Multi-Language Surveys

Formbricks supports multi-language surveys, allowing you to reach a global audience by translating your surveys into multiple languages. Respondents can view surveys in their preferred language, with optional language switching.

Overview

Multi-language support includes:

Default Language: Primary language for your survey
Secondary Languages: Additional languages enabled for translation
Language Switch: Optional toggle for respondents to change language
Per-Field Translations: Each text field can have language-specific content

Multi-language surveys require an Enterprise license. See your billing settings to enable this feature.

Setting Up Multi-Language Surveys

Enable Multi-Language

In the survey editor, open the “Multiple Languages” card (marked with the Languages icon).

Configure Workspace Languages

Navigate to Workspace Settings > Languages to add languages to your workspace. You need at least 2 languages configured.

Toggle Multi-Language On

In the survey editor, switch the multi-language toggle to “On”.

Select Default Language

Choose your primary language from the dropdown. This is the fallback if translations are missing.

Add Secondary Languages

Select additional languages you want to enable for this survey.

Translate Content

Switch between language tabs in the editor to provide translations for each field.

Survey Language Configuration

Languages are configured in the languages array on the survey object:

{
  "languages": [
    {
      "enabled": true,
      "default": true,
      "language": {
        "id": "lang_id",
        "code": "en-US",
        "alias": "English (US)",
        "createdAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
        "updatedAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
        "environmentId": "env_id"
      }
    },
    {
      "enabled": true,
      "default": false,
      "language": {
        "id": "lang_id_2",
        "code": "es-ES",
        "alias": "Español",
        "createdAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
        "updatedAt": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
        "environmentId": "env_id"
      }
    }
  ],
  "showLanguageSwitch": true
}

Field-Level Translations

Each translatable field uses a record structure with language codes as keys:

{
  "elements": [
    {
      "id": "question_1",
      "type": "multipleChoiceSingle",
      "headline": {
        "default": "What is your favorite color?",
        "es-ES": "¿Cuál es tu color favorito?",
        "fr-FR": "Quelle est votre couleur préférée?"
      },
      "subheader": {
        "default": "Choose one option",
        "es-ES": "Elige una opción",
        "fr-FR": "Choisissez une option"
      },
      "choices": [
        {
          "id": "choice_1",
          "label": {
            "default": "Blue",
            "es-ES": "Azul",
            "fr-FR": "Bleu"
          }
        },
        {
          "id": "choice_2",
          "label": {
            "default": "Red",
            "es-ES": "Rojo",
            "fr-FR": "Rouge"
          }
        }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Configuration Examples

Example 1: Welcome Card Translation

{
  "welcomeCard": {
    "enabled": true,
    "timeToFinish": true,
    "showResponseCount": false,
    "headline": {
      "default": "Welcome to our survey!",
      "es-ES": "¡Bienvenido a nuestra encuesta!",
      "de-DE": "Willkommen zu unserer Umfrage!"
    },
    "subheader": {
      "default": "Your feedback helps us improve",
      "es-ES": "Tus comentarios nos ayudan a mejorar",
      "de-DE": "Ihr Feedback hilft uns, uns zu verbessern"
    },
    "buttonLabel": {
      "default": "Start Survey",
      "es-ES": "Iniciar encuesta",
      "de-DE": "Umfrage starten"
    }
  }
}

Example 2: Multi-Language Rating Question

{
  "id": "satisfaction",
  "type": "rating",
  "headline": {
    "default": "How satisfied are you with our service?",
    "es-ES": "¿Qué tan satisfecho estás con nuestro servicio?",
    "ja-JP": "当社のサービスにどの程度満足していますか？",
    "ar-SA": "ما مدى رضاك عن خدمتنا؟"
  },
  "lowerLabel": {
    "default": "Not satisfied",
    "es-ES": "No satisfecho",
    "ja-JP": "満足していない",
    "ar-SA": "غير راضٍ"
  },
  "upperLabel": {
    "default": "Very satisfied",
    "es-ES": "Muy satisfecho",
    "ja-JP": "非常に満足",
    "ar-SA": "راضٍ جداً"
  },
  "scale": "number",
  "range": 5
}

Example 3: Multi-Language Open Text

{
  "id": "feedback",
  "type": "openText",
  "headline": {
    "default": "Please share your feedback",
    "es-ES": "Por favor comparte tus comentarios",
    "fr-FR": "Veuillez partager vos commentaires",
    "zh-CN": "请分享您的反馈"
  },
  "placeholder": {
    "default": "Type your feedback here...",
    "es-ES": "Escribe tus comentarios aquí...",
    "fr-FR": "Tapez vos commentaires ici...",
    "zh-CN": "在此输入您的反馈..."
  },
  "inputType": "text"
}

