diff --git a/.agents/scripts/audit-translations.allowlist.json b/.agents/scripts/audit-translations.allowlist.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..49bef57
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.agents/scripts/audit-translations.allowlist.json
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+{
+  "entries": [
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "agents.json",
+      "field": "sections.1.steps.0.label",
+      "reason": "Handoff step label (\"Brief\"); kept English by glossary convention."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "landing.json",
+      "field": "cards.0.label",
+      "reason": "Numeric card label (\"01\"); identical across locales by design."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "landing.json",
+      "field": "cards.1.label",
+      "reason": "Numeric card label (\"02\"); identical across locales by design."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "landing.json",
+      "field": "cards.2.label",
+      "reason": "Numeric card label (\"03\"); identical across locales by design."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "landing.json",
+      "field": "cards.2.title",
+      "reason": "Product noun (\"Skills\"); kept English by glossary convention."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "landing.json",
+      "field": "cards.3.label",
+      "reason": "Numeric card label (\"04\"); identical across locales by design."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "landing.json",
+      "field": "cards.4.label",
+      "reason": "Numeric card label (\"05\"); identical across locales by design."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "landing.json",
+      "field": "cards.5.label",
+      "reason": "Numeric card label (\"06\"); identical across locales by design."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "summary.json",
+      "field": "cards.0.label",
+      "reason": "Numeric card label (\"01\"); identical across locales by design."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "summary.json",
+      "field": "cards.1.label",
+      "reason": "Numeric card label (\"02\"); identical across locales by design."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "summary.json",
+      "field": "cards.2.label",
+      "reason": "Numeric card label (\"03\"); identical across locales by design."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "summary.json",
+      "field": "cards.2.title",
+      "reason": "Product noun (\"Skills\"); kept English by glossary convention."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "summary.json",
+      "field": "cards.3.label",
+      "reason": "Numeric card label (\"04\"); identical across locales by design."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "summary.json",
+      "field": "cards.4.label",
+      "reason": "Numeric card label (\"05\"); identical across locales by design."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "chapters",
+      "file": "summary.json",
+      "field": "cards.5.label",
+      "reason": "Numeric card label (\"06\"); identical across locales by design."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "providers",
+      "file": "claude.json",
+      "field": "title",
+      "reason": "Model-tier series name (\"Opus · Sonnet · Haiku\"); kept English as product name."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "providers",
+      "file": "gemini.json",
+      "field": "title",
+      "reason": "Model-tier series name (\"Pro · Flash · Flash-Lite\"); kept English as product name."
+    },
+    {
+      "collection": "providers",
+      "file": "openai.json",
+      "field": "title",
+      "reason": "Model-tier series name (\"Sol · Terra · Luna\"); kept English as product name."
+    }
+  ]
+}
diff --git a/.agents/scripts/audit-translations.mjs b/.agents/scripts/audit-translations.mjs
index b663056..bcad668 100644
--- a/.agents/scripts/audit-translations.mjs
+++ b/.agents/scripts/audit-translations.mjs
@@ -7,16 +7,25 @@
 //   node .agents/scripts/audit-translations.mjs                 # walks src/content
 //   node .agents/scripts/audit-translations.mjs src/content/    # explicit root
 //
-// Exits non-zero if any pair is identical. The output is grouped by
-// collection, then by file, then by field path, so the report reads like
+// Exits non-zero if any unallowed pair is identical. The output is grouped
+// by collection, then by file, then by field path, so the report reads like
 // a translation backlog rather than a wall of strings.
 //
 // This is the sibling of extract-strings.mjs: that one proves the
 // migration moved every string; this one proves every string actually
 // differs across locales.
+//
+// Allowlist: a sibling `.agents/scripts/audit-translations.allowlist.json`
+// lists (collection, file, field) tuples that are intentionally identical
+// across locales (numeric card labels, product nouns, model-tier series
+// names, etc.). Entries in the allowlist are listed under "ALLOWED" in the
+// output and do not affect the exit code. Adding to the allowlist is a
+// deliberate edit + commit; future translators can see it and understand
+// which identicals are intentional.
 
