Software & app localization
Make your app look home-grown on Turkish users’ phones
Turkish has special letters such as İ/ı, a rich suffix system, and date and currency formats different from Chinese; simply swapping out strings often leads to broken characters, overflow or grammatical errors. Yeni İpekyolu (New Silk Road) translates your software and app interface, store listings and help content and tests them on real devices, so Turkish users can use them with ease.
Make your app feel local on Turkish phones
“{name} siparişi”: why does an agglutinative language break concatenation?
Turkish is an agglutinative language; a word can take several suffixes in a row for case, plural and possession. Many apps concatenate variables with fixed text in code; in a structure such as “{name} siparişi” (“{name}’s order”), the suffix has to change according to the last vowel of the name, so simple concatenation produces grammatical errors. In addition, letters such as İ/ı, ğ and ş are missing in some fonts, and case conversion has its own special rules. These problems require translators and developers to work together; the job doesn’t end with delivering the translation.
Turkish users are heavy smartphone users and notice localisation quality immediately. If the interface contains machine-translated sentences or mixed Chinese and English text, users often say so openly in store reviews. That is why getting the interface, store listing and help content right from the start is more economical than patching them after launch.
Four links in the chain, from strings.xml to real-device testing
A project usually starts with exporting the source files, for example strings.xml for Android, .strings for iOS or JSON for the web. Next, a term list is prepared that sets the core feature names, form of address and brand spelling. The translator works in professional tools where placeholders and tags are locked, and a second translator reviews.
After the translation files are imported into a test build, we examine each screen on real devices for truncation, misalignment and context errors and provide a bug list with screenshots. Once the development team has made the fixes, another round of checks is carried out. In every subsequent release, only new and changed content is handled.
“2025/03/01” and a yuan symbol confuse Turkish users
The first problem is giving the translator only an Excel sheet with no screenshots or character limits; even if the meaning is correct, the text doesn’t fit the interface. The second is machine-translating from Chinese into English, then translating from English into Turkish; information is lost at each transfer. The third is overlooking date, currency and number formats; seeing “2025/03/01” or a yuan symbol in the interface confuses Turkish users.
Another frequently overlooked issue is legal texts. Translating a Chinese privacy policy directly into Turkish may not meet the requirements of Turkish legislation such as KVKK (Türkiye’s personal data protection law). The right approach is for your Turkish lawyer to determine the content while we handle the translation and the alignment of the Chinese and Turkish texts.
If your release date is fixed, we plan the rounds around it
Yeni İpekyolu offers interface translation, store listing copy, help centre translation and device testing, and can work directly in your translation platform. Our translators can translate directly from Chinese into Turkish and also interpret between your developers and your Turkish partners. Your lawyer decides on the compliance content of legal texts; we provide accurate translation.
Before starting, prepare the source files or platform access, interface screenshots or a test build, character limit information and any term list or English version. If you have a fixed release date, let us know in advance; we plan the translation and test rounds accordingly.
Teams offering apps, SaaS and devices to Turkish users
Chinese app teams expanding into Türkiye
E-commerce, social, tool and transport apps need a complete Turkish interface when launching in Türkiye. Turkish users are used to apps in their native language; English or machine-translated text left in the interface directly affects ratings and user retention. We handle everything from the interface to notifications together.
SaaS and enterprise software providers
When admin panels, ERP, logistics or payment software are offered to Turkish customers, the interface and help centre must be localised. Enterprise customers’ employees use these systems every day, so terminology must match industry conventions in Türkiye. Accounting and logistics, for example, have established Turkish terms that can’t be replaced with arbitrary literal translations.
Smart device manufacturers
The companion app, device screen text and software notifications are ready alongside the hardware sold in Türkiye. Device screens are small and Turkish is usually longer than Chinese, so length needs special checking. By coordinating with the user manual translation, we can make sure the same terms are used in the app and the printed documents.
Interface, formats, store listings and on-device LQA
Interface text translation
Buttons, menus, alerts, notifications and error messages are translated, with variables and placeholders preserved. If placeholders such as %s or {count} break, the app may crash or display the wrong content. We lock these codes with professional tools and translate only the text.
Language rules
Singular and plural, suffix harmony and İ/ı case conversion are handled, preventing errors in concatenated sentences. In Turkish, suffixes change according to the preceding vowels and consonants; attaching a fixed suffix to a noun in code often produces grammatical errors. We flag such strings and recommend that developers use full sentences.
Format localisation
Date (dd.mm.yyyy), time, thousands separators and Turkish lira (TL / ₺) display are adjusted. In Türkiye the thousands separator is usually a point and the decimal separator a comma, the reverse of Chinese practice. It is best to manage these formats through the system’s tr-TR locale; we check them during testing.
