How to make a Figma design right-to-left (RTL) for Arabic and Hebrew

Mirror a Figma design for Arabic with Lingolense: step by step

1. 1

   Select the frame

   Select the left-to-right frame you want to localize. Lingolense works on a duplicate, so the original stays untouched.

2. 2

   Choose an RTL language

   Pick Arabic, Hebrew, Persian (Farsi) or Urdu as the target language.

3. 3

   Translate and mirror

   Run the translation. Lingolense reverses auto-layouts, swaps padding, flips directional icons and right-aligns text in the same step.

4. 4

   Check fonts and overflow

   Lingolense switches to a font with the right script coverage and flags any layer whose translated text no longer fits.

5. 5

   Review exceptions

   Confirm that logos, media controls and other non-directional elements kept their original orientation.

What gets mirrored in an RTL layout

In right-to-left languages people read and scan from the right, so the interface is mirrored around its vertical axis: the start of every row moves to the right edge.

• Horizontal auto-layout order (navigation, toolbars, cards in a row)
• Left and right padding, margins and alignment
• Text alignment: right-aligned by default
• Icons that point somewhere: back and forward arrows, chevrons, “next” buttons
• Progress that runs along a line, such as step indicators and sliders

What should never be mirrored

Google’s Material Design guidance on bidirectionality is the standard reference here. Elements that do not express reading direction keep their orientation:

• Logos and brand marks
• Media playback controls and the media progress bar, which follow the direction of the media
• Clocks and circular refresh or progress icons, which still turn clockwise
• Checkmarks and other symbols that are recognised universally
• Photos, illustrations, charts and phone numbers

Fonts and numbers for Arabic and Hebrew

Latin-only fonts cannot render Arabic or Hebrew letters, so text falls back to a system font or shows empty boxes. Choose a family with the right script coverage at matching weights; Lingolense switches fonts automatically when you translate.

Numbers keep their left-to-right order inside RTL text. Many Arabic-language interfaces use Western digits (0–9), while others use Eastern Arabic numerals, so confirm the convention with the product team.

Doing it by hand vs one click

Mirroring by hand means visiting every auto-layout, padding value, alignment setting and icon in the frame, and doing it again whenever the source design changes. A plugin that mirrors and translates in one pass removes that repetition and leaves you only the exceptions to review.

Frequently asked questions