International business transactions rely heavily on translations. After all, what’s the alternative when the parties don’t speak the same language? In the case of a Brazilian translation to English, just make sure you can trust the accuracy.

While translations are useful and, arguably, necessary, they shouldn’t be relied on exclusively. Contracts are more than just words on a page. They contemplate legal principles that don’t lend well to translation. Sometimes, there’s simply no good word or words to describe a particular concept.

Take the example of danos morais in Portuguese. A Brazilian translation to English may refer to “moral damages”. But ask any American lawyer what moral damages are and they’ll look at you sideways. Talk about punitive damages and then it all makes sense. But does it?

You could translate danos morais as punitive damages and you’d be pretty close. But it’s not the same. Brazil does not have punitive damages and the US does not have danos morais. They are two different legal concepts - one under Brazilian law and the other under US law.

What matters is not the word that’s used in the translation but that the client understands what the word means in practice. If the contract is in Portuguese and the client only speaks English, then the lawyer must ensure that the client understands what it means to say danos morais.

And we’ve said it before, but it bears repeating. If you’re working with contracts in multiple languages, make sure they clearly state which language will govern if there’s a dispute. The last thing you want is a disagreement over the translation itself.