A string is a discrete piece of text in a user interface or software resource, such as a button label, menu item, or error message, that is treated as a translatable unit. In localization, strings are extracted from source code or content files and stored as separate entries for translation in CAT tools, where translators must preserve any embedded placeholders and inline tags.
Strings appear in software localization resource files, mobile app projects, and website translation workflows. Translators work on strings inside CAT tools or translation management systems, often with context previews or screenshots; localization engineers review placeholder syntax, concatenation issues, and string length after translation because broken strings can cause runtime errors or layout defects.
A common error is translating a string without seeing where it appears, which can produce the wrong word for buttons, titles, or status messages. Another is breaking placeholders or inline tags; this can corrupt the UI, trigger build failures, or make variables display incorrectly to end users, requiring immediate fixes before release.
For creative and consumer content the failure mode is flatness, not inaccuracy — and flatness passes an accuracy check. Terms here also carry technical constraints (reading speed, character budgets) that are part of the brief.
Angel Translation locks terms like this into a project terminology base before expert review begins, so the same source term resolves to the same target term across every document in a submission — and stays consistent in the next revision. See the 8-step AI + expert workflow.
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