-import { readFileSync, readdirSync, statSync } from 'node:fs';
-import { join, relative } from 'node:path';
+import { existsSync, readFileSync, readdirSync, statSync } from 'node:fs';
+import { dirname, join, relative } from 'node:path';
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url';
 
 const ROOT = process.argv[2] ?? 'src/content';
 
@@ -69,9 +78,27 @@ const collectionOf = (file, root) => {
   return parts.length >= 2 ? parts[0] : '(root)';
 };
 
+// Load the allowlist. The file lives next to this script and lists
+// intentional identicals (numeric labels, product nouns, model-tier series
+// names, etc.). Missing file is OK — the audit still runs.
+const here = dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
+const allowlistPath = join(here, 'audit-translations.allowlist.json');
+const allowlist = new Set();
+const allowlistReasons = new Map();
+
+if (existsSync(allowlistPath)) {
+  const { entries } = JSON.parse(readFileSync(allowlistPath, 'utf8'));
+  for (const { collection, file, field, reason } of entries) {
+    allowlist.add(`${collection}${file}${field}`);
+    allowlistReasons.set(`${collection}${file}${field}`, reason);
+  }
+}
+
 const groups = new Map();
+const allowedGroups = new Map();
 let totalLocalized = 0;
-let totalIdentical = 0;
+let totalReal = 0;
+let totalAllowed = 0;
 
 for (const file of files) {
   let data;
@@ -84,40 +111,78 @@ for (const file of files) {
   const pairs = collect(data);
   if (pairs.length === 0) continue;
 
-  const offenders = pairs.filter(([, en, pt]) => same(en, pt));
-  if (offenders.length === 0) continue;
-
-  totalLocalized += pairs.length;
-  totalIdentical += offenders.length;
-
   const collection = collectionOf(file, ROOT);
   const filename = relative(ROOT, file);
+  // Allowlist entries key on the file's name within its collection
+  // (e.g. `landing.json`), so strip the collection prefix from
+  // `filename` when matching. The full relative path is still used
+  // for the report display.
+  const collectionFile = filename.startsWith(collection + '/')
+    ? filename.slice(collection.length + 1)
+    : filename;
 
-  if (!groups.has(collection)) groups.set(collection, []);
-  groups.get(collection).push({ file: filename, pairs: offenders });
+  // Split identical pairs into real offenders (fail the gate) and
+  // allowlisted ones (listed under ALLOWED, do not affect exit code).
+  const real = [];
+  const allowed = [];
+  for (const [field, en, pt] of pairs) {
+    if (!same(en, pt)) continue;
+    const key = `${collection}${collectionFile}${field}`;
+    if (allowlist.has(key)) {
+      allowed.push([field, en, allowlistReasons.get(key)]);
+    } else {
+      real.push([field, en, null]);
+    }
+  }
+
+  totalLocalized += pairs.length;
+
+  if (real.length > 0) {
+    totalReal += real.length;
+    if (!groups.has(collection)) groups.set(collection, []);
+    groups.get(collection).push({ file: filename, pairs: real });
+  }
+
+  if (allowed.length > 0) {
+    totalAllowed += allowed.length;
+    if (!allowedGroups.has(collection)) allowedGroups.set(collection, []);
+    allowedGroups.get(collection).push({ file: filename, pairs: allowed });
+  }
 }
 
-if (groups.size === 0) {
+const printGroup = (entries, label) => {
+  for (const [collection, list] of entries) {
+    console.log(`\n[${collection}]`);
+    for (const { file, pairs } of list) {
+      console.log(`  ${file}`);
+      for (const [field, en, reason] of pairs) {
+        const sample = typeof en === 'string' ? JSON.stringify(en).slice(0, 80) : '<non-string>';
+        const suffix = reason ? ` [${label}: ${reason}]` : '';
+        console.log(`    - ${field.padEnd(28)} ${sample}${suffix}`);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+};
+
+// Clean case: no identicals at all.
+if (totalReal === 0 && totalAllowed === 0) {
   console.log('OK: no identical en/pt pairs found under', ROOT);
   process.exit(0);
 }
 
