What is pseudo-localization?+
Pseudo-localization replaces your source strings with a fake translation that is still readable, such as [Šáṽé óñé] for Save. Running the app in that pseudo-locale shows hard-coded text, truncated labels, and encoding problems before any real translation is paid for.
What does pseudo-localization test?+
Accented characters reveal fonts and encodings that break on non-ASCII text. Extra length shows layouts that cannot fit longer languages such as German. Brackets show text that is cut off or joined from fragments, and any string without accents is hard-coded.
How much longer should pseudo-localized text be?+
Translated text is often 30% longer than English, and short labels can double. The realistic setting follows IBM's guideline: up to 100% for strings of 10 characters or fewer, falling to 30% for long sentences.
Are placeholders and HTML preserved?+
Yes. Placeholders such as {name}, {{count}}, %s, %1$d, and ${value}, HTML tags, entities, and ICU plural and select syntax are left unchanged. Only the readable text inside them is altered.
What is the right-to-left option?+
It wraps each word in Unicode bidi override characters, like Android's ar-XB pseudo-locale, so you can check mirrored layouts and icons without an Arabic or Hebrew translation.
Is pseudo-localization the same as en-XA?+
Android ships en-XA (accented) and ar-XB (bidi) pseudo-locales. This tool produces the same kind of output for any file format, so you can use it on the web, iOS, or backend projects.