Android strings.xml: Plurals, Escaping and Format Args

strings.xml is the resource file that holds an Android app's user-facing text. The default language lives in res/values/strings.xml, and each translation lives in a folder named for its language, such as res/values-uk/strings.xml. At run time Android picks the folder that matches the device language and falls back to res/values/ for anything missing.

What does an Android strings.xml file look like?#

This res/values/strings.xml covers what you will write in practice: a plain string, a string with format arguments, a plural, an escaped apostrophe, a string array and a string that is never translated.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<resources>
    <string name="app_name" translatable="false">Notes</string>
 
    <!-- Greeting on the home screen. -->
    <string name="welcome">Hello, %1$s! You have %2$d new notes.</string>
 
    <plurals name="file_count">
        <item quantity="one">%d file</item>
        <item quantity="other">%d files</item>
    </plurals>
 
    <string name="cant_sync">Can\'t sync right now</string>
 
    <string-array name="sort_options">
        <item>Newest first</item>
        <item>Oldest first</item>
    </string-array>
</resources>

• <string name="..."> is one key. The name becomes the resource ID, R.string.welcome.
• <plurals> holds one <item> per plural quantity.
• <string-array> is an ordered list, read with getStringArray.
• translatable="false" marks a string that stays the same in every language, such as the app name.
• A comment directly above a key is the usual place for a note to translators.

How do translations work in strings.xml?#

Each language gets its own values- folder with a file of the same keys:

res/
  values/strings.xml          default language
  values-uk/strings.xml       Ukrainian
  values-pt-rBR/strings.xml   Portuguese (Brazil)
  values-b+sr+Latn/strings.xml  Serbian in Latin script

A translation only needs the keys it translates. Anything it leaves out, Android takes from res/values/, which keeps the app running and shows that string in the default language.

How do plurals work in strings.xml?#

A <plurals> element has one <item> per CLDR quantity: zero, one, two, few, many and other. Each language needs its own set. English needs one and other; Ukrainian needs one, few, many and other:

<!-- res/values-uk/strings.xml -->
<plurals name="file_count">
    <item quantity="one">%d файл</item>
    <item quantity="few">%d файли</item>
    <item quantity="many">%d файлів</item>
    <item quantity="other">%d файлу</item>
</plurals>

Read it with the count twice:

resources.getQuantityString(R.plurals.file_count, count, count)

The first count picks the item. The second fills %d.

Two rules catch people out:

• Android picks by grammatical category, not by number. In English, 0 is other, so an English zero item is never used. Use a separate string for "No files".
• A missing item falls back to other. A Ukrainian block with only English's one and other still builds, and shows "3 файлу" where Ukrainian says "3 файли".

How do format arguments work in strings.xml?#

Values use Java format specifiers. Number them, %1$s and %2$d, so a translator can reorder them for their language:

<string name="welcome">Hello, %1$s! You have %2$d new notes.</string>

getString(R.string.welcome, name, count)

The arguments are matched by position, so the translation has to keep the same numbered specifiers:

• A translation that drops %2$d still formats, and the reader never sees the count.
• A translation that adds a specifier the code does not pass, such as a %3$s, throws a MissingFormatArgumentException when that screen formats the string.

How do you escape characters in strings.xml?#

What breaks strings.xml without failing the build?#

• A missing translation shows the default-language string.
• A plural with English's quantities in a language that needs more falls back to other.
• A dropped format argument hides the value; an extra one crashes the screen that formats it.
• A copied, untranslated value looks fine in the file and ships in the default language.

Most of these are in a language you may not read.

How do you check strings.xml across every language?#

StringLane reads every res/values*/strings.xml in the project and checks each language against the default: missing strings, plural quantities that language requires, numbered format arguments compared per string and per plural item, by count and by the type each argument is read as, and values identical to the default. A regional folder such as values-fr-rCA/ or values-b+es+419/ owes only the strings it defines, because Android shows the parent language's folder for the rest; the parent must be the same language in the same script, so values-zh-rTW/ still owes every string. A folder named with b+, such as values-b+sr+Latn/, owes every plural quantity its language needs. The free CLI runs the same checks from a terminal or CI and writes nothing into your repository:

npx @stringlane/cli@latest check .

The Android strings.xml editor shows the same checks while you edit, with every values folder side by side.

Next steps#

• Fix placeholder mismatches: find and restore a dropped %1$s.
• Add a language: create a new values- folder from a preset.
• Flutter ARB File Format: the same problems in a Flutter project.
• Inspect and Check a Project: run the checks in CI.