diff --git a/AGENTS.md b/AGENTS.md
index ddfa63a..6292b8c 100644
--- a/AGENTS.md
+++ b/AGENTS.md
@@ -226,7 +226,7 @@ Ely GPUI Component. A component library for GPUI, in light and dark.
 - A pane the window's blur shows through is `shell::Vibrancy`, filled with the palette's `glass`, in a window opened `WindowBackgroundAppearance::Blurred`: vibrancy on macOS, acrylic on Windows. gpui's `MicaBackdrop` and `MicaAltBackdrop` are DWM backdrops from Windows 11 build 22621; older builds get none, in silence, and macOS plain transparency.
 - The chart's hues go by `theme::HUE_NAMES`, for an event's color and a label's alike.
 - Text whose every character counts, encoded data and keys, goes through `typography::literal`: JetBrains Mono draws `==` and `->` as ligatures (`devtools::Encoder`).
-- Messages go through `i18n::I18n`, a global the app sets: `cx.global::<I18n>().text(key, args)` fills each `{name}`. Every catalog holds the first one's keys; a missing key, argument or catalog fails. A right-to-left locale mirrors a stack with `Direction::row` and sets its text with `Direction::align`; CoreText orders mixed Hebrew and Latin runs on macOS, but gpui sets no paragraph direction, so a line takes its first strong character's: `text` leads a right-to-left message with U+200F, so its words suit labels, not a field's value, and `Locale::number` a right-to-left minus with U+200E, as CLDR does. gpui wraps shaped glyphs in the order they are drawn, on the web as on macOS, so a right-to-left line that wraps comes out garbled: right-to-left text stays on one line, an `Ellipsis`, which cuts by characters and sits by its text's alignment.
+- Messages go through `i18n::I18n`, a global the app sets: `cx.global::<I18n>().text(key, args)` fills each `{name}`. Every catalog holds the first one's keys; a missing key, argument or catalog fails. Copy a component draws, tooltips and default placeholders too, reads  (app catalog, then the builtin English and Chinese);  fails on a fixed English literal in a component Ely ships. A right-to-left locale mirrors a stack with `Direction::row` and sets its text with `Direction::align`; CoreText orders mixed Hebrew and Latin runs on macOS, but gpui sets no paragraph direction, so a line takes its first strong character's: `text` leads a right-to-left message with U+200F, so its words suit labels, not a field's value, and `Locale::number` a right-to-left minus with U+200E, as CLDR does. gpui wraps shaped glyphs in the order they are drawn, on the web as on macOS, so a right-to-left line that wraps comes out garbled: right-to-left text stays on one line, an `Ellipsis`, which cuts by characters and sits by its text's alignment.
 - gpui orders Tab stops by `tab_index` before paint order, and registers none for an `invisible()` element. A stop that must come first where it sits, yet draw over what paints after it, stays in flow at zero size and raises what it shows (`i18n::SkipLink`): a lower `tab_index` would sort it before the root scope's own handle, so Tab from the root would pass it.
 - Color-blind safe charts swap Ely's chart hues for a set fitted to stay apart under Machado's protanopia, deuteranopia and tritanopia; a test holds every pair 0.10 apart in Oklab and each hue 3:1 on its page (`Theme::set_color_blind_safe`, in Ely's own palettes alone).
 - gpui packs pictures in its atlas without padding and samples them with a linear filter, on the web as on macOS, so a scaled picture's edge takes color from its atlas neighbor, and pictures laid edge to edge show seams. A map tile carries a one-pixel rim copied from its own edge and draws one of its pixels larger each side, clipped to its box (`maps::tile`).
diff --git a/src/editor/find.rs b/src/editor/find.rs
index 70822e9..08a38fb 100644
--- a/src/editor/find.rs
+++ b/src/editor/find.rs
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ use gpui::{
     div, prelude::*,
 };
 
