Mc Mod Translate, English to Simplified Chinese

Translate Minecraft Java Edition mod content from English to Chinese using a community-maintained dictionary (Dict-Sqlite.db, 900K+ entries from i18n-Dict-Extender) and zh.minecraft.wiki for vanilla game terms. Use when translating mod language files (.lang/.json), FTB Quests SNBT files, config files, Patchouli books, or any text content in Minecraft mods. Prioritizes dictionary matches, falls back to wiki lookup, then context-based agent translation.

Minecraft Mod Translation

Translate Minecraft Java Edition mod content from English to Simplified Chinese, using a community-maintained dictionary of 900K+ entries covering vanilla items and 3,500+ mods, plus zh.minecraft.wiki for vanilla term lookup.

Prerequisites

Dictionary database

The translation dictionary is a pre-built SQLite database (Dict-Sqlite.db) auto-updated weekly by the i18n-Dict-Extender project. It merges CFPA community translations with directly-maintained mod translations.

Download the latest dictionary (run once, or when updates are needed):

bash

python3 scripts/fetch_dict.py

This downloads Dict-Sqlite.db (~142 MB) from the latest GitHub release. Use --force to re-download, or --check to see if an update is available.

The DB schema:

sql

CREATE TABLE dict(
    ID INTEGER PRIMARY KEY AUTOINCREMENT,
    ORIGIN_NAME TEXT NOT NULL,  -- English original
    TRANS_NAME  TEXT NOT NULL,  -- Chinese translation
    MODID       TEXT NOT NULL,  -- Mod ID (e.g. minecraft, tconstruct)
    KEY         TEXT NOT NULL,  -- Lang key (e.g. block.minecraft.stone)
    VERSION     TEXT NOT NULL,  -- Game version
    CURSEFORGE  TEXT NOT NULL   -- CurseForge slug
);

Vanilla term lookup

Vanilla Minecraft terms are looked up via zh.minecraft.wiki MediaWiki API. The wiki has English-named pages that redirect to Chinese-named pages (e.g., "Copper Ingot" redirects to "铜锭"), providing authoritative translations for vanilla game content. No local files needed — lookups are performed on-demand by query.py.

Translation Workflow

Step 1: Download / update the dictionary (if needed)

bash

# Check if update is available
python3 scripts/fetch_dict.py --check

# Download (skips if already up-to-date)
python3 scripts/fetch_dict.py

Step 2: Identify the mod

Determine the modid from context:

• File path: assets/<modid>/lang/, config/<modid>/, <modid>/quests/
• Lang keys: block.<modid>.xxx, item.<modid>.xxx, entity.<modid>.xxx
• Mod metadata: META-INF/mods.toml, mcmod.info, fabric.mod.json
• File name: quest files often contain the mod name

If the modid is unknown, search for it:

bash

python3 scripts/query.py --list-mods --search <keyword>

Step 3: Query the dictionary

Pull all known translations for the mod to use as a glossary:

bash

python3 scripts/query.py --modid <modid> --limit 10000

This outputs TSV: origin_name \t trans_name \t modid \t key \t source.

For looking up individual terms during translation:

bash

# By English text (dict + wiki fallback)
python3 scripts/query.py --text "Copper Ingot"

# Dict only, skip wiki
python3 scripts/query.py --text "Copper Ingot" --no-wiki

# By lang key
python3 scripts/query.py --key "block.tconstruct.copper_block"

The --text query searches the dictionary first, then falls back to zh.minecraft.wiki for vanilla MC terms via redirect resolution.

Step 4: Translate

Apply these rules in priority order:

1. Dictionary match (highest priority): If the English text or lang key exists in Dict-Sqlite.db, use the TRANS_NAME exactly.
2. Wiki lookup: If no dict match, query.py falls back to zh.minecraft.wiki — if the English name redirects to a Chinese page, that page title is the translation.
3. Context-based translation: If neither source has a match, translate based on Minecraft domain knowledge and surrounding context. Keep terminology consistent with existing dictionary entries for the same mod.

File Type Handling

Language files (.lang / .json)

1.12.2 and earlier — .lang files, key=value format:

text

item.example_mod.copper_ingot=Copper Ingot

Translate only the value (right side of =). Never modify the key.

1.13+ — .json files, key-value JSON:

json

{
  "item.example_mod.copper_ingot": "Copper Ingot",
  "block.example_mod.copper_block": "Copper Block"
}

Translate only the string values. Preserve JSON structure and escaping.

FTB Quests SNBT files

SNBT format with unquoted keys and tab indentation. Only translate these fields:

• title: — quest title
• subtitle: — quest subtitle (single quoted string)
• description: — array of quoted strings

Rules:

• Skip quests whose title: starts with Any (auto-generated, not for translation)
• Preserve {image:...} tags, URLs, color codes (&6, &r, etc.), and ''bold'' markup
• Keep the SNBT structure intact — do not change keys, arrays, or indentation
• Preserve quest dependency references and icon names

Example:

text

title: A Copper Age
subtitle: "Smelt your first copper ingot"
description: ["Welcome to the copper age! {image:gold_ingot.png}"]

Translate to:

text

title: 铜器时代
subtitle: "冶炼你的第一块铜锭"
description: ["欢迎来到铜器时代！ {image:gold_ingot.png}"]

Config files

Translate only human-readable description strings in config files. Do not modify keys, paths, or numeric values.

Patchouli books

Translate text content in JSON book files. Preserve macro commands ($(...)) and page references.

Translation Conventions

Maintain consistency with Minecraft community conventions:

• Block/item names: use standard MC Chinese terms (e.g., "Ingot" → "锭", "Block" → "方块", "Ore" → "矿石")
• Biome names: end with appropriate suffix (e.g., "Plains" → "平原", "Forest" → "森林")
• Entity names: match vanilla entity translations
• Enchantment names: use standard enchantment translations
• Potion effect names: use standard effect translations
• Tool/material names: "Sword" → "剑", "Pickaxe" → "镐", "Axe" → "斧", "Shovel" → "锹", "Hoe" → "锄"

When translating for a specific mod, prefer that mod's existing dictionary translations for consistency.

Output

Save translated files to the designated output directory. Preserve the original file structure and encoding. For .lang files use UTF-8 (without BOM). For .json files ensure valid JSON. For SNBT files preserve tab indentation and unquoted key style.

Verification

After translation, verify:

1. No English text remains in translated fields (except preserved tags, URLs, commands)
2. File structure is intact (valid JSON/SNBT/lang format)
3. Dictionary translations were applied where matches existed
4. Terminology is consistent across all entries in the same file