Last update: January 13, 2026
If you have any comments, suggestions, questions or need for an arbitration, create a topic in the Style Guide section, the Language Lead will get back to you.
Capitalization
• Capitalize only the first letter of a sentence and the names of people, products or places.
• Always apply your language conventions rather than adhering to the English source.
• When the writing of a word is tolerated with and without capitalization, choose its version without capitalization (examples: page web, site internet).
Capitalize
• Proper names
Proton Mail
Proton VPN
NetShield
• Command/Folder names and keywords (first word only)
Buka
Tutup
Simpan perubahan
• First word of a sentence, title or subtitle
Fungsi ini mengurai input JSON.
• In UI items made up of 2 alternative commands separated by a slash, both are capitalized
Impor/Ekspor file
Do not capitalize
• Words like internet and web, except when they are the first word of a sentence
Gender
• Indonesian has no grammatical gender. Therefore, texts are naturally gender-neutral. Maintain the principle of inclusivity by avoiding words or phrases that lexically imply a particular gender, unless the context clearly requires it. Restructure sentences as necessary to maintain neutrality and naturalness.
Abbreviations
Whenever possible, avoid using abbreviations.
Abbreviate the text only when you lack space (mainly buttons, option names or strings with specific character limitations) or when you need to ease the text readibility. Instead of abbreviating (e.g., 4 or 5 consecutive words), summarize a term or a phrase in 2 or 3 words that can be written in full.
General criteria for shortening words:
• Omit at least two letters
• Truncate a word so that it ends with a consonant and place a period after it
• When a word contains a double consonant, truncate it at the second one and place a period after it
• Examples:
o Transcription Transcr.
o Collection Coll.
Days abbreviations (in calendars, agendas, timetables… the names of days are written without a period for visual purposes):
| English | Translation | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Senin | Sen |
| Tuesday | Selasa | Sel |
| Wednesday | Rabu | Rab |
| Thursday | Kamis | Kam |
| Friday | Jumat | Jum |
| Saturday | Sabtu | Sab |
| Sunday | Minggu | Min |
Months abbreviations (in calendars, agendas, timetables… the names of months are written without a period for visual purposes):
| English | Translation | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|
| January | Januari | Jan |
| February | Februari | Feb |
| March | Maret | Mar |
| April | April | Apr |
| May | Mei | Mei |
| June | Juni | Jun |
| July | Juli | Jul |
| August | Agustus | Agu |
| September | September | Sep |
| October | Oktober | Okt |
| November | November | Nov |
| December | Desember | Des |
Acronyms
• Common examples are VPN (Virtual Personal Network), DNS (Domain Name Server), HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), etc.
• The most common acronyms and their translations are included in the glossary. Always refer to the glossary when localizing acronyms.
• Commonly used acronyms do not need explanations (DVD, LED, TV, etc.).
• When an acronym is repeated several times in the same section, include its extended form in parentheses only for its first occurrence.
Pronouns
• English, especially technical English, is more redundant than some other languages.
• When translating, you often need to reduce the redundancy of the source text using pronouns. This may otherwise affect the text readability. However, this must not affect accuracy.
• When translating technical and complex strings, ensure users can associate pronouns to the noun they refer to.
• Avoid the use of possessive pronouns when possible.
• Omit pronoun subjects such as “we” and “you".
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| Contacts successfully imported. The imported contacts will now appear in your contact list. | Kontak berhasil diimpor. Kontak yang diimpor sekarang akan muncul di daftar kontak Anda. | Kontak berhasil diimpor. Kontak tersebut akan muncul di daftar kontak. |
| Events successfully imported. The imported events will now appear in your calendar. | Acara berhasil diimpor. Acara yang diimpor sekarang akan muncul di kalender Anda. | Acara berhasil diimpor. Acara tersebut akan muncul di kalender. |
Events successfully imported. The imported events will now appear in your calendar. Acara berhasil diimpor. Acara yang diimpor sekarang akan muncul di kalender Anda. Acara berhasil diimpor. Acara tersebut akan muncul di kalender.
Gerunds (“ing” ending)
• Gerunds are used in English, such as in “Creating a report”.
• Depending on the context, they can be translated using the infinitive (in the case of an action or a title) or using the Indonesian expression for “in progress”.
| English | Context | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generating keys | Action or title | Pembuatan kunci | Buat kunci |
| Generating keys | Processing | Pembuatan kunci | Pembuatan kunci sedang berlangsung |
| Importing | Action or title | Pengimporan | Impor |
| Importing | Processing | Pengimporan | Impor sedang berlangsung |
| Importing data from %1s to %2s | Action or title | Pengimporan data dari %1s ke %2s. | Impor data dari %1s ke %2s. |
| Importing data from %1s to %2s | Processing | Pengimporan data dari %1s ke %2s. | Data sedang diimpor dari %1s ke %2s. |
Punctuation
Period
• For the period at the end of a sentence (subject + verb), adapt the source to your language usage: when the English source does not put a period at the end of the sentence (subject + verb), but should in your language, add it in your translation. In this case, make sure that the text you are translating is not a part of a longer sentence (this is usually specified in the context).