+use crate::i18n;
 use crate::{
     buttons::{Button, ButtonVariant, IconButton, ToggleButton, ToggleItem},
     forms::{Input, TextInput},
@@ -295,7 +296,7 @@ impl RenderOnce for FindWidget {
                         IconButton::new((self.id.clone(), "close"), IconName::X)
                             .variant(ButtonVariant::Ghost)
                             .size(ControlSize::Sm)
-                            .tooltip("Close")
+                            .tooltip(i18n::text(cx, "dialog.close", &[]))
                             .on_click(move |_, window, cx| close(window, cx))
                     })),
             )
diff --git a/src/editor/hints.rs b/src/editor/hints.rs
index 0bf3449..198e61c 100644
--- a/src/editor/hints.rs
+++ b/src/editor/hints.rs
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ use gpui::{
 };
 
 use super::{symbols::SymbolKind, syntax};
+use crate::i18n;
 use crate::{
     buttons::{ButtonVariant, IconButton},
     navigation::{fuzzy, marked},
@@ -185,7 +186,7 @@ impl RenderOnce for CompletionMenu {
                                 .px_2()
                                 .py_1()
                                 .text_color(colors.fg_subtle)
-                                .child("No suggestions"),
+                                .child(i18n::text(cx, "completion.empty", &[])),
                         )
                     })
                     .children(rows),
diff --git a/src/forms/input.rs b/src/forms/input.rs
index 974bee8..c365f2f 100644
--- a/src/forms/input.rs
+++ b/src/forms/input.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ use gpui::{
 };
 
 use super::TextInput;
+use crate::i18n;
 use crate::{
     buttons::IconButton,
     primitives::{Icon, IconName},
@@ -148,7 +149,7 @@ impl RenderOnce for Input {
                 frame.child(
                     IconButton::new(("input-clear", clear_id), IconName::CircleX)
                         .size(ControlSize::Sm)
-                        .tooltip("Clear")
+                        .tooltip(i18n::text(cx, "input.clear", &[]))
                         .on_click(move |_, window, cx| {
                             state.update(cx, |input, cx| input.set_text("", cx));
                             window.focus(&state.read(cx).focus().clone(), cx);
diff --git a/src/forms/select.rs b/src/forms/select.rs
index 7b0d22f..8604a42 100644
--- a/src/forms/select.rs
+++ b/src/forms/select.rs
@@ -251,7 +251,7 @@ pub struct Select {
     id: ElementId,
     choices: Vec<Choice>,
     selected: Option<SharedString>,
-    placeholder: SharedString,
+    placeholder: Option<SharedString>,
     label: Option<SharedString>,
     size: ControlSize,
     disabled: bool,
@@ -264,7 +264,7 @@ impl Select {
             id: id.into(),
             choices: choices.into_iter().collect(),
             selected: None,
-            placeholder: SharedString::from("Choose…"),
+            placeholder: None,
             label: None,
             size: ControlSize::default(),
             disabled: false,
@@ -284,7 +284,7 @@ impl Select {
     }
 
     pub fn placeholder(mut self, text: impl Into<SharedString>) -> Self {
-        self.placeholder = text.into();
+        self.placeholder = Some(text.into());
         self
     }
 
@@ -326,6 +326,8 @@ impl RenderOnce for Select {
             .as_ref()
             .and_then(|value| choices.iter().find(|choice| choice.value == *value))
             .cloned();
+        let placeholder =
+            (self.placeholder.clone()).unwrap_or_else(|| i18n::text(cx, "select.placeholder", &[]));
         let colors = &cx.theme().colors;
         let trigger = field_button(
             self.id.clone(),
@@ -336,7 +338,7 @@ impl RenderOnce for Select {
             cx,
         )
         .role(Role::ComboBox)
-        .aria_placeholder(self.placeholder.clone())
+        .aria_placeholder(placeholder.clone())
         .when_some(self.label.clone(), |trigger, label| {
             trigger.aria_label(label)
         })
@@ -361,7 +363,7 @@ impl RenderOnce for Select {
         )
         .child(field_text(
             shown.map(|choice| choice.label),
-            self.placeholder,
+            placeholder,
             self.disabled,
             cx,
         ))
diff --git a/src/i18n/builtin.rs b/src/i18n/builtin.rs
index 5ac5760..cc8d346 100644
--- a/src/i18n/builtin.rs
+++ b/src/i18n/builtin.rs
@@ -115,6 +115,16 @@ const EN: &[(&str, &str)] = &[
     ("theme.light", "Light"),
     ("theme.dark", "Dark"),
     ("theme.system", "System"),
+    ("select.placeholder", "Choose…"),
+    ("input.clear", "Clear"),
+    ("completion.empty", "No suggestions"),
+    ("builder.remove", "Remove"),
+    ("tabs.unpin", "Unpin"),
+    ("theme.size.reset", "Back to the default size"),
+    (
+        "theme.size.sample",
+        "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.",
+    ),
 ];
 
 const ZH_CN: &[(&str, &str)] = &[
@@ -228,6 +238,16 @@ const ZH_CN: &[(&str, &str)] = &[
     ("theme.light", "浅色"),
     ("theme.dark", "深色