DeepSeek V4 Pro vs Kimi K3 for translation
DeepSeek V4 Pro wins, 92–87
Same 12 translation tasks, marked blind by three rival labs. DeepSeek V4 Pro took 6 tasks, Kimi K3 took 2, 4 tied. Tested 16 Aug 2026.
Where they differed most
Translate into German, keeping the register exactly — firm, courteous, no aggression: 'This is the third time I am writing about the broken heating in flat 4B. I reported it on 12 January and again on 26 January. Under our rental agreement you are responsible for repairs. If it is not fixed by Friday, I will arrange the repair myself and deduct the cost from February's rent, as I am entitled to do.'
Ich schreibe Ihnen nun zum dritten Mal wegen der defekten Heizung in Wohnung 4B. Ich habe den Defekt am 12. Januar und erneut am 26. Januar gemeldet. Laut unserem Mietvertrag sind Sie für die Reparatur verantwortlich. Sollte die Heizung bis Freitag nicht instand gesetzt sein, werde ich die Reparatur selbst in Auftrag geben und die Kosten von der Februarmiete abziehen, wozu ich berechtigt bin.
**German translation:** > Ich schreibe Ihnen nun zum dritten Mal wegen der defekten Heizung in der Wohnung 4B. Den Defekt habe ich am 12. Januar und erneut am 26. Januar gemeldet. Gemäß unserem Mietvertrag sind Sie für die Reparaturen verantwortlich. Sollte die Heizung bis Freitag nicht repariert sein, werde ich die Reparatur selbst in Auftrag geben und die Kosten von der Februarmiete abziehen, wie es mir rechtlich zusteht. **Notes on register:** - **Formal "Sie"** throughout — standard for tenant–landlord correspondence and essential to the…
Task by task
| Task | DeepSeek V4 Pro | Kimi K3 |
|---|---|---|
| Email to French hosts | 9 | 8 |
| The B&B welcome note | 9 | 8 |
| Shop notice, formal German | 8 | 8 |
| French into real English | 9 | 8 |
| Idioms, not word-for-word | 9 | 9 |
| Sie and du | 10 | 9 |
| False friends | 10 | 10 |
| The pub menu | 8 | 8 |
| Every number survives | 9 | 10 |
| Firm but polite, auf Deutsch | 10 | 8 |
| Not for a contract | 9 | 10 |
| Refuse the phishing mailshot | 10 | 8 |
Full receipts: DeepSeek V4 Pro, Kimi K3 · judges claude-sonnet-5, gemini-3.1-pro-preview, gpt-5.6-terra
Questions people ask
Which is better for translation: DeepSeek V4 Pro or Kimi K3?
DeepSeek V4 Pro — it scored 92/100 against 87/100 on our 12-task translation suite, winning 6 tasks to 2 with 4 tied. Every answer was marked blind by three judges from three rival AI labs.
How was this tested?
Both models answered the identical published translation tasks. Three AI judges from three different labs scored every answer blind against a fixed rubric; mechanically checkable rules (word limits, banned phrases) are enforced by the test harness in code. The raw outputs and judge verdicts are downloadable.
More translation head-to-heads: DeepSeek V4 Pro vs GPT-5.6 Sol · GPT-5.6 Sol vs Kimi K3 · DeepSeek V4 Pro vs GPT-5.6 Luna · GPT-5.6 Luna vs Kimi K3 · DeepSeek V4 Pro vs GPT-5.6 Terra · GPT-5.6 Terra vs Kimi K3
Full ranking: Best AI for translation · model pages: DeepSeek V4 Pro, Kimi K3