Multilingual Term Checks in Lexeri

Terminology doesn't stop at the source language. As soon as content gets translated, consistent terminology becomes tangible for many companies for the first time. That's usually when the questions come up: Is our company-specific terminology being followed consistently in the target languages, too? Is terminology missing for translations? This is exactly where Lexeri's multilingual term checks come in.

We first introduced the feature at the tekom/tcworld Annual Conference 2025 and have refined it since then together with a number of customers. With our latest release, we've now made it available to all Lexeri users.

The problem: multilingual terminology without an in-house TMS

For companies with an international presence but no in-house translation memory system (TMS), it has been difficult to get up-to-date access to translated data in its source format, and to make changes there. Without the content in a translation memory, multilingual terminology could only be built up laboriously and was hard to control systematically.

This shows up in everyday work in many places: language service providers or translators send back queries because guidelines are missing. AI translations create more rework than human translation. And the same incorrect product names keep appearing on the French website – even though the local subsidiary in France has pointed out the error several times.

The tricky part: by that point, the French translations of the documentation and website are long finished. So the corrected product name has to be changed afterwards across every file format.

Anyone who wanted to check whether the translations as a whole followed the approved terminology had to rely on workarounds. This is exactly the gap that Lexeri's multilingual term checks close – based on XLIFF files that are created during the translation process anyway.

And this is what the bilingual editor for term checks looks like in Lexeri.

What are XLIFF files – and how do you get them?

XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format) is an open exchange format for translation projects. An XLIFF file contains the source text together with the corresponding translation: language by language, segment by segment. Typically, TMS (such as memoQ or RWS Trados) and localization platforms (such as Crowdin or Smartling) can export XLIFF. You'll often receive the files directly from your language service provider as well. You simply upload this format to Lexeri to check source and target text against your terminology together.

Three common errors that multilingual term checks catch

Forbidden terms in the source language shouldn't really appear at all – that's what the terminology check in the editors and in the Lexeri web app is for. In practice, though, it does happen, for instance during a translation memory cleanup or when terms have simply changed. The term check makes this kind of legacy issue visible.

Forbidden terms in the target language are surfaced by Lexeri directly in the translations. This is especially valuable when the terms in the target language were only added to the termbase over time and weren't clearly defined from the outset, at the moment of translation.

Missing terms in the target language show which designations don't yet exist in the termbase for that language. This lets you expand the database step by step in a targeted way. The check becomes a source of new terminology.

What's new

With the latest release, the focus is on more control and a better overview during large-scale checks:

  • Filter by language: The results list can be filtered by source and target language.
  • Filter by error category: Segments in the editor can be filtered by forbidden terms in the source text, forbidden terms in the target text, and missing terms in the target text.
  • Highlighting per language: Match highlighting can be shown or hidden per language. For a calm, focused view of exactly what matters right now.

You can find all the details in our Help Center article:

Help Center article

Quality assurance – even without language skills

Translation management and control over your translated files are possible with the multilingual term checks even when there's no in-house TMS. Changes can be made directly (though this is only advisable if you're proficient in the language in question). Thanks to the download function, you can import corrected content into your TMS or your website.

And even if you can't read or understand a target language (a common situation in translation management), you can still check translation quality at the terminology level. That's crucial with AI translations in particular and creates a clear basis for collaboration with your translation provider.

Curious to see it in action?

The best way to experience the multilingual term checks is on your own content. Or reach out to our team: we'll show you how to keep your terminology under control across every language.