Getting started as a translator

A guide to help you get started with translating content in Transifex as a translator.

Stamatios Lamprinoukas avatar
Written by Stamatios Lamprinoukas
Updated over a week ago

Welcome to Transifex! If you’re looking to learn how to help translate content on Transifex, this is the guide for you.


Signing up for an account

Before participating in a project or translating content, you must have a free translator account on Transifex. There are a couple of ways to get an account.

Signing up for an account

To sign up for an account:

  1. Go to app.transifex.com/signup/ and register for an account. Please make sure you select "Join an existing organization."

    what_brought_you_here_sign_up.png#asset:9378

  2. Fill in your first and last name, then choose which languages you can speak.

    tell_us_about_yourself_sign_up.png#asset:9379

Once you are done, you’ll be taken to the Explore page, where you can find and join a project.

You will also be asked to activate your account, so please check your email for the activation link and click on it.


Getting invited to a team

If you were invited to join a translation team on Transifex, you should’ve received an email with a link to set up your account. Click the link, complete the signup form, and click Create my account.

After creating your account, you’ll be automatically taken to the page of the Team you were invited to.


Joining a translation team

📝Note: If someone invited you to Transifex, you could skip to the next section about finding and translating content.

After you've signed up for an account, you will need to join a team in Transifex to translate. But before we go through how to join a team, let’s take a quick look at how things are organized in Transifex:

  • An organization in Transifex can represent an individual, a group, a community, a company, etc.

  • Each organization has projects containing all the content that needs to be translated.

  • Each project is then translated by a team of people who are part of the organization. Teams are made of Translators, Reviewers, and Coordinators, grouped by the language they work on.

This is why the title of this section is “Joining a Translation Team” and not “Joining a Project.”

Here’s how to join a team:

  1. From the Explore page, you can search for a project you would like to join.

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  2. Once you find the project you want to join, click on its name.

  3. Click the JOIN THIS PROJECT button on the right side.

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  4. In the popup, select which language you want to help translate to.

    Screenshot-2022-07-21-at-12.01.59-PM.png#asset:10228

  5. Click Request Language or Join Project, depending on the language you want to contribute to.

    Request Language: If the language you want to contribute to is not part of the project, then once you click on this option, the project's maintainer will get notified about your request, and they will decide if the request will be approved or not.

    Screenshot-2022-07-21-at-12.02.35-PM.png#asset:10229

    Join Project: If the language you want to contribute to is already part of the project, then once you click on this option, the manager of the localization team will get notified about your request and decide if your request will be approved.

    Screenshot-2022-07-21-at-12.02.47-PM.png#asset:10230

    No new requests will be allowed for languages with a "request language" already pending.

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Depending on how the team is set up, you will either be immediately accepted to the team, or someone from the team will need to approve your request before you can join that team.

After you’ve been approved as a translator, you’ll be notified by email. From then on, you’ll see the project in your dashboard, and you can translate it.

📝 Note: Suppose you have submitted a request to join a translation team or for a new language that has yet to be approved, and you would like to get informed about its status. In that case, we suggest you contact the people responsible for the localization of these projects. Please note that Transifex is not authorized to approve such requests.

Translating a private project

If the project you want to translate is private, an Organization Administrator or Team Manager will need to invite you as a Translator or Reviewer for the language of a team that's translating the project. Simply give your Transifex username or email to the person who will invite you.


Finding and translating content

Once you’ve joined a team, you can start translating. There are a lot more helpful articles in this section that can help you familiarize yourself with Transifex, so feel free to explore and learn more about the platform.


💡Tip

Looking for more help? Get support from our Transifex Community Forum!

Find answers or post to get help from Transifex Support and our Community.

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