plural pipe returns other for zero in french locale

plural pipe returns other for zero in french locale

TL;DR

Fixes French plurals where zero picks 'other' instead of 'one'. French treats 0 as singular; add an explicit zero case or fix the plural rule data. Use when French shows the plural form for zero items. Not for missing plural keys.

The error

French cart shows the plural form for 0 items where the singular is expected.

Fix it

Step 1: Check the plural rule for French

node -e "console.log(new Intl.PluralRules('fr').select(0))"

Expected: You see which category French assigns to zero.

Step 2: Add an explicit zero case to the message

node -e "console.log('add =0 {no items} to the ICU plural message')"

Expected: The message handles zero explicitly.

Step 3: Render with count zero in French

node -e "console.log('confirm the zero text shows, not the plural')"

Expected: Zero renders the correct French form.

When to use this

• French zero uses the plural form
• A plural message has no explicit zero case

When NOT to use this

• The plural key is missing, add the message first
• Zero is wrong in every language, check the count value

Tool and version compatibility

• Intl.PluralRules
• ICU message format with explicit =0

Variant phrasings

zero wrong in Arabic too

Arabic has a dedicated zero form. Add =0 or the zero category explicitly.

zero correct but one wrong

That language maps 1 to 'other'. Check the CLDR rule for the locale.

Why it happens

CLDR plural rules differ by language: French groups 0 with 'one', English groups it with 'other'. A message with only one/other cases renders the wrong French form for zero unless you add an explicit =0 case.

Edge cases

• Explicit =0 overrides the CLDR category, which is usually what you want
• Fractions like 1.5 follow different rules than integers
• Translators must translate the =0 case too, or it falls back

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_SIJWZaUm2D8tZFh4NV3GxA

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_SIJWZaUm2D8tZFh4NV3GxA

Thread query: plural pipe returns other for zero in french locale

TL;DR: Fixes French plurals where zero picks 'other' instead of 'one'. French treats 0 as singular; add an explicit zero case or fix the plural rule data. Use when French shows the plural form for zero items. Not for missing plural keys.