AI translation sounds fluent. Are the numbers still right?

Check names, amounts, dates and negation against the original before polishing the wording.

Read the source and translation side by side. Our suggested first pass checks the details that change what someone must pay, do or avoid. Smooth wording comes later.

Start with a list of facts to preserve

Mark names, currencies, measurements, dates and words such as not, unless, before and after in the original. Check each in the translation. Keep ambiguous dates in an unambiguous form, such as October 13, 2026, after confirming what the source means.

An example with a clear answer

This invented instruction says: “Do not ship more than 1.5 kg before 13 October.” A translation must preserve the prohibition, the 1.5 kg limit and before. Replacing before with after changes the instruction. Saying that 1.5 kg equals 1,500 g preserves the quantity; changing the digits alone does not.

Review meaning and style separately

The European Commission distinguishes bilingual revision for accuracy and completeness from review of clarity and tone. It also says machine-translation quality varies across texts and language pairs. Our practical adaptation is to approve the facts first, then edit readability without changing them.

A back-translation is another draft

Translating the result back can raise questions, but do not treat a matching second draft as proof. Compare the disputed phrase with the source and ask a qualified reader when a mistake would have serious consequences. A fluent sentence cannot settle an ambiguity in the original.

Published October 13, 2026. This is an editorial checklist with an invented example, not a measured comparison of translation models.

Sources: European Commission · translation quality · European Commission · machine translation.