What is Contextual Translation?

Contextual translation means translating a string with knowledge of where and how it appears. Short UI strings are the most context-dependent text there is: "Post" could be a verb on a button or a noun in a feed, "Save" could target a file or a discount. Many languages must commit to one reading, so a translator without context is guessing.

Context takes several concrete forms: a description attached to the key ("button label, submits the comment form"), screenshots of the string in place, the key name itself when conventions are good, character limits for constrained UI, and notes about placeholder values ("this is a person's name"). Passing the same information to machine translation and LLMs improves their output for exactly the same reason.

The cheapest context is the kind captured at authoring time. A developer adding a key knows precisely what it does; a translator reading it months later does not. Workflows that let developers attach a one-line note to each key pay for themselves in avoided rework.