A short interface label can leave a translator with more questions than a full paragraph. Does “Save” store a file or promise a discount? Does “Free” describe a price, available space or software licensing?
Here are five examples of the context that helps turn an English string list into usable French UI copy. These are illustrative examples, not extracts from client projects. The proposed wording assumes French for France; the final choice should follow your product terminology, audience and style guide.
1. “Save”: an action or a benefit?
On a button that stores changes to a document, Enregistrer is a natural option. In “Save 20%”, the idea is different: Économisez 20 % can suit a promotional message.
A translation memory match for the word “Save” alone does not tell you which action the user is taking. If the same English word appears in unrelated features, give each meaning its own context and, where needed, a separate string identifier.
Useful note: “Button on the document screen. Writes the current changes to the file.”
2. “Free”: price, availability or freedom?
A plan that costs nothing may be labelled Gratuit. Available disk capacity can be described as Espace libre. The phrase “free software” needs particular care: logiciel gratuit describes price, while logiciel libre refers to software freedoms. These terms are not interchangeable.
Explain what the label measures or promises. A screenshot of a pricing card, storage indicator or licence page often resolves the ambiguity immediately.
Useful note: “Name of the plan with no subscription charge. Not a statement about its software licence.”
3. “Updated”: what has changed?
A status applied to a file could read Fichier mis à jour. For a page, it becomes Page mise à jour. For several pages, Pages mises à jour. The English word stays the same while the French agreement changes.
A standalone status may also be better expressed with different wording. Show the object it describes and whether it appears beside a noun, in a notification or as a column heading. Avoid sharing one French status across unrelated objects without checking each use.
Useful note: “Confirmation shown after the user edits a page. Always refers to one page.”
4. “New {item}”: a reusable label with hidden grammar
Substituting “folder” or “team” into the same English pattern looks convenient. The corresponding French labels could be Nouveau dossier and Nouvelle équipe. Translating “New” once and attaching the item name will not produce both forms correctly.
Provide the complete messages or a supported mechanism for selecting the appropriate variant. For more complex messages, give the translator room to reorder the words. The ICU message-formatting guide explains why translating messages as complete units is preferable to assembling translated fragments.
Useful note: “This label can refer to a folder or a team. Here is the full list of possible item types.”
5. “{count} files”: what can the number be?
A file counter needs to handle values such as 1 fichier and 2 fichiers. It also needs an agreed treatment of the empty state: you might want Aucun fichier instead of a numerical label. That is a product-copy decision as well as a localization question.
Share the possible values, the empty-state design and the plural-message syntax your product supports. Preserve the placeholder identifiers your system expects. Use your framework’s locale-aware plural handling rather than asking the translator to guess how one static string will behave; the ICU guide also covers plural message selection.
Useful note: “Non-negative whole-number file count. Zero uses a separate empty-state message. Placeholder syntax is documented in the brief.”
A small context pack for your translator
For each ambiguous string, include:
- Location and purpose: the screen, component and action or state it describes.
- A screenshot or product access: enough to see neighbouring labels and the user’s task.
- Variables and protected content: what each placeholder contains, plus tags that must remain intact.
- Constraints: any real character limit, line-break restriction or platform terminology.
- Language decisions: target French variant, preferred terms and tone of voice.
After import, check the French in the interface. A correct string still needs to fit its component, display its variables properly and remain consistent with neighbouring text.
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