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How to View Microsoft Forms Responses in a Secondary Language

Maira Mehtab Sep 22, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user needs to view Microsoft Forms responses in the backend with the questions displayed in a secondary language (English) rather than the primary language (Welsh).

Product: Microsoft Forms
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Reviewing form responses with a multilingual team where some reviewers do not speak the primary language used to create the form.
Observed behavior: The Microsoft Forms backend only displays the questions in the primary creation language, regardless of the secondary languages offered to respondents, making it difficult for non-primary language speakers to review.

Before you start

Verify whether you have owner or co-author permissions for the form, as you will need edit access to implement structural workarounds for bilingual reviewing.

Solution 1Recommended

Include Both Languages in the Question Text

Since the backend does not automatically translate questions, manually typing both languages into the question title ensures all reviewers can understand the context.

Microsoft Forms preserves the language used during the initial creation of the question. By combining both languages in the main title, you bypass the backend's display limitations.

Open your form in edit mode

Log into Microsoft Forms, locate your bilingual form, and click to open it.

Edit the question titles

Click on an existing question. In the question title field, type the primary language followed by the secondary language separated by a slash (e.g., 'Beth yw eich enw? / What is your name?').

Save and review

Click outside the question box to save. When you navigate to the 'Responses' tab or export the data to Excel, both languages will now be visible to all reviewers.

Solution 2

Maintain Separate Forms for Different Languages

Create entirely separate forms for each language to keep the backend data perfectly localized for specific reviewers.

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Try WPS Office for Seamless Document and Data Management

While Microsoft Forms has backend language display limitations, managing and analyzing your exported response data shouldn't be a hassle. WPS Office is a free, lightweight, and powerful alternative to Microsoft Office that offers complete compatibility with your exported Excel spreadsheets.

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3. Analyze your form data: Export your Microsoft Forms responses to Excel, then open the .xlsx file directly in WPS Spreadsheet for easy bilingual data analysis.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does Microsoft Forms automatically translate responses for reviewers?

No, Microsoft Forms preserves the exact text submitted by the respondent. It does not auto-translate the submitted free-text answers or toggle the backend question titles based on the reviewer's language preference.

Are secondary languages visible when exporting responses to Excel?

No, the Excel export will only show the question titles exactly as they were originally typed in the primary language. The secondary language feature only changes the front-end display for the person filling out the form.

Can I change the primary language of an existing Microsoft Form?

The primary language is locked to the language used when the questions were initially typed. To fully change the backend primary language, you must manually rewrite the original question text or duplicate the form.

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