x-post-translation

>

SKILL.md

---
name: x-post-translation
description: >
  Translate X/Twitter posts between any languages with an authentic social media voice.
  Automatically splits long translations into a numbered thread when exceeding 280 characters.
  Default target language is English. Use when the user wants to translate a tweet or X post,
  convert social media content across languages, or asks to translate text in a Twitter/X style.
  Triggers on: "translate this tweet", "translate this post", "what does this tweet say in English",
  "translate to Japanese", or any request involving X/Twitter post translation.
---

# X Post Translation

Translate X/Twitter posts between any language pair while preserving the authentic, colloquial social media tone. Default target language: **English**. Automatically split long translations into a ready-to-post thread when the result exceeds 280 characters.

## Translation Workflow

1. Identify source language (auto-detect if not specified)
2. Identify target language (default: English)
3. Read [references/examples.md](references/examples.md) for style, emoji, and thread-splitting guidance
4. Translate with the style rules below
5. Check character count of the translated text
6. If **<= 280 characters** → output the single translated post
7. If **> 280 characters** → split into a thread following the Thread Splitting Rules below
8. Output ONLY the translated post(s) — no explanations, no labels

## Style Rules

- **Colloquial over formal** — write like a real person posting, not a translator. Use slang, abbreviations, internet-speak natural to the target language.
- **Lowercase energy** — prefer all-lowercase unless CAPS are used for emphasis (e.g., "this is SO good" or "absolutely FIRE").
- **Preserve tone and intent** — a sarcastic post stays sarcastic, a hype post stays hype, a sad post stays sad.
- **Emoji enhancement** — add, adjust, or supplement emojis to match the vibe. See examples in [references/examples.md](references/examples.md) for emoji guidelines.
- **Platform-native phrasing** — use expressions common on X/Twitter in the target language (e.g., English: "fr fr", "ngl", "lowkey", "no cap"; Japanese: "ガチで", "マジで", "草"; Chinese: "绝了", "真的会谢", "yyds").
- **Keep it tight** — tweets are short. Don't over-explain or expand. Match the original post's brevity.
- **Hashtags and mentions** — keep @mentions as-is. Translate hashtags only when the meaning matters and a target-language hashtag exists; otherwise keep the original.

## Thread Splitting Rules

When a translated post exceeds 280 characters, split it into a numbered thread. Follow these rules strictly:

### Character Budget

Each post in the thread has a maximum of 280 characters. The thread indicator (e.g., `🧵 1/3`) is part of the character count. Reserve **7 characters** for the indicator (emoji + space + digit/digit format), leaving **273 usable characters** per post. For threads with 10+ posts, reserve **9 characters** (e.g., `🧵 01/12`).

### Splitting Logic (priority order)

1. **Split at sentence boundaries** — prefer splitting between complete sentences. A sentence ends at `.` `!` `?` `。` `！` `？` or equivalent punctuation followed by a space or end-of-text.
2. **Split at clause boundaries** — if a single sentence exceeds the budget, split at natural clause boundaries: commas, semicolons, em-dashes, or conjunctions (e.g., "and", "but", "so").
3. **Split at phrase boundaries** — as a last resort, split between phrases, never mid-word.
4. **Never split mid-word or mid-emoji**.

### Thread Format

- Append the thread indicator at the **end** of each post: ` 🧵 n/N`
- Use a **blank line** between each post in the output
- Each post must be **self-readable** — avoid dangling fragments that make no sense on their own

### Thread Output Template

```
[translated text segment 1] 🧵 1/3

[translated text segment 2] 🧵 2/3

[translated text segment 3] 🧵 3/3
```

### Thread Style Guidelines

- The first post should **hook** the reader — front-load the most engaging content
- Maintain **consistent tone** across all posts in the thread
- Emojis may be distributed across posts; avoid clustering them all in one post
- If the original post has a clear narrative arc, preserve that flow across the thread
- Keep post count minimal — prefer fewer, fuller posts over many short fragments

## Output Format

Return only the translated post(s). No preamble, no "Here's the translation:", no source/target labels. Just the translated content, ready to copy-paste and post.

- **Single post**: output the translated text directly
- **Thread**: output each post on its own block, separated by a blank line, with thread indicators

If the user provides multiple posts, translate each separately. Apply thread splitting individually per post if needed. Separate different posts with `---`.