Guide

How to translate variant options in Shopify

Your German product page looks perfect, right up to the moment a shopper picks a size and reads “Kleur: Blauw”. It’s one of the most common gaps in translated stores, and one of the easiest to miss.

By Bram Sullot, founder of Unlost · 7 October 2026

When we check translated stores, this is the gap we find more than any other. Titles, descriptions, collections: all fine. But right next to the add-to-cart button, the colour and size options are still in the original language. That’s exactly where a shopper decides what to buy, and exactly where the store suddenly looks unfinished.

Why options slip through

Shopify doesn’t treat a product as one block of text. The title and description are one thing; the option names (Size, Color, Material) and the option values (Small, Navy blue, Linen) are separate texts with their own translations. Translate the description and the options don’t come along. Some tools skip them altogether, others only handle them on more expensive plans.

Translating them by hand

You can do it in Shopify’s own Translate & Adapt. Make sure the language is added and published under Settings > Languages, open Translate & Adapt, pick the language, go to Products and scroll down to the options of each product. Fill in the names and values, save, next product.

For ten products that’s an afternoon. For three hundred products in three languages it becomes a part-time job, and the catch is that shared values don’t carry over: “Navy blue” has to be filled in again on every product that has it. And every new product starts the whole thing over.

Letting an app do it

Most translation apps can translate options for you, but two questions are worth asking before you pick one. Does it really translate option names and values, on the plan you’re looking at? And does it stay consistent? “Navy blue” should come out the same on every product, and a size like “M” should simply stay “M”.

That consistency is why Unlost translates options together with the product they belong to, gives short texts like these an extra check, and runs them through your glossary, so a colour or material name gets the same translation everywhere. New products are translated within a minute on paid plans.

A few habits that keep options clean

Leave letter sizes like S, M and L alone; they’re understood almost everywhere. Put your own colour names, the “Ocean” and “Sand” kind, in a glossary, so they’re either kept as they are or always translated the same way. And after translating, open one product per language on the actual storefront and click through the variant picker. It takes two minutes and it’s the only check that shows you what a shopper sees.

Questions

Are variant options translated with Translate & Adapt?

Yes, Translate & Adapt lets you translate option names and values per product, by hand or with Shopify’s AI translation for up to two languages (eight in select countries).

Do I need to translate sizes like S, M and L?

Usually not. Letter sizes are understood in most languages. Numeric shoe or clothing sizes can differ per country, so check those.

Does Unlost translate variant options?

Yes. Option names and values are translated with each product, checked a second time, and kept consistent with your glossary.

Try Unlost on your store

Free for one language and up to 50 products. Paid plans keep every language up to date within a minute of a change.

Install from the Shopify App Store