---
title: "How do I review a translation in a language I don't speak?"
description: "Check what you can verify mechanically, placeholders, length, plurals and terminology, use a back-translation to check the meaning, and leave judgment of style to a native speaker."
category: general
date: 2026-10-29
canonical: https://localizely.com/i18n-questions/general/how-do-i-review-a-translation-in-a-language-i-do-not-speak/
---

# How do I review a translation in a language I don't speak?

You cannot judge whether it reads well, but you can check more than you think, and you can tell whether it says what the source says.

**Check what is mechanical first.** Most translation defects that reach users are not language problems: a dropped placeholder, a translated variable name, a missing plural form, a text that overflows its button. Run the [QA checks](/qa-checks/) and look at the length counters. These catch errors in any language without reading it.

**Check the meaning with a back-translation.** A literal translation back into your language shows whether the sentence kept its meaning, its numbers and its negations. Free machine translation works for this, with one rule: compare meaning, not wording. "Start your free trial now" coming back as "Begin the free test now" is fine; coming back as "Your free trial has started" is not. In Localizely the **Explain** action of the [AI Assistant](/ai-assistant/) does this in the editor and also points out tone shifts, missing placeholders and length problems.

**Check terminology.** If your product calls it a "workspace", every language should use one word for it. A glossary with the approved term per language lets you check this without speaking the language: search the translation for the glossary term.

**Check it in context.** Screenshots show whether a translation fits the screen and matches the element it labels. A string that is correct in isolation can still be wrong for a button.

**Know what you cannot check.** Naturalness, register and idiom need a native speaker. Mark those translations as reviewed only for what you verified, and send the rest to a translator or to a colleague who speaks the language. One native read of a hundred strings catches what no tool does.

Source: https://localizely.com/i18n-questions/general/how-do-i-review-a-translation-in-a-language-i-do-not-speak/