Adjust tone and formality settings to control how AI translates each target language in Localize.
Before you get started
Target language settings are available on all paid Localize plans.
By default, when you translate content, the system tries to match the personality and style of your source content automatically. Depending on the phrasing, the translated version doesn't always leverage the intended tone and formality. With target languages, you can set a specific tone and a specific formality for the system to use per locale. This way, translated content holds a consistent flow even as your source content changes.
What is a target language?
A target language is a translation configuration for a language. You get to define various settings that the system uses when it automatically translates content for you in a given language.
You can add a target language before you add a locale so that your preferred settings can be leveraged the moment you add the related locale. When you add a locale, Create a matching language target is checked by default, which creates a target language for you.
Each target language also controls agentic translation — whether Webflow translates content for that language automatically, and in which mode. Learn more about agentic translation.
Target language settings
Good to know
Changing the settings for a target language does not retroactively re-translate existing content. These settings impact the translations the system makes going forward.
These are the settings you can configure for each target language.
Formality
Formality is the overall writing style the system uses in the target language, including address forms where the language has them (for example, tu/vous in French or du/Sie in German), plus vocabulary, sentence structure, and directness.
Not every language distinguishes formal and informal address, but Formality still affects vocabulary and phrasing in those languages. Languages with more than two formality levels, like Japanese and Korean, map to the closest available setting.
You can choose from these formality options:
| Value |
Result |
| Auto (default) |
The system matches the source content's formality level, expressed naturally in the target language |
| Casual |
Casual register throughout, including informal address forms where the language has them |
| Neutral |
Clear, direct register that's neither markedly casual nor formal |
| Formal |
Formal register throughout, including respectful address forms where the language has them |
Tone
Tone is the voice the system uses in the target language (e.g., playful). Tone doesn't translate word for word. The system preserves the effect a tone creates, since the same phrasing doesn't always land the same way in another language. Auto can also identify tones beyond these four presets, like urgency, while a manual preset commits to that specific tone regardless of what the source conveys.
You can choose from these tone options:
| Value |
Result |
| Auto (default) |
The system identifies the source content's tone and expresses that same tone naturally in the target language |
| Warm |
Friendly, approachable tone throughout, regardless of the source's tone |
| Confident |
Assured, direct tone throughout, regardless of the source's tone |
| Playful |
Light, casual tone throughout, regardless of the source's tone |
| Serious |
Measured, formal tone throughout, regardless of the source's tone |
Add a target language
To add a target language:
- Open the Localize panel from the left toolbar
- Click Target languages
- Click Add from locales to use existing site locales, or Add language to add one independently
Configure one target language
From target language settings:
- Click a setting's dropdown (e.g., under Formality or Tone)
- Choose a value
Changes save automatically.
Update multiple target language settings at once
From target language settings:
- Hover over each language you want to update and select its checkbox
- Click the Update menu
- Click a setting's dropdown (e.g., under Formality or Tone)
Changes save automatically. Optionally, click Cancel if you change your mind.
Delete a target language
From target language settings:
- Hover over a language
- Click the Options icon to the right
- Click Delete
Preview your settings
You can use the Translation preview panel to enter sample text and see a live preview of how your settings will translate.