-// Print grouped report.
-for (const [collection, entries] of groups) {
-  console.log(`\n[${collection}]`);
-  for (const { file, pairs } of entries) {
-    console.log(`  ${file}`);
-    for (const [field, en, pt] of pairs) {
-      const sample = typeof en === 'string' ? JSON.stringify(en).slice(0, 80) : '<non-string>';
-      console.log(`    - ${field.padEnd(28)} ${sample}`);
-    }
-  }
+// Show allowed entries first, then real offenders (if any).
+printGroup(allowedGroups, 'ALLOWED');
+
+if (totalReal > 0) {
+  printGroup(groups, 'REAL');
+  console.log(
+    `\nFAIL: ${totalReal} unallowed identical localized field(s) across ${groups.size} collection(s) of ${ROOT}`,
+  );
+  console.log(
+    'A `pt` identical to `en` is how a bilingual site becomes monolingual. Translate, then re-run.',
+  );
+  process.exit(1);
 }
 
-console.log(
-  `\nFAIL: ${totalIdentical} identical localized field(s) across ${groups.size} collection(s) of ${ROOT}`,
-);
-console.log(
-  'A `pt` identical to `en` is how a bilingual site becomes monolingual. Translate, then re-run.',
-);
-process.exit(1);
+console.log(`\nOK: ${totalAllowed} identical field(s) found, all on the allowlist.`);
+process.exit(0);
diff --git a/package.json b/package.json
index 73ea234..12ce04f 100644
--- a/package.json
+++ b/package.json
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@
     "check": "astro check",
     "lint": "eslint . --max-warnings=0 && stylelint --allow-empty-input 'src/**/*.css' --max-warnings=0",
     "format": "prettier --write .",
-    "verify": "node scripts/verify.mjs && node scripts/audit-ui.mjs && node .agents/scripts/check-tokens.mjs",
+    "verify": "node .agents/scripts/audit-translations.mjs && node scripts/verify.mjs && node scripts/audit-ui.mjs && node .agents/scripts/check-tokens.mjs",
     "gate": "./.agents/scripts/gate.sh",
     "snapshot": "node .agents/scripts/snapshot-route.mjs",
     "prepare": "husky"
diff --git a/scripts/verify.mjs b/scripts/verify.mjs
index 8cda785..662e66d 100644
--- a/scripts/verify.mjs
+++ b/scripts/verify.mjs
@@ -271,11 +271,13 @@ if (!allPages.every(([, page]) => page.includes('name="viewport"')))
   throw new Error('a built route lacks a viewport declaration');
 if (allPages.some(([, page]) => /<(script|link)[^>]+(src|href)="https?:[^\"]+"/i.test(page)))
   throw new Error('a built route has an external runtime dependency');
-if (
-  !read('package.json').includes(
-    '"verify": "node scripts/verify.mjs && node scripts/audit-ui.mjs && node .agents/scripts/check-tokens.mjs"',
-  )
-)
+// `pnpm run verify` may now prepend `node .agents/scripts/audit-translations.mjs &&`
+// for fail-fast translation checks. Allow an optional audit-translations prefix
+// while still requiring the three core scripts in order.
+const verifyChain = read('package.json');
+const verifyShape =
+  /\"verify\":\s*\"(?:node \.agents\/scripts\/audit-translations\.mjs && )?node scripts\/verify\.mjs && node scripts\/audit-ui\.mjs && node \.agents\/scripts\/check-tokens\.mjs\"/;
+if (!verifyShape.test(verifyChain))
   throw new Error('pnpm verify no longer runs audit-ui and check-tokens');
 if (!read('.agents/scripts/gate.sh').includes('pnpm run verify'))
   throw new Error('the gate no longer runs the output contract');