AndroidBooster Localization

When This Applies

After any change to a strings.xml (or plurals.xml) in a values/ directory, check whether the same module has locale-specific directories (e.g. values-es/, values-ja/, values-de/). If locale directories exist, propagate the change to every locale's strings.xml.

If no locale directories exist for the module, no translation work is needed.

String Resource Locations

Each module may have its own string resources:

Check for locale directories with: values-<locale>/strings.xml under the same res/ path.

Translation Rules

Contextual Translation

Translate based on how the string is used in the UI, not word-for-word. Before translating:

1. Search the codebase for where the string resource is referenced (e.g. R.string.<name> or @string/<name>)
2. Understand the UI context — is it a button label, dialog title, error message, placeholder, menu item, etc.?
3. Choose the translation that a native speaker would expect in that UI context

Example — button label:

<!-- Default (values/strings.xml) -->
<string name="action_got_it">Got it</string>

<!-- Spanish (values-es/strings.xml) — contextual, not literal -->
<string name="action_got_it">Entendido</string>

<!-- Japanese (values-ja/strings.xml) -->
<string name="action_got_it">了解</string>

Example — error message:

<!-- Default -->
<string name="error_connection">Something went wrong. Check your connection.</string>

<!-- Spanish — natural phrasing for an error -->
<string name="error_connection">Algo salió mal. Revisa tu conexión.</string>

<!-- Japanese -->
<string name="error_connection">エラーが発生しました。接続を確認してください。</string>

Android strings.xml Formatting Rules

1. Escape single quotes with a backslash:

<string name="welcome">It\'s a great day</string>

1. Escape double quotes with a backslash, or wrap the entire string in single quotes:

<string name="quote">\"Hello,\" she said</string>

1. Preserve HTML markup — if the default string contains HTML tags, duplicate them in translations:

<!-- Default -->
<string name="terms">By continuing, you agree to our <b>Terms</b> and <i>Privacy Policy</i>.</string>

<!-- Spanish — HTML tags preserved -->
<string name="terms">Al continuar, aceptas nuestros <b>Términos</b> y la <i>Política de Privacidad</i>.</string>

1. Preserve format specifiers — keep %s, %d, %1$s, %2$d, etc. in the same logical positions:

<!-- Default -->
<string name="greeting">Hello, %1$s! You have %2$d messages.</string>

<!-- Spanish -->
<string name="greeting">¡Hola, %1$s! Tienes %2$d mensajes.</string>

1. Preserve `\n` and `\t` escape sequences as-is.

1. CDATA sections — if the default uses <![CDATA[...]]>, the translation must too.

Plurals

When adding or modifying <plurals> entries, respect each locale's plural rules. Different languages have different plural categories.

English uses one and other:

<plurals name="item_count">
    <item quantity="one">%d item</item>
    <item quantity="other">%d items</item>
</plurals>

Russian uses one, few, many, and other:

<plurals name="item_count">
    <item quantity="one">%d элемент</item>
    <item quantity="few">%d элемента</item>
    <item quantity="many">%d элементов</item>
    <item quantity="other">%d элементов</item>
</plurals>

Japanese/Chinese/Korean — typically only other (no grammatical plural):

<plurals name="item_count">
    <item quantity="other">%d 件</item>
</plurals>

Arabic uses zero, one, two, few, many, and other:

<plurals name="item_count">
    <item quantity="zero">لا عناصر</item>
    <item quantity="one">عنصر واحد</item>
    <item quantity="two">عنصران</item>
    <item quantity="few">%d عناصر</item>
    <item quantity="many">%d عنصرًا</item>
    <item quantity="other">%d عنصر</item>
</plurals>

Polish uses one, few, many, and other:

<plurals name="item_count">
    <item quantity="one">%d element</item>
    <item quantity="few">%d elementy</item>
    <item quantity="many">%d elementów</item>
    <item quantity="other">%d elementu</item>
</plurals>

Refer to the CLDR plural rules when unsure about a locale's required categories.

String Arrays

For <string-array> entries, translate each <item> while keeping the same count and order:

<!-- Default -->
<string-array name="sort_options">
    <item>Name</item>
    <item>Date</item>
    <item>Size</item>
</string-array>

<!-- Spanish -->
<string-array name="sort_options">
    <item>Nombre</item>
    <item>Fecha</item>
    <item>Tamaño</item>
</string-array>

Workflow

When a strings.xml change is made:

1. Identify the module — determine which module's res/ directory was changed
2. Check for locale directories — look for values-<locale>/ siblings under the same res/ path
3. If locale directories exist, for each locale:

• Find the usage context by searching for R.string.<name> or @string/<name> in layouts/code
• Produce a contextual translation
• Apply all formatting rules (escaping, HTML, format specifiers, plural categories)
• Add the translated string to the locale's strings.xml, maintaining the same grouping comments and ordering as the default

1. If a string was removed from the default, remove it from all locale files too
2. If a string was modified in the default, update all locale translations accordingly

Do Not Translate

• translatable="false" strings — skip these entirely
• String names that are explicitly marked as non-translatable via tools:ignore="MissingTranslation"
• Raw resource references or format-only strings (e.g. <string name="url_format">https://%s</string>)