Abridged style guide for Spanish

When translating, please do not copy the style of the source text. Please adhere to the style below and implement it consistently throughout the text even if the source is inconsistent or includes errors in style. The translation should read as naturally as possible—as if it were written in the target language.

Capitalization

Upper/lowercase letter after a colon:Lowercase, unless followed by a proper noun
Figure in captions begins with upper/lowercase:Uppercase, Ilustración 1
Figure in running text begins with upper/lowercase:Lowercase, ilustración 1
Labels in diagrams/images begin with upper/lowercase:Uppercase
Footnotes begin with upper/lowercase:Uppercase

Punctuation

Dash type:el filtro —la siguiente estación— separa las impurezas
Guillemets (outer) and high quotation marks (inner):«la iniciativa “MOBILITY FOR HEROES” …»
Slashes without spaces:2020/21; y/o
Parentheses within parentheses:(nitrógeno [N₂] y agua)

Numbers

Thousand separator (nonbreaking space):9999 BUT: 10 000
Decimal separator:2,4 ml
Exponents are superscript:100 m2
Atomic numbers in compounds are subscript:CO2
En dash for number ranges:30–75 kg​
Unit of measure with number ranges:115–130 °C; 5–10 %
Hyphen for minus signs:-52,2
No space between numbers and +:+14,2 % BUT: 10 + 4
No space between numbers and >/<:>50 km BUT: 60 > 50
Nonbreaking between numbers and °C:32 °C
Nonbreaking space between numbers and %:14,2 %
The abbreviation for approximately:aprox.
The abbreviation for circa:aprox.
Currency code before or after the number:+53,8 milliones EUR
Short date [DD]/[MM]/[YYYY]:25/01/2021
Long date [D] [month] [YYYY]:25 de enero de 2021
Time of day [HH]:[mm]:21:30

Lists

In general, bulleted list items begin with a capital letter and only end in a period if all items form a complete sentence.

Note: Each list should be capitalized and punctuated consistently even if there is a mix of complete and incomplete sentences. If the list contains mostly incomplete sentences, then no item should end in a period.

Se caracteriza por nueve ventajas de aplicación:

  • Montaje sencillo y rápido
  • Juntas metal-metal herméticas, indisolubles
  • Conexión segura de tubos de diferentes materiales
  • No se requiere una preparación especial del tubo
  • Herramientas de montaje cómodas
  • Admite grandes tolerancias en las medidas
  • Sin efecto de muesca en la zona de montaje
  • Sin soldeo directo ni indirecto o corte de hilo
  • Tecnología de empalme inocua y respetuosa con el medio ambiente