Portuguese to English Prompt Translation

Overview

Brazilian Portuguese prompts are colloquial and context-heavy; English prompts need explicit requirements. This skill bridges the gap by clarifying vague terms, preserving urgency signals, handling idioms, and structuring requests.

Core principle: Colloquial Portuguese assumes shared context. English for Claude requires clear scope, constraints, and success criteria.

YOUR ONLY OUTPUT IS A STRUCTURED ENGLISH PROMPT. Do NOT implement, scaffold, explore files, or run any code. Do NOT attempt to solve the problem described. Stop after delivering the prompt inside a code block and wait for user confirmation.

When to Use

Translate when:

• User writes in Brazilian Portuguese and needs an English prompt for Claude Code
• Message contains colloquialisms ("ta bagunça", "pra ontem", "spaghetti")
• Requirements are implicit or context-dependent
• Urgency or emotion needs preservation in English

Do NOT use for:

• Already-clear English prompts
• Translation of documentation (use professional translation services)
• Non-Brazilian Portuguese (different idioms)

Allowed Context Gathering

Before translating, you MAY perform 1–2 targeted lookups to fill gaps that would make the prompt ambiguous or incomplete. Acceptable sources:

• claude-mem or project memory — to check stack, naming conventions, or existing file structure
• CLAUDE.md — to check project-level constraints or patterns

Only look up what's directly needed to clarify the prompt. Do not browse the codebase, run commands, or explore files broadly.

Examples of acceptable lookups:

• "What's the state management solution in use?" (to clarify how to phrase persistence requirement)
• "Does this project already have a Tag model?" (to avoid duplicating in the prompt)

If no lookup is needed, skip this step entirely and translate directly.

Pattern: Translate → Clarify → Structure

1. Identify Intent (Extract Core Ask)

Extract what the user actually wants, not just the words:

• "ta lento" = performance problem; ask: render time? bundle? memory?
• "pra ontem" = high urgency; mark explicitly
• "cores customizáveis" = clarify: user-editable at runtime? config-only?

2. Preserve Urgency & Emotion

Map colloquial signals to explicit English:

• "pra ontem" (for yesterday) → urgency flag: "ASAP" or deadline
• "ta uma bagunça" (is a mess) → clarify what's messy (structure, naming, performance)
• "preciso disso ontem" → deadline or blocking context

3. Clarify Ambiguous Terms

Transform vague Portuguese into specific English:

4. Structure as: Purpose → Requirements → Constraints → Expected Deliverable → Edge Cases

Example transformation:

Portuguese:

me ajude a implementar tags nas tarefas, precisa funcionar offline,
usar localStorage, cores customizáveis, máximo 12 cores, pra ontem

English (Structured):

Implement a tag system for tasks with:

**Purpose:** Categorize tasks with persistent tags across offline/online states

**Requirements:**
- Create Tag interface with id, name, color
- Assign tags to tasks (one tag max or multiple?)
- Color picker: 12 predefined swatches
- All data persists to localStorage
- Offline-first: changes sync when connection restored

**Constraints:**
- Max 12 colors per tag system
- localStorage as data source (no API calls)
- [URGENT] Needed ASAP

**Edge Cases:**
- What happens when colors conflict with theme?
- Can users delete tags if tasks reference them?
- Export/import tag config?

**Expected Deliverable:** Tag interface, storage adapter, UI component

After writing this prompt, your job is done. Output it in a code block and stop.

Quick Reference

Checklist before finalizing translation:

• Identified vague terms and asked clarifying questions
• Extracted core intent (not just literal words)
• Marked urgency explicitly (deadline, blocking context)
• Resolved ambiguous Portuguese expressions
• Structured as Purpose → Requirements → Constraints → Expected Deliverable → Edge Cases
• Noted assumptions/ambiguities that user should confirm
• Did NOT implement, run, or scaffold anything

Common Mistakes

Literal word translation

• "ta uma bagunça refatora" → "it's a mess refactor" (unclear)
• Better: "refactor this [component/function] — code is deeply nested and hard to follow"

Losing urgency signals

• "pra ontem" → simply omit timeline (loses context)
• Better: Explicitly mark: "[URGENT: Needed by EOD]"

Not clarifying ambiguity**

• "cores customizáveis" → "customizable colors" (still vague)
• Better: Ask: "Are these user-editable at runtime or config-only?"

Skipping scope clarification

• "otimizar isso" → "optimize it" (optimize what metric?)
• Better: "Optimize render performance for [specific component] — currently takes X ms, should be <Y ms"

Starting to implement after translating

• Agent reads the prompt it just generated and starts building
• Better: Output the prompt in a code block, then stop and wait

Real-World Example

Input (Portuguese):

me ajude a criar um componente react que mostre uma lista de tarefas
com drag-and-drop, precisa funcionar no mobile também, e a persistência
tem que ser no localStorage, pra ontem

Output (English):

Create a React task list component with:

**Purpose:** Display tasks with reorderable drag-and-drop interface, mobile + desktop compatible

**Requirements:**
- Render task list with drag-to-reorder
- Touch-friendly on mobile (minimum 44px tap targets)
- Persist reorder changes to localStorage
- Preserve existing task data structure

**Constraints:**
- Mobile-first: touch drag-and-drop must work on iOS/Android
- localStorage only (no API calls)
- Maintain accessibility (keyboard reorder fallback)
- [URGENT] Needed ASAP

**Edge Cases:**
- What if task list is empty?
- How to handle interrupted drag (user cancels)?
- Does reorder trigger animation?

**Expected Deliverable:** Component with drag-drop hooks, localStorage sync, test coverage

✅ Prompt delivered. Task complete — do not proceed to implementation.

Common Edge Cases

Context carryover ("continue from previous"): If Portuguese mentions prior work, ask for explicit reference:

Portuguese: "continua onde parou, coloca tags nisso"
Ask: "Continue from which previous conversation/task?" → Get issue ID or context

Mixed Portuguese-English prompts: When user switches languages mid-request, treat as single context:

Portuguese: "implementar esse component"
English: "with hooks and responsive design"
→ Consolidate into one structured prompt (don't translate English parts)

Implied deadline vs. urgency: "Pra ontem" / "ASAP" needs actual deadline context:

[URGENT: Needed ASAP] BUT ask: "Blocking a release? Hard deadline? Nice-to-have?"

CRITICAL: Don't accept vague answers. Demand specificity:
- "Hard deadline" → REQUIRES: "by 5 PM today" OR "before demo Thursday"
- "Blocking release" → REQUIRES: "blocks prod deploy?" (yes/no + date)
- "Nice-to-have" → REQUIRES: "quick win (2 hours)" OR "requires refactor (sprint)"

Vague urgency (just "it's urgent") = user hasn't made execution decision yet.
Push back until you know: hack/workaround OR production-grade solution?

Domain-specific terminology: "Otimizar" varies by context (render time vs. bundle vs. time complexity):

Portuguese: "otimizar a lista de tarefas"
Clarify by context: Re