Not all strings are created equal. While most of my 100 translations were relatively straightforward, some required me to stop, research, and make deliberate decisions. This post is about those harder cases and what I learned from them.

Challenge 1: Context-Dependent Terms

One of the trickiest aspects of translating UI strings is that you often see them without context. Take «Rank» — is this a noun (the user’s rank/level) or a verb (to rank something)? In Bit Flows, it’s a noun referring to a user tier in a points/achievements system. So «Rango» was the right call. But if I had assumed it was a verb, I might have written «Clasificar» — completely wrong.

My solution: I opened the plugin’s documentation and looked at how similar terms were translated in other WordPress plugins at translate.wordpress.org. Consistency across the ecosystem matters.

Challenge 2: Strings with Placeholders

Some strings contained variables that had to stay untouched:

Original:    "Award %d points to the user"
Translation: "Otorgar %d puntos al usuario"

The word order in Spanish doesn’t always map directly to English, so I had to make sure the placeholder landed in the right place grammatically while keeping the meaning intact.

Challenge 3: Choosing Between Synonyms

For «Revoke,» I could have used «Retirar,» «Quitar,» «Eliminar,» or «Revocar.» Here’s how I evaluated them:

• «Retirar» — feels informal for a UI action
• «Quitar» — too casual
• «Eliminar» — implies permanent deletion, too strong
• «Revocar» — precise, formal, matches the original intent ✅

What This Taught Me

Translation is a decision-making process, not just a language exercise. Every string is a small UX decision: the wrong word can confuse a user, break a layout, or make software feel foreign even in its own language. I have a lot more respect for professional localization teams after doing this at even a small scale.

Derek Joel Castillo Quirós · WPCredits Program · Universidad Fidélitas · Costa Rica