diff --git a/scripts/i18n/scan-hardcoded.ts b/scripts/i18n/scan-hardcoded.ts
index 07d9ffe7..c7b1f060 100755
--- a/scripts/i18n/scan-hardcoded.ts
+++ b/scripts/i18n/scan-hardcoded.ts
@@ -34,21 +34,36 @@ const SKIP = /node_modules|\.gen\.|[/\\]locales[/\\]|[/\\]vendor[/\\]|\.test\.|\
 // A quoted literal, single or double. Kept as two groups because JS has no branch reset.
 const Q = String.raw`(?:"([^"\n]{2,120})"|'([^'\n]{2,120})')`;
 
-const PATTERNS: { kind: string; rx: RegExp }[] = [
+/**
+ * `neverTranslate` marks a category the doc's "What must never be translated" list forbids converting —
+ * so it is reported (an agent should see it and confirm), but excluded from `--check`.
+ *
+ * Without that split the guard is unusable: an area holding one legitimate `new Error()` can never
+ * reach zero, so it could never be added to ZEROED, so the debt guard could never be switched on for
+ * it. Counting work that must NOT be done against a target of zero makes the target unreachable.
+ */
+const PATTERNS: { kind: string; rx: RegExp; neverTranslate?: true }[] = [
   // >Some visible words<
   { kind: 'jsx text', rx: />\s*([A-Z][A-Za-z0-9][^<>{}\n]{2,100}?)\s*</g },
   // placeholder="..." and friends
   {
     kind: 'attributes',
-    rx: new RegExp(String.raw`\b(?:placeholder|title|aria-label|alt|label|description|tooltip|emptyMessage)\s*=\s*` + Q, 'g'),
+    rx: new RegExp(
+      String.raw`\b(?:placeholder|title|aria-label|alt|label|description|tooltip|emptyMessage)\s*=\s*` + Q,
+      'g',
+    ),
   },
   { kind: 'toast/alert', rx: new RegExp(String.raw`\b(?:toast(?:\.\w+)?|alert|confirm)\s*\(\s*` + Q, 'g') },
   // label: 'Status' — nav items, menus, table columns. The largest hidden category.
   {
     kind: 'object labels',
-    rx: new RegExp(String.raw`\b(?:label|name|title|heading|placeholder|description|tooltip|emptyText)\s*:\s*` + Q, 'g'),
+    rx: new RegExp(
+      String.raw`\b(?:label|name|title|heading|placeholder|description|tooltip|emptyText)\s*:\s*` + Q,
+      'g',
+    ),
   },
-  { kind: 'thrown errors', rx: new RegExp(String.raw`new Error\(\s*` + Q, 'g') },
+  // Thrown Errors are for whoever is reading a terminal at 4am. They stay in one language.
+  { kind: 'thrown errors', rx: new RegExp(String.raw`new Error\(\s*` + Q, 'g'), neverTranslate: true },
   // `Failed to create ${kind}` — needs interpolation, so it costs more to convert.
   { kind: 'template str', rx: /`([A-Z][^`\n]{4,100}\$\{[^`]*)`/g },
 ];
@@ -62,6 +77,16 @@ function isHuman(value: string | undefined): value is string {
   if (/^[a-z0-9\-_./:]+$/.test(s)) return false;
   if (/^(https?:|\/|#|data:|application\/|image\/)/.test(s)) return false;
   if (/^[A-Z0-9_]+$/.test(s)) return false;
+  // Tailwind, reached via a `description:`/`label:` key in a classNames object — e.g. sonner's
+  // `description: 'group-[.toast]:text-muted-foreground'`.
+  //
+  // The test is per TOKEN, not on the whole string: every space-separated token must look like a
+  // utility (all lowercase, no sentence punctuation) and at least one must carry a variant colon or
+  // an arbitrary-value bracket. Testing the whole string instead cost a real label — "Application
+  // type:" was filtered because it ends in a colon, which is also how prose introduces a value.
+  const tokens = s.split(/\s+/);
+  const utilityish = (tok: string) => /^[a-z0-9:_\-[\]().#&/%!]+$/.test(tok);
+  if (tokens.every(utilityish) && tokens.some((tok) => /[:[]/.test(tok))) return false;
   return true;
 }
 
@@ -118,7 +143,9 @@ const results = AREAS.map((area) => ({ ...area, ...scan(area.root) }));
 const kinds = PATTERNS.map((p) => p.kind);
 const pad = (s: string | number, n: number) => String(s).padStart(n);
 
-console.log(`${'area'.padEnd(22)} ${pad('files', 5)} ${kinds.map((k) => pad(k.slice(0, 13), 14)).join('')} ${pad('total', 7)}`);
+console.log(
+  `${'area'.padEnd(22)} ${pad('files', 5)} ${kinds.map((k) => pad(k.slice(0, 13), 14)).join('')} ${pad('total', 7)}`,
+);
 for (const r of results) {
   const byKind = kinds.map((k) => pad(r.hits.filter((h) => h.kind === k).length, 14)).join('');
   console.log(`${r.label.padEnd(22)} ${pad(r.files, 5)} ${byKind} ${pad(r.hits.length, 7)}`);
@@ -128,9 +155,19 @@ const all = results.flatMap((r) => r.hits);
 const distinct = new Set(all.map((h) => h.value));
 const interpolated = new Set(all.filter((h) => h.kind === 'template str').map((h) => h.value));
 
-console.log(`${'TOTAL'.padEnd(22)} ${pad(results.reduce((n, r) => n + r.files, 0), 5)} ${kinds.map((k) => pad(all.filter((h) => h.kind === k).length, 14)).join('')} ${pad(all.length, 7)}`);
+const NEVER_KINDS = new Set(PATTERNS.filter((p) => p.neverTranslate).map((p) => p.kind));
+const convertible = (hits: Hit[]) => hits.filter((h) => !NEVER_KINDS.has(h.kind));
+
+console.log(
+  `${'TOTAL'.padEnd(22)} ${pad(
+    results.reduce((n, r) => n + r.files, 0),
+    5,
+  )} ${kinds.map((k) => pad(all.filter((h) => h.kind === k).length, 14)).join('')} ${pad(all.length, 7)}`,
+);
 console.log();
 console.log(`occurrences        ${all.length}`);
+console.log(`  convertible      ${convertible(all).length}`);
+console.log(`  never-translate  ${all.length - convertible(all).length}  (${[...NEVER_KINDS].join(', ')})`);
 console.log(`distinct strings   ${distinct.size}`);
 console.log(`  needing params   ${interpolated.size}`);
 
@@ -149,10 +186,16 @@ if (listPrefix) {
 }
 
 if (args.has('--check')) {
-  const regressed = results.filter((r) => ZEROED.includes(r.label) && r.hits.length > 0);
+  const regressed = results
+    .filter((r) => ZEROED.includes(r.label))
+    .map((r) => ({ label: r.label, hits: convertible(r.hits) }))
+    .filter((r) => r.hits.length > 0);
   if (regressed.length > 0) {
     console.error('\nThese areas were converted and have regressed:');
-    for (const r of regressed) console.error(`  ${r.label}: ${r.hits.length} hardcoded strings`);
+    for (const r of regressed) {
+      console.error(`  ${r.label}: ${r.hits.length} hardcoded strings`);
+      for (const h of r.hits) console.error(`    [${h.kind}] ${h.value}  — ${h.file}`);
+    }
     console.error('\nUse a catalog key. See docs/localization.md.');
     process.exit(1);
   }