• Include a period at the end of each extended sentence in a bullet list if this sentence has a full meaning by itself.
• Unless the item includes more than one sentence, do not place any periods at the end of titles, links, nominative phrases, buttons and checkboxes.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| This footer is added after your signature | Footer ini ditambahkan setelah tanda tangan Anda | Footer ini ditambahkan setelah tanda tangan Anda. |
| Impossible to load content. Please enable Chrome | Tidak dapat memuat konten, silakan aktifkan Chrome | Tidak dapat memuat konten, silakan aktifkan Chrome. |
| This message will expire in %s | Pesan ini akan kedaluwarsa dalam %s | Pesan ini akan kedaluwarsa dalam %s. |
| Signature verification error. | Kesalahan verifikasi tanda tangan. | Kesalahan verifikasi tanda tangan |
| Unknown error. | Kesalahan tidak diketahui. | Kesalahan tidak diketahui |
Exclamation mark
• Exclamation marks are used to give emphasis.
• As their use is less common than in English, you should use them sparingly: feel free to change an exclamation mark into a period if it is more natural, but please don’t change a period into an exclamation mark.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| The PIN codes must match! | Kode PIN harus cocok! | Kode PIN harus cocok. |
| Can’t create a SRP verifier! | Tidak dapat membuat verifikator SRP! | Tidak dapat membuat verifikator SRP |
| You have %d new emails! | Anda memiliki %d email baru! | Anda memiliki %d email baru. |
| Theme reset! Redirecting… | Tema direset! Mengalihkan… | Tema telah direset. Pengalihan sedang berlangsung… |
| Importing contacts complete! | Impor kontak selesai! | Impor kontak selesai. |
Parentheses
• Parentheses are used to clarify statements or provide additional information.
• Let’s avoid parentheses as much as possible and adapt to the context.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| Please choose a display name to finish setting up your account. (Other people will see this.) | Silakan pilih nama tampilan untuk menyelesaikan pengaturan akun Anda. (Orang lain akan melihat ini.) | Pilih nama tampilan untuk menyelesaikan pengaturan akun Anda, orang lain akan melihatnya. |
| We also support importing vCard. (UTF-8 encoding) | Kami juga mendukung impor vCard. (Encoding UTF-8). | Kami juga mendukung impor vCard (encoding UTF-8). |
Comma
Do not place a comma before “dan” and “atau” when the conjunction is used to link two related terms.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| You can also add, delete, and edit them by clicking… | Anda juga dapat menambahkan, menghapus, dan mengeditnya dengan mengklik… | Anda juga dapat menambahkan, menghapus dan mengeditnya dengan mengklik… |
| Assign permissions to users, or groups | Tetapkan izin ke pengguna, atau ke grup | Tetapkan izin ke pengguna atau ke grup |
Colon and semicolon
• In Indonesian, there is no need to add a special space (non-breaking space) before or after a colon or semicolon.
• After a colon or semicolon, the next word remains lowercase if it is part of a sentence.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| Date: Old to new | Tanggal : Dari yang lama ke yang baru | Tanggal: dari yang lama ke yang baru |
| Download paused: Low battery | Unduhan dijeda: Baterai lemah | Unduhan dijeda: baterai lemah |
Em dash (—), en dash (–), hyphen (-)
• In English, an Em or En dash is used to demarcate an isolated element, to introduce an item that is not essential to the sentence’s meaning, to emphasize a sudden change in thought or to bring focus to a list.
• It is often more appropriate to use a comma, a full stop or parenthesis instead.
• Also, the Em dash is not used for date ranges, therefore you should use “Hingga… sampai” instead.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| In case the default value is unsuitable for a particular network, enter a value within 1280–1500 range. | Masukkan nilai antara 1280 - 1500 jika nilai default tidak sesuai. | Masukkan nilai antara 1280 hingga 1500 jika nilai default tidak sesuai |
| Secure access to your favorite content from other countries — Now available on Android TV. | Akses aman ke konten favorit dari negara lain — Sekarang tersedia di Android TV. | Akses konten favorit Anda dari negara lain dengan aman (sekarang tersedia di Android TV). |
| More than 12 hours passed since last update — ${ CALENDAR_APP_NAME } will try to update the calendar in a few hours. | Lebih dari 12 jam sejak pembaruan terakhir — ${ CALENDAR_APP_NAME } akan mencoba memperbarui kalender. | Pembaruan terakhir terjadi lebih dari 12 jam yang lalu. ${ CALENDAR_APP_NAME } akan mencoba memperbarui kalender dalam beberapa jam. |
| September 10 - 20 | 10 - 20 September | 10 sampai 20 September |
Ampersand (&)
Replace “&” with “dan” unless it is part of a company/product name or a registered trademark.
