How to handle pluralization in multiple languages with RESX files?

Pluralization refers to how words change based on quantity (e.g., 1 file vs. 2 files). With RESX files, this can be tricky because the format itself doesn’t natively support complex pluralization rules. Developers often work around this by creating multiple keys for each plural form (e.g., File_Singular and File_Plural) and then handling the logic in the application code.

Different languages follow very different pluralization rules—some have two forms, others have three or even more. Managing all these variations manually can quickly become a challenge.

Localazy helps by automatically accommodating these differences and applying the right rules for each language, so your text displays correctly across all markets. This is especially important for dynamic content like product quantities, time units, and notifications. Localazy also extracts context from preceding XML comments and sub-elements such as description, context, comment, and developer_comment, showing this information to translators to improve translation quality.When it comes to plural handling, Localazy offers several advanced options: Suffixed with camelCase - can be enabled by adding plural_postfix_cc to features in the upload section.

When it comes to plural handling, Localazy offers several advanced options:

• Suffixed with camelCase - can be enabled by adding plural_postfix_cc to features in the upload section.

<root>
  
  <data name="usersOne">
    <value>There is one user.</value>
  </data>
 
  <data name="usersOther">
    <value>There are $number users.</value>
  </data>
 
</root>

• Suffixed with brackets - can be enabled by adding plural_postfix_br to features in the upload section.

<root>
  
  <data name="users[one]">
    <value>There is one user.</value>
  </data>
 
  <data name="users[other]">
    <value>There are $number users.</value>
  </data>
 
</root>

• Defined using ICU - can be enabled by adding plural_icu to features in the upload section.

<root> 
  <data name="users">
    <value>There are {COUNT, plural, one {one user} other {# users}}.</value>
  </data>
</root>

Only one ICU plural can be used per string (otherwise conversion to Localazy’s plural structure isn’t possible). If more than two ICU plurals are included, the string remains in its original form.

Supported plural types are: zero (=0), one (=1), two (=2), few, many, other. Other ICU types like gender or number can still be used but won’t be converted—they’ll be preserved as-is in the string.

Read more about how to effectively deal with plurals in Localazy.