Store listings
App Store and Google Play titles, descriptions, keywords and screenshot captions are prepared. The store listing is the first impression in a user’s decision to download; the Turkish title and keywords affect search results. We write to the character limits and take into account the wording used by similar local apps.
Help centre and legal texts
Turkish versions of FAQs, user guides, the privacy policy and the user agreement are prepared. The privacy policy and user agreement relate to Turkish legislation such as KVKK; your Turkish lawyer should review their compliance. We ensure accurate translation and consistency with interface terminology.
On-device testing (LQA)
Truncation, overflow and context errors are examined in the test build, and a bug list is reported. Many errors only show up in the real interface; for example, the same English word may carry different meanings on different screens. The bug list comes with screenshots and suggested fixes, making the development team’s job easier.
Service summary and requirements
| Turnaround | Depends on string count and test rounds |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Per word · testing hourly |
| Language direction | Chinese / English → Turkish |
| Service languages | Chinese · Turkish · English |
| Cities served | Mainly Istanbul; also Ankara, Izmir and other cities |
The final price and timeline depend on your documents and scope; we send a clear quote within 2 hours.
What you need to provide
- Source files or access to a platform such as Crowdin / Lokalise
- Interface screenshots or a test build (TestFlight / APK) for understanding context
- Character limit information, especially for buttons and notifications
- English version or term list, if available
From source files to release-by-release updates
- 1
Transferring source files
Share the string files or translation platform access, and add screenshots or a test build for context. Without context, the translator has to guess whether “Save” means “kaydet” (save a file) or “tasarruf et” (save money). The more complete the screenshots, the more accurate the translation.
- 2
Terminology and tone
The form of address (formal siz / informal sen) and core feature names are set. Social or gaming apps for young users usually prefer sen, while finance and enterprise software prefer siz. This choice must be consistent throughout the app.
- 3
Translation and review
The translator translates within character limits, and a second translator checks consistency and placeholders. The second translator compares strings one by one against the term list and also checks punctuation and capitalisation. Ambiguous strings are collected in a list and raised with you.
- 4
Device testing
The test build is installed and examined screen by screen, and the final files are delivered after corrections. We record issues with screenshots on iOS and Android devices. Once fixes are complete, source files that can be imported directly into the project are delivered.
- 5
Release updates
In later releases, only new and changed strings are translated, and terminology stays consistent. We keep the translation memory, so repeated content is not translated again. A fixed delivery cycle can be set for teams that release frequently.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the letter i look wrong in Turkish?
In Turkish, the uppercase of i is İ and the uppercase of ı is I. If code uses default English rules for case conversion, errors appear, and even search and login comparisons can be affected. We flag such issues during testing and pass them on to your development team.
Will Turkish text be much longer than Chinese?
It usually becomes noticeably longer; buttons and labels are especially prone to overflow. We aim to stay clear within the character limit, using short expressions common locally where necessary. If shortening isn’t possible, we offer suggestions for the interface.
Can I have only the store listing done?
Yes. The store title, description and keywords can be translated and optimised separately, which is a good way to test the Turkish market first. However, if the app itself remains in English, disappointment after downloading may lead to negative reviews.
Should we address users as siz or sen?
That depends on the product’s positioning. Banking, government and enterprise software usually use the more formal siz, while social, gaming and youth-oriented apps often use sen. We make a recommendation based on similar products in Türkiye; you decide, and we apply it consistently throughout the app.
Which legal texts are needed to launch our app in Türkiye?
These usually include a privacy policy, a KVKK privacy notice and a user agreement; requirements vary depending on the business model and how data is processed. This is a legal assessment, and your Turkish lawyer should determine which texts are needed and what they contain. We translate the specified texts accurately into Turkish and Chinese.
Can you work directly in platforms such as Crowdin and Lokalise?
Yes. Once you create a translator account for us, we translate directly in the platform, and your development process doesn’t change. The platform’s screenshot and note features are very useful for understanding context; we recommend filling them in as much as possible.
We release frequently; how does translation keep up?
We use translation memory and process only new and changed strings each time, so the workload is usually small. A fixed cycle or per-release delivery can be set, and urgent fixes can be handled separately. Letting us know release dates in advance makes translator planning easier.
Is it OK if the source is only in Chinese, with no English version?
Yes. Our translators can translate directly from Chinese into Turkish, avoiding the shifts in meaning caused by going through English. If an English version exists, it can also be used as a reference to verify meaning.
Tell us what you need in Türkiye
Our Chinese-speaking consultant reviews it for free and gives you a clear price and timeline.
