The subject of the study is pre-translation analysis and the process of choosing a translation strategy, since these stages are among the primary ones in building the translation process. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the impact on both the translation process and the approach to it, and, subsequently, on the final translation product, which only emphasizes their importance in the translation system. Special attention is paid to the theoretical database of concepts and the chronology of the formation of concepts and terms, as well as to various translation models, within which the author highlights the place and function of pre-translation analysis. The main conclusions of the study are statements about the primacy of the stages of pre-translation analysis and the formation of a translation strategy in most existing translation models. A special contribution of the author to the research of the topic is an attempt to accumulate examples of argumentation of the translation strategy by ancient authors as evidence of a much earlier formation of concepts than terms. The novelty of the research consists in an attempt to create a chronological base for the formation of concepts and terms and the accumulation of historical artifacts for the subsequent systematization of knowledge about the processes of pre-translation analysis and the formation of a translation strategy, which will subsequently become not only the basis for translation, but also a reflection of the professional motivation of the translator.