diff --git a/packages/google-cloud-translate/package.json b/packages/google-cloud-translate/package.json
index 2f955bae160..24619e30699 100644
--- a/packages/google-cloud-translate/package.json
+++ b/packages/google-cloud-translate/package.json
@@ -35,8 +35,9 @@
     "system-test": "mocha build/system-test --timeout 600000",
     "test": "c8 mocha build/test",
     "compile": "tsc -p . && cp -r protos build/",
+    "compile-protos": "compileProtos src",
     "fix": "gts fix",
-    "prepare": "npm run compile",
+    "prepare": "npm run compile-protos && npm run compile",
     "pretest": "npm run compile",
     "presystem-test": "npm run compile",
     "docs-test": "linkinator docs",