Abstract: “Conciseness” is one of the important principles in determining terminology put forward by China National Committee for Terms in Sciences and Technologies. The prominent characteristics of TCM terms are highly concise and to the point in wording. So, the English translation of TCM terms should adhere the conciseness principle. We suggest that the conciseness of TCM term translation can be achieved by omitting function words, applying nouns as modifiers,using hyphens, and avoiding redundant translation.

Key words: TCM terms, English translation standardization, conciseness principle