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Translate PO Files with Context and Precision

Translate PO and POT files online in minutes. AI learns your product and delivers ready-to-use translations that fit your UI and brand.

Translate PO files now

B+

Words Translated/Month

Supported Languages

Accuracy Rate

How To Translate PO Files with PTC

1. Upload Files

Add your .po or .pot file and select the output format. PTC returns translations as PO, MO, l10n.php, or JSON, whichever your project needs.

2. Add Context

Our AI analyzes your source file and automatically creates a product description to translate with the right tone and terminology. Review it for accuracy.

3. Download

Get fully translated, accurate PO files in minutes. Plural forms, HTML tags, and placeholders like %s and {name} are handled automatically.

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PO Files Checked In Context, Automatically

Your PO files look fine. But once you load those translations are inside your plugin or theme, problems can show up that no file-level review catches.
A label gets cut off in the WordPress admin, a button text overflows, or a translation isn’t quite right.

PTC Visual QA examines your translated WordPress UI visually and finds these issues before your users do. You release knowing every language has been reviewed, without manually testing your plugin or theme.

Fits your existing workflow

Connect PTC to GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket to get continuous translation updates. Or, integrate with your CI/CD pipeline.

Linguist-backed quality

Our linguists continuously refine the AI, so your translations outperform human translators and generic LLMs.

No subscription needed

Start with a 30-day trial and translate 20,000 words for free. After that, pay only for what you translate. No minimum, no commitment, no surprises.

Translate More Than Just Your PO Files

Translating resource files is one thing. But what about your readme.txt, release notes, emails to users, and WordPress.org description?

PTC’s Paste to Translate feature handles all the text that lives outside your PO files. Because PTC already knows your product, every translation uses the same terminology and tone.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a PO file in WordPress?

A PO file (Portable Object file) is a plain-text translation file used by WordPress themes and plugins to store translated strings. Each entry has two parts: the msgid (the original English string) and the msgstr (the translation). PO files follow the GNU Gettext format and are compiled into binary MO files that WordPress loads at runtime. Most WordPress localization workflows start with a POT file (the untranslated template) and create one PO file per language from it.

What’s the difference between a PO file and a POT file?

A POT file (Portable Object Template) is the master source file. It contains all the strings from your plugin or theme with empty msgstr fields. It’s the template you distribute so translators can work from. A PO file is a completed translation: it’s based on the POT file but has the msgstr fields filled in for a specific language. For example, my-plugin.pot is the template; my-plugin-de_DE.po is the German translation.

Can I translate a PO file with ChatGPT or Google Translate?

You can paste individual strings into ChatGPT or Google Translate, but neither tool handles the PO file format natively. You’d need to manually extract strings, translate them, and paste them back, while carefully preserving placeholders like %s and {name}, plural form syntax, and HTML tags. For anything beyond a handful of strings, this approach is slow and error-prone.

A dedicated PO file translator like PTC handles the entire file in one step, preserves all formatting automatically, and uses context about your specific product to produce more accurate translations.

Can I use PTC to translate other file formats?

Yes. Besides .po and .pot files, PTC supports a wide range of file formats, including JSON, string.xml, iOS .xcstrings, and more. See the full list of supported resource file formats.

Can I get .mo files back as well?

Yes. By default, PTC returns translations in .po files, but you can configure it to also output .mo, .l10n.php, or .json files. For the steps, see our guide to WordPress internationalization.

What languages can I translate PO files into?

For the full list of the 35+ languages PTC supports, see our supported languages page.

How is PTC different from other PO file translators?

The big difference is context. Most tools see a string like “Run” and translate it without knowing whether it means run a scan or to go for a run. PTC learns your terminology and audience first, which is why 99.5% of translations go live without any edits.

Does PTC integrate with localization workflows?

For continuous localization, PTC can connect to your GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket repository. When it detects changes to your .pot file, it translates the updated strings and delivers them back as a merge request. You can also use the PTC API to integrate localization into your CI/CD pipeline.

How do I load the PO/MO file translations into my WordPress theme or plugin?

You have two options: bundle the translations with your plugin or theme, or import them to WordPress.org if your project is hosted there. Our guide to importing theme and plugin translations covers both options in detail.

Why aren’t my PO file translations showing up in WordPress?

The most common cause is mismatched text domains. Your code, plugin header, file names, and load_plugin_textdomain() call must all use the exact same text domain. Other common issues include.mo files aren’t in the correct directory or community translations overriding translations bundled with your theme or plugin.

For detailed troubleshooting steps and solutions to specific scenarios, see why your translations might not be showing.

How much does PTC cost?

When your free 30-day trial ends, you can sign up for Pay-As-You-Go. There is no subscription or minimum commitment. The first 500 words every month are free, and beyond that you only pay for what you translate. Visit the Pricing page to use the calculator and see how much translating your project would cost.

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Join thousands of WordPress developers — including the team behind the WPML plugin — using PTC for fast, accurate PO file translations.

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