Spacing and non-breaking spaces
• In Indonesian, there is no mandatory rule regarding the use of non-breaking spaces.
• Use regular spaces to separate words, numbers, currency symbols, and units.
| English | Indonesian |
|---|---|
| First step: click | Langkah pertama: klik |
| Thank you! | Terima kasih! |
| Why? | Mengapa? |
| 30% | 30 % |
| 5€ | 5 € |
| 1 GB | 1 GB |
| Message “%s” does not exist. | Pesan “%s” tidak ada. |
Numbers
• Replace the period that stands for the decimal point in American English with a comma in your translations.
3.75 3,75
• For numbers smaller than 1, always put a zero before the decimal comma.
.5 0,5
• The period in app/software version numbers remains unchanged.
Proton Mail v.3
• Thousands separator using dot.
2,750 2.750
• Time and date:
o Hours and minutes are separated by a colon. Use the 24 hour format to specify A.M. and P.M.
at 9:25 P.M pukul 21:25
o The date format is “dd/mm/yy”.
01-31-22 (mm/dd/yy) 31/01/22
Ordinal numbers
• Use numbers and complete words to indicate order.
• Plural and singular are the same.
| English | Indonesian |
|---|---|
| 1st | ke-1 |
| 2nd | ke-2 |
| 3rd | ke-3 |
| 4th | ke-4 |
| 5th | ke-5 |
| 6th | ke-6 |
| 7th | ke-7 |
| 8th | ke-8 |
| 9th | ke-9 |
| 10th | ke-10 |
Currencies
• Do not convert USD ($) or EUR (€) amounts to any local currency.
• Place the USD or EUR code or the symbol €, $ after the number and separate it with a non-breaking space from the number.
Amount of €30 Jumlah 30 € atau 30 EUR
Units of measurement
• Use the metric system.
• Insert space between a number and the relevant unit.
| Category | Measurement unit | Translation | Abbreviation |
|---|---|---|---|
| LINEAR | Kilometer Meter Centimeter Millimeter |
Kilometer Meter Sentimeter Milimeter |
km m cm mm |
| MASS | Ton Kilogram Pound |
Ton Kilogram Pon |
ton kg pon |
| IMPERIAL | Inch Feet Mile Gallon |
Inci Kaki Mil Galon |
inci kaki mil galon |
| COMPUTING | Byte (B) Megabyte (MB) Gigabyte (GB) Terabyte (TB) |
Bit Megabit Gigabit Terabit |
B MB GB TB |
Form of address
Use “Anda” for formal greetings to one person or several people, depending on the context.
English/US terms and formulations
Please
Please is often used in English to introduce an instruction.
• In the context of a simple instruction, instead of a literal translation we will not translate it to keep the sentences short and the style lighter.
Please try again later Coba lagi nanti
• In the case of an error message or a problematic situation, instead of a literal translation we will use a benevolent formula.
Verification code sending failed. Please try again. Pengiriman kode verifikasi gagal. Silakan coba lagi.
A payment error occurred. Please try again later or create a free plan. Terjadi kesalahan pembayaran. Silakan coba lagi nanti atau buat akun gratis.
And more
And more (as well as “and much more”) is a very US formulation to end sentences. Instead of a literal translation:
• As part of a list, we replace it by “…”.
Access your streaming services, like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and many others, no matter where you are. Akses layanan streaming Anda seperti Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video… di mana pun Anda berada.
• In other situations, we repeat/specify the subject concerned.
When it comes to securing your business, we’re here to help with our encrypted email, calendar, VPN, and much more. Dalam menjaga keamanan bisnis Anda, kami siap membantu melalui email terenkripsi, kalender, VPN, dan fitur lainnya.
Now
Now, as in “buy now” or “download now”, is also a very US formulation. Instead of a literal translation, we will simply not translate it.
Get Proton VPN now Dapatkan Proton VPN
Successfully
Successfully is also a very US formulation. Instead of a literal translation, we don’t translate it at all.
Your Proton account was successfully created. Akun Proton Anda telah dibuat
Failed
Failed should not be literally translated, as much as possible.
