakana in English to Japanese, leaving "CIF" unexpanded in English to Chinese, or dropping the word "instrument" entirely in English to French.
These aren't hypothetical examples — they're actual GPT-5.2 outputs we tested.
doc2lang's Custom Glossary feature offers a simple, effective solution: no need to train a custom model, no expensive subscriptions. Just add a few key terms, and the GPT-5.2-powered translation engine goes from "roughly understandable" to "professionally usable."
Combined with the authoritative terminology databases recommended in this article, you can quickly build your own industry glossary, apply it to doc2lang's translation workflow, and ensure every cross-language document meets professional standards.
Ready to translate with precision?
Try doc2lang's Custom Glossary feature — free to set up, pay only when you download.