To translate Figma UI strings and design files, send the text to a translation step that returns each string in the target language, then check the design for text expansion and right-to-left direction before handing it to development. Bluente is an AI-powered document translation platform used by 30,000+ professionals to translate files in 120+ languages while preserving the original formatting, so the exported specs, PDFs, and supporting documents that travel with a design come back intact, and the UI copy stays consistent with the rest of your product.
Design localization fails in two predictable places: the strings get translated without context, and the surrounding documents, specs, release notes, support content, drift out of sync. This guide covers both, so a localized screen and the documents around it tell the same story in every language.
How Do You Translate Text in a Figma File?
You translate text in a Figma file by extracting the text layers, translating them, and writing the translations back into the same layers, usually through a localization plugin that syncs strings to a translation project and pulls the results back in. This lets designers preview each language in context before any code is written.
Plugins such as Tolgee, Crowdin, Lokalise, and Transifex handle the sync, and several send a screenshot of each screen so translators see exactly where a string appears. The catch is that they translate strings in isolation; the terminology in your UI still has to match the terminology in your manuals, help center, and contracts. That cross-document consistency is where a platform with a shared custom glossary earns its place, because "account," "workspace," or "subscription" should mean the same thing on the button and in the documentation.
Why Does Translated UI Copy Break the Layout?
Translated UI copy breaks the layout because text length changes between languages: German, Finnish, and Russian commonly expand 20 to 35 percent over English, while some languages contract, and a button or label sized for the source text can no longer hold the translation. A "Save" button becomes "Speichern," a one-line label wraps to two, and a fixed-width card overflows.
Catching this at the design stage is the entire point of translating in Figma rather than after build. When designers can see every language in the actual frames, they can adjust spacing, truncation, and wrapping before the cost of a code change. The same expansion problem hits the documents that ship with the product, so translating the UI and the docs with one consistent engine keeps both legible.
How Do You Handle Right-to-Left Languages Like Arabic and Hebrew?
You handle right-to-left languages by translating the strings and then mirroring the layout so text direction, alignment, and reading order flip correctly, with numbers and embedded Latin text kept in their proper direction. RTL is not just a font swap; the whole interface needs to read right to left.
Bluente supports 120+ languages including full right-to-left handling and Asian scripts such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Arabic, which matters because the documents accompanying an RTL product, onboarding guides, terms, support articles, have to mirror correctly too. A product that ships a clean Arabic UI but a broken Arabic PDF manual undercuts the whole localization effort.
How Do You Keep UI Terms Consistent With Your Documents?
You keep UI terms consistent by locking them in a custom glossary that applies to both the interface strings and every document around the product, so a feature is named the same way in the app, the help center, the release notes, and the contract. Inconsistent naming across these surfaces is one of the most common and most avoidable localization defects.
Bluente's glossary holds product names, feature labels, and protected terms that must never be translated, and applies them across PDF, DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX as well as the strings you feed it. For a product team shipping into many markets, this is what makes the localized experience feel like one product rather than a UI and a set of documents that were translated by different hands.
What About the Documents Around the Design?
The documents around a design, product specs, onboarding PDFs, support articles, marketing one-pagers, should be translated with the same engine and glossary as the UI so the entire experience is consistent and on-brand. These files carry tables, screenshots, and layouts that a text-only tool would flatten.
Bluente translates whole files in their native format in under two minutes on average, including text embedded in screenshots and charts via OCR, so a localized onboarding deck or a translated help-center export matches the localized UI. As of June 2026, treating UI strings and surrounding documents as one localization job, not two, is what mature product teams do to ship coherent multilingual experiences.
Is It Secure for Pre-Release Product Designs?
Yes. Bluente runs with zero data retention, automatic deletion within 24 hours, and end-to-end encryption, and nothing you translate is ever used to train an AI model. The platform holds SOC 2 Type II, GDPR, and ISO 27001 compliance.
Unreleased designs and the copy that goes with them are sensitive, and a translation workflow that retains or trains on them creates leak risk before launch. A no-retention, encrypted workflow lets product and design teams localize confidently ahead of release.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can I preview every language directly in Figma? Yes. Using a localization plugin to sync strings out and pull translations back lets designers see each language in the real frames before development, which is the best moment to fix text expansion and wrapping issues.
Q: Why does my translated UI overflow buttons and labels? Because translated text changes length, often expanding 20 to 35 percent in languages like German or Finnish. Reviewing translations in context lets you resize and adjust components before the layout breaks in code.
Q: Does it handle Arabic and other right-to-left languages? Yes. Bluente supports 120+ languages with full right-to-left handling, so Arabic and Hebrew strings translate correctly and the accompanying documents mirror their layout properly.
Q: How do I keep app terms and documentation in sync? Use one custom glossary across both the UI strings and the surrounding documents so feature names and key terms are identical in the app, the help center, the release notes, and any contracts.
Q: Can it translate the PDFs and decks that ship with the product? Yes. Bluente translates whole files such as PDF, DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX in their native format, including text inside screenshots and charts, so the documents match the localized UI.
Q: How fast is it? Most documents translate in under two minutes on average, fast enough to localize specs and support content in step with each design iteration.
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