Message decryption failed. Pesan tidak dapat didekripsi (bukan “Dekripsi pesan gagal”)
Formulation: let’s make sentences
Concerning formulation, let’s make sentences (subject + verb) as much as possible, even if it means moving away from the source a bit.
“Participation status updated.” “Status partisipasi telah diperbarui (bukan “Status partisipasi diperbarui”)
Foreign words
• The decision about the use of foreign words (keeping it in English) rather than an equivalent term in your language is based on how widespread the use of the word is. An English term might be recommended when its use has become very common.
• To find out how common a word is, you can use internet search engines. Search for the English word and for the corresponding translation in your language on your preferred search engine. The number of occurrences in each case will be an indication of how popular the use of each word is. If in doubt for an important term, ask Proton Localization team to make an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) check.
• Foreign words might be accompanied by quotation marks or italics when their use is not widely spread. However, English words that are widely accepted for use are kept as they are in the original but do not take the ending “s” in the plural case.
• When foreign words are common and well understood, they can be left in the source language. Where necessary, add an explanation in the target language.
• Avoid using too many anglicisms.
Localizing person names
• Localize fictitious person names used for explanatory purposes, choosing a name that is generic but not stereotypical.
Please enter your display name (e.g. Julia Smith) Masukkan nama tampilan Anda (Yulia Rahmawati for example)
• Do not localize real persons’ names.
Bart Butler is a senior engineer at Proton Mail Bart Butler adalah insinyur senior di Proton Mail
Localizing domains and email addresses
Localize fictitious domain names and e-mail addresses used for explanatory purposes:
• Translate the local-part of an e-mail address
user@ pengguna@
• Translate the domain name
yourdomain.com domainanda.id
• Use your target country code at the end
.com .id
| English | Translation |
|---|---|
| Proton Mail allows you to keep your business email address (you**@yourcompany.com**). | Proton Mail memungkinkan Anda mempertahankan alamat email bisnis Anda (Anda**@perusahaananda.id**).. |
| Receive all email sent to addresses in your domain that do not exist (e.g., “mistake@yourdomain.com”). | Terima semua email yang dikirim ke alamat di domain Anda yang tidak ada (misal: salah@domaindemo.id). |
However, do not localize any real email addresses or domain names.
To reset your mailbox password, please use the web version of Proton Mail at proton.me Untuk mengatur ulang kata sandi kotak surat Anda, silakan gunakan versi web Proton Mail di proton.me
Error/success/info messages
Structured sentences
As much as possible, translate these messages in structured sentences (subject+verb at least), in the active form and with the appropriate punctuation.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| Error updating event | Kesalahan memperbarui acara | Terjadi kesalahan saat memperbarui acara. |
| Attaching Photo Failed | Gagal menambahkan foto | Foto tidak dapat ditambahkan. |
| Failed to determine type of file | Gagal menentukan jenis file | Jenis file tidak dapat ditentukan. |
| Contact saved | Kontak tersimpan | Kontak telah disimpan. |
| Address copied to clipboard | Alamat disalin ke papan klip | Alamat telah disalin ke papan klip. |
| Duplicate key updated | Kunci duplikat diperbarui | Kunci duplikat telah diperbarui. |
Nominal phrases
In the case of nominal phrases, do not use a final period.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| Authentication error. | Kesalahan autentikasi. | Kesalahan autentikasi |
| Unknown error. | Kesalahan tidak diketahui. | Kesalahan tidak diketahui |
| Primary key error. | Kesalahan kunci utama. | Kesalahan kunci utama |
Full and clear negation
Use full and clear negation whenever possible as this ensures that there can be no confusion for users, even when reading quickly.
| English | We avoid | We prefer |
|---|---|---|
| Invalid email address | Alamat email invalid | Alamat email tidak valid |
| Event not found | Tidak ditemukan acara | Acara tidak ditemukan. |
| No results found | Tidak ada hasil | Tidak ditemukan hasil. |
Localizing CTA (Call To Action) buttons
Depending on the content (support, landing page…) and on the location of the CTA button, the infinitive or the 2nd person plural can be used. Check and validate with the language lead.
• For neutral instructions or additionnal information, use infinitive:
Salin tautan
Unduh
Temukan semua fitur
Pelajari lebih lanjut
L ihat lowongan pekerjaan saat ini
• For formulations such as “Get Proton XX” or “Create an Account”, use infivitive:
Dapatkan Proton for Business
Dapatkan akun gratis
Pilih paket berbayar
Buat akun gratis
Buat akun email gratis
• For engaging buttons, use 2nd person plural:
Hubungi kami
Bagikan halaman ini di LinkedIn
Beli kartu hadiah
Kunjungi toko kami
Jadi mitra