Example 4: Thank You Message Translation

{
  "endings": [
    {
      "id": "ending_1",
      "type": "endScreen",
      "headline": {
        "default": "Thank you for your feedback!",
        "es-ES": "¡Gracias por tus comentarios!",
        "de-DE": "Vielen Dank für Ihr Feedback!",
        "it-IT": "Grazie per il tuo feedback!"
      },
      "subheader": {
        "default": "We appreciate your time",
        "es-ES": "Apreciamos tu tiempo",
        "de-DE": "Wir schätzen Ihre Zeit",
        "it-IT": "Apprezziamo il tuo tempo"
      },
      "buttonLabel": {
        "default": "Close",
        "es-ES": "Cerrar",
        "de-DE": "Schließen",
        "it-IT": "Chiudi"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Enable respondents to change languages during the survey:

{
  "showLanguageSwitch": true,
  "languages": [
    {
      "enabled": true,
      "default": true,
      "language": { "code": "en-US", "alias": "English" }
    },
    {
      "enabled": true,
      "default": false,
      "language": { "code": "es-ES", "alias": "Español" }
    },
    {
      "enabled": true,
      "default": false,
      "language": { "code": "fr-FR", "alias": "Français" }
    }
  ]
}

The language switch toggle appears only when 2 or more languages are enabled.

Practical Use Cases

Global Customer Feedback

Support customers in their native language
Increase response rates with localized surveys
Collect feedback from international markets

Employee Engagement

Survey distributed teams across countries
Ensure all employees understand questions clearly
Demonstrate inclusivity and cultural awareness

Product Research

Test product concepts in different markets
Gather region-specific insights
Validate translations before product launch

Educational Assessments

Support multilingual student populations
Provide accessibility for language learners
Comply with educational standards requiring multiple languages

Best Practices

Professional Translation: For business-critical surveys, use professional translation services rather than machine translation.

Consistent Terminology: Use the same translations across all surveys for consistency
Test in Each Language: Preview the survey in every language to check formatting
Consider Text Expansion: Some languages require more space (German often needs 30% more)
Right-to-Left Support: Test RTL languages (Arabic, Hebrew) for proper display
Cultural Adaptation: Adapt examples and references to be culturally appropriate
Default Language: Always provide complete content in the default language as fallback

Implementation Reference

The multi-language implementation can be found in:

UI component: apps/web/modules/ee/multi-language-surveys/components/multi-language-card.tsx:45
Language utilities: apps/web/lib/i18n/utils
Language types: Database schema and packages/database/zod/surveys.ts:68-70

Limitations

Multi-language is an Enterprise feature
Workspace must have at least 2 languages configured
Each field must be translated manually (no automatic translation)
Language switch requires at least 2 enabled languages

Custom Styling - Style surveys for different cultural preferences
Conditional Logic - Combine with branching for region-specific flows
Hidden Fields - Pass user language preference as hidden field

Survey Types

Question Types

Features

Multi-Language Surveys

Overview

Setting Up Multi-Language Surveys

Survey Language Configuration

Field-Level Translations

Configuration Examples

Example 1: Welcome Card Translation

Example 2: Multi-Language Rating Question

Example 3: Multi-Language Open Text

Example 4: Thank You Message Translation

Language Switch Feature

Practical Use Cases

Global Customer Feedback

Employee Engagement

Product Research

Educational Assessments

Best Practices

Implementation Reference

Limitations

Survey Types

Question Types

Features

Documentation Index

​Overview

​Setting Up Multi-Language Surveys

​Survey Language Configuration

​Field-Level Translations

​Configuration Examples

​Example 1: Welcome Card Translation

​Example 2: Multi-Language Rating Question

​Example 3: Multi-Language Open Text

​Example 4: Thank You Message Translation

​Language Switch Feature

​Practical Use Cases

​Global Customer Feedback

​Employee Engagement

​Product Research

​Educational Assessments

​Best Practices

​Implementation Reference

​Limitations

​Related Features

Overview

Setting Up Multi-Language Surveys

Survey Language Configuration

Field-Level Translations

Configuration Examples

Example 1: Welcome Card Translation

Example 2: Multi-Language Rating Question

Example 3: Multi-Language Open Text

Example 4: Thank You Message Translation

Language Switch Feature

Practical Use Cases

Global Customer Feedback

Employee Engagement

Product Research

Educational Assessments

Best Practices

Implementation Reference

Limitations

Related Features