Japanese Translation Issues in User Profile Settings

Contribute Translations
1

I’m setting up a Discourse community for users in Japan and have noticed several translation issues in the Japanese interface. I’m not a native speaker of Japanese, but I’ve been teaching at a Japanese university for over three decades, and these stood out immediately when I was using the platform to set up a dummy profile in Japanese. Please check with native speakers of Japanese; I think they will agree.

Issues Found

1. Location field

  • Current: 場所 (basho - “place/spot”)
  • Problem: Too literal - sounds like a physical location (filming location, venue)
  • Better: 居住地 (kyojūchi) or 地域 (chiiki) for “where you live”
  • Where to find: User menu → Profile → Edit (Profile tab)

2. Optional field markers

  • Current: オプション (opushon - English loanword)
  • Problem: Unnatural when Japanese has a proper word
  • Better: 任意 (nin’i) - the standard Japanese term
  • Where to find: User menu → Settings → Profile tab, appears after “氏名” field

3. Birthday field

  • Current: 生年月日 (seinengappi - “birth year, month, day”)
  • Problem: Field only accepts month/day, not year
  • Better: 誕生日 (tanjōbi - “birthday”)
  • Where to find: User menu → Settings → Profile tab

4. Summary page

  • Current: 要約 (yōyaku - “summary/abstract”)
  • Problem: Vague - summary of what?
  • Better: 統計 (tōkei) or 使用状況 (shiyō jōkyō) to clarify it shows statistics/usage
  • Where to find: User menu → Summary (tab/link in user profile navigation)

5. Missing translation

  • “Notify when someone shares a link to one of my posts” appears in English
  • Suggested: 投稿へのリンクが共有されたときに通知する
  • Where to find: User menu → Settings → Notifications → 通知 section

Context

I suspect that these translation issues stem from translators (even if native speakers) working from spreadsheets without seeing the actual interface. For example, “Location” → 場所 makes sense as a dictionary translation, but in the context of a user profile next to “Name” and “Email,” it should indicate residence/region (居住地や地域).

I’m happy to provide screenshots or additional detail if needed.

3 Likes
Typo in Japanese translation: user_notifications.confirm_old_email.text_body_template
Typo in Japanese translation: user_notifications.confirm_old_email.text_body_template
2

I have added your reports as comments on Crowdin - not only the 4 reported here, but also the one reported in the other topic.

Screenshot_20260211_013244_Chrome
Screenshot_20260211_013244_Chrome1726×892 110 KB

2 Likes
3

Thanks @Moin ! By the way, although I’ve only posted a few times here I’ve always gotten really good responses. Of course, that includes your kind responses. Yesterday, I was listening to “We Didn’t Ask for This Internet", a show in which Ezra Klein interviewed Cory Doctorow and Tim Wu. As I listened, I thought “THIS is why I chose to go to the trouble of creating a Discourse community.” In a world where social media platforms have left many of us deeply disappointed, it’s great to have Discourse, a platform that allows the kind of community building that the internet seemed to promise in the 1990s. :wink:

Thanks again for your good work!!

4 Likes