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We are building an app in German from our default English version. From the post below it looks like I am ok to leave "Home" in place. What should I do with Menu, on our Dutch version we just left this as Menu.

Would "Menu" be ok in the context of a drop-down menu for an app? Or should I change it slightly to include an umlaut? eg Menü

On the product videos, we also currently have the title "Product Video". Would this be ok left at that? Or should I use "Produkt-Video" (from Google Translate)

Comparison between equivalent words meaning "home" in German if used on websites

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me9867
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    Use "Produktvideo". – Eller Nov 30 '16 at 12:06
  • Thanks Eller, just to confirm "Produktvideo" with no dash and cap letter for Video? – me9867 Nov 30 '16 at 12:26
  • Yes. It's an established word. – Eller Nov 30 '16 at 12:30
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    In an app I would expect and appreciate it if you stick with the convention for these links: use three dots for "Menu" and a house icon for "Home". More space-efficient and impossible to misunderstand. – Kilian Foth Nov 30 '16 at 12:59
  • @KilianFoth As you are talking about Android: three dots as menu are obsolete for a couple of years. – Eller Nov 30 '16 at 14:25
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    @Eller Not really. While the "global" menu has mostly been replaced by the navigation drawer (a counter-example is "Google Authenticator", which doesn't use a burger menu, but still the "three dots" menu), there are scenarios, where the "three dots" menus are still used. For example in lists with options for every list entry or on cards. The current Instagram app would be an example for this. – Thorsten Dittmar Nov 30 '16 at 14:30

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If Startseite for Home is too long, using Start is also ok.

Menü is the German term for Menu, also in "computer speak".

Product Video can either be Produktvideo or Produkt-Video. The hyphenated version is also ok, even though Produktvideo is a proper and understood compound noun.

Please note that in apps (Android, iOS, etc.) there may be other OS-specific ways of achieving what you want. Please make sure to stick with the OS's way to avoid confusion for the user.

Please note that the last paragraph is the result of the fact that I'm a software developer and I disagree with the current trend of calling every piece of software an "app".

To me, an app is a small piece of software specifically designed to run on a smartphone (=> Android App, iOS App, etc.). Everything else (web sites, desktop applications, server side services) are not apps and should not be called "apps"! Even though "app" is just an abbreviation of "application" I do consider them very different things from a software design point of view.

Thorsten Dittmar
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Well I would recommend to use:

  • Startseite for Home
  • Menü for Menu (or Navigation)

But you could also leave it as it is, in this case you just have to remember not everyone is as good in English as others.

Anetair
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