Add Multi-Language in Django Project - Translation Manager

Django supports i18n and l10n, allowing developers to translate apps easily. This tutorial shows how to set up multilingual support and use Translation Manager.

Why Multi-Language Support in Django?

Adding multi-language support lets your application:

• Reach a wider audience.
• Improve user experience by speaking the user’s language.
• Make your project ready for global deployment.

If you are new to Django, it's important to first understand how to build a solid project structure - this step-by-step guide walks you through building your first Django website.

Enable Internationalization in settings.py

First, open your Django project’s settings.py file and configure the following settings

LANGUAGE_CODE = 'en'

USE_I18N = True

USE_L10N = True

USE_TZ = True

LANGUAGES = [
    ('en', 'English'),
    ('es', 'Spanish'),
    ('fr', 'French'),
    ('de', 'German'),
    # Add more as needed
]

LOCALE_PATHS = [
    BASE_DIR / 'locale',
]

Use ugettext_lazy in Your Code

Wherever you want to translate text in templates or Python code, wrap strings with the translation function.In Python files

from django.utils.translation import gettext_lazy as _

class Product(models.Model):
    title = models.CharField(max_length=200, verbose_name=_("Product Title"))

msgid "Welcome to our store"
msgstr "Bienvenido a nuestra tienda"

Create Message Files

Django uses .po files to store translated strings. To generate these files

django-admin makemessages -l es
django-admin makemessages -l fr

This will create .po files under locale/es/LC_MESSAGES/django.po, etc.

Add Translations

Edit the generated .po files

msgid "Welcome to our store"msgstr "Bienvenido a nuestra tienda"

Compile Translations

After editing the .po files, compile them into .mo files to make them usable by Django. And if you are working with front-end HTML during localization, this free online HTML compiler and editor is a handy tool for testing layout changes quickly.

Switch Language in Views

To change the language dynamically (e.g., based on user preference), use

from django.utils import translation

def my_view(request):
    user_language = 'fr'
    translation.activate(user_language)
    response = render(request, 'my_template.html')
    response.set_cookie(settings.LANGUAGE_COOKIE_NAME, user_language)
    return response

Add LocaleMiddleware (if not already enabled)

Make sure this middleware is enabled in your MIDDLEWARE setting:

MIDDLEWARE = [
    ...
    'django.middleware.locale.LocaleMiddleware',
    ...
]

Language Selector in Templates

<form action="{% url 'set_language' %}" method="post">
  {% csrf_token %}
  <select name="language">
    {% get_current_language as LANGUAGE_CODE %}
    {% get_available_languages as LANGUAGES %}
    {% for lang in LANGUAGES %}
      <option value="{{ lang.0 }}" {% if lang.0 == LANGUAGE_CODE %}selected{% endif %}>
        {{ lang.1 }}
      </option>
    {% endfor %}
  </select>
  <input type="submit" value="Change">
</form>

Optional: Translation Management Tools

pip install django-modeltranslation

Or use community tools like:

• django-rosetta: Live editing of .po files from the Django admin.
• django-parler: For model translation.

2. Integration with Services

You can also integrate with platforms like:

• Crowdin
• Transifex
• POEditor

These services allow collaborative translation and sync directly with your .po files.

Testing Multi-Language Support

Start the Django development server-

python manage.py runserver

Final Thoughts

Keep Learning

• How to run Gunicorn with Django for a production-ready WSGI server setup.
• 10 programming myths that waste developers' time - and how to avoid them.
• How to view any website's source code online - no extension required.