> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.liftify.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Translate a survey
> Add a second language to a survey, translate every question, and clear the publish block that an unfinished translation causes.
One survey can ask its questions in more than one language. You don't build a second survey — you add a language and type a translation for each question, and respondents pick which one they want. Their answers roll up to the same set of questions either way, so your results stay in one place.
## Open the Languages page
Open the survey in the builder and click **Languages** in the top bar. The page has two sections: **Primary language** and **Additional languages**.
## Primary language
This is the language your questions are written in, described on the page as: *"The language your questions are written in. Respondents see it by default, and it's the version shown everywhere in Liftify — reporting, response viewing, and analytics."*
If it's wrong, choose the right one and click **Save**.
Once a survey has responses the primary language is fixed. The page then just shows the name, with: *"The primary language can't be changed because this survey already has responses."*
## Add a language
1. Under **Additional languages**, open the **Add a language** dropdown. It reads **Select a language** until you choose. Liftify offers 29 languages, each shown with its native name — for example *Spanish (Español)*, *Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)*, *Haitian Creole (Kreyòl Ayisyen)*.
2. Click **Add language**.
Liftify confirms with a reminder of what's still owed: *"Spanish (Español) added. Add translations before publishing."*
The language now appears in the list with a progress badge — **Complete**, or something like *"0 of 14 translated"*.
## Translate the questions
Click **Edit translations** on the language's row. The page is a list of every string in the survey with a box for your translation beside it. The original wording is shown above each box, so you're always translating from something specific.
* **Buttons** comes first — the wording on the survey's own navigation buttons.
* Then one section per question, headed with its number and type, for example *Question 2 · Multiple Choice*.
Within a question you'll see **Question text**, any extra labels that question has, and where they apply, **Choices** and **Field labels** — each answer option and each contact field gets its own translation.
A banner at the top tracks how far you've got: *"6 of 14 strings translated. Every string must be translated before the survey can be published."* When you're done it turns green: *"All 14 translations are complete."*
Click **Save translations** when you're finished, or **Cancel** to go back without saving. You don't have to do it in one sitting — save partway and the progress badge on the **Languages** page reflects what you've done.
Add or reword questions after translating and the new wording arrives untranslated, which puts the language back to incomplete. Get the questions settled first, then translate.
## Publishing is blocked until every language is complete
This is the thing people get stuck on. The **Additional languages** section says so up front: *"Publishing is blocked until every added language is fully translated."*
Click **Publish** with an unfinished translation and it's refused, naming what's missing:
*"Translations are incomplete: Spanish (Español) is missing 3 of 14 translations. Complete all translations before publishing."*
Two ways out: finish the translation, or **Remove** the language and publish without it. There is no way to publish a survey with a half-translated language attached. See [Build and publish a survey](/surveys/build-and-publish-a-survey) for everything else that has to be right before a survey goes out.
## Remove a language
Click **Remove** on the language's row. Liftify asks *"Remove this language and all of its translations?"* first — the translations you typed are deleted with it, not archived.
## What your customers see
On the first page of the survey, a language dropdown appears at the top with each available language in its own script — *Español*, *Français*, *Tiếng Việt*. Choosing one reloads the survey in that language.
The dropdown only appears while they are still on the first page and haven't answered anything. Once they move on, the language is locked for that response.
## Changing the primary language later
You can promote a language you've added — say, make Spanish the primary and demote English to a translation. Liftify refuses unless that language is fully translated first: *"Spanish (Español) is missing 3 of 14 translations. Complete them before making it the primary language."*
Choosing a language you have **not** added as a translation does something different: it relabels the survey without touching a word of it. Your questions stay exactly as written, now described as being in the new language. If you want the survey actually translated, add the language, translate it, and then promote it.
## Troubleshooting
**Publish keeps failing and the questions all look fine.** Read the message — it names the language and how many strings are missing. Open **Languages**, click **Edit translations** on that row, and look for empty boxes.
**A language shows "12 of 14 translated" and I can't see what's missing.** Every box on the **Edit translations** page is one string. Scroll the whole page, including the **Buttons** section at the top and the **Choices** under each multiple-choice question — those are the ones people miss.
**I can't change the primary language.** The survey already has responses, so it's fixed. Build a new survey if you need the questions written in a different language.
**The language dropdown isn't showing on the survey.** It only appears when the survey has more than one language published, and only on the first page before the respondent answers anything.