Is it a bad translation to consider a product feature a "característica de producto"?

Question

I've had some discussion about if product feature could be translated to característica de producto per se.

Some coworkers have argued that característica might refer to something more tied to how the product is rather than to what it does.

In English, it's very common to use feature to describe both some given behavior in a product and anything that makes it stand out.

Disclamer: I'm Spanish, but I want your advice to ensure that I'm using the word característica when I translate it from feature in the particular case of product feature.

Answer 1

De acuerdo a la RAE Característico,ca:

1. adj. Perteneciente o relativo al carácter.
2. adj. Dicho de una cualidad: Que da carácter o sirve para distinguir a alguien o algo de sus semejantes. U. t. c. s. f.

Con la acepción 2 tenemos que si el producto tiene una cualidad que sirve para destacarlo o diferenciarlo, esa cualidad la podemos llamar característica, por lo tanto no importa si esa cualidad es algo que "es" o algo que "hace".

Por lo anterior el uso de característica en español es igual al uso de feature en inglés y pude usarse como traducción válida.

La única observación que tengo es que sería necesario un poco más de contexto para saber si debes escribir "característica de producto" o "característica del producto" ya que en todos los ejemplos que se me ocurren en este momento lo correcto sería usar del.

Answer 2

This is a common discussion in software development when a Spanish translation effort is underway, which is why I will provide my two cents in English, despite the original poster's native language.

Is it a bad translation to consider a product feature a "característica de producto"?

Before beginning to address the use of "característica" as "feature", please notice that proper Spanish would be:

• Característica del producto (feature of the product - A specific product previously referred)
• Característica de un producto (feature of a product - A general product)
• Característica de X (feature of product X - A named product or brand)

So, if you just used "producto" as a placeholder for a product name, then it is a proper translation; however, if that was not the case, "de" should be replaced for "del" or "de un", depending if you are referring to a particular product or a product in general.

After that has been cleared up, let's answer the question:
No, it is not a bad translation.

As a matter of fact, take a look at the following article of Microsoft related to the features of a SharePoint publishing site in English and then its translation in Spanish. You will notice Microsoft translates "features" as "características".

Initially, I considered the translation to be odd and had the same misgivings your co-workers brought up. It also just didn't feel right. This made me think of alternatives to describe the functionality which was provided by a "feature".

Here is a list of possible alternatives that I came up with:

• Rasgos (Features)
• Utilidades (Benefits)
• Atributos (Attributes)
• Aptitudes (Features, Aptitudes)
• Atribuciones (Attributions)
• Disposiciones (Features, Aptitudes, Dispositions)
• Capacidades (Capabilities)
• Comportamientos (Behaviors)
• Aspectos (Aspects)
• Propiedades (Properties)
• Funcionalidades (Sets of Functionality)

These options can also be paired with "funcional" (functional) to make them more specific for software products:

• Rasgos funcionales
• Utilidades funcionales
• Atributos funcionales
• Aptitudes funcionales
• Atribuciones funcionales
• Disposiciones funcionales
• Capacidades funcionales
• Comportamientos funcionales
• Aspectos funcionales
• Propiedades funcionales

Regarding more tangible products: In the past, boxes would include a label that would list features of products as "con" which means "with" and "incluye", which means "includes".

Here are options included in the past to label a list of features in a product's box:

• Cualidades (Qualities, as mentioned by Rodrigo)
• Bondades (Positive aspects, advantages)
• Ventajas (Advantages)
• Beneficios (Benefits)

Answer 3

En el ámbito comercial tal vez features no se refiera a cualquier característica, sino especialmente a las características positivas o distintivas del producto. En tal caso hay traducciones alternativas que se enfocan en aquello, aunque no sean literales:

prestaciones del producto

atractivos del producto

cualidades del producto

características especiales del producto

Answer 4

En español, un programa o dispositivo tiene funciones. El término puede presentar conflicto con el concepto de matemática y lenguajes de programación, pero es un termino usado por la mayor parte de la población, por lo cual tiene prioridad sobre los términos internos al desarrollo.

—¿Qué funciones tiene el celular?
—Puede llamar, navegar por internet, y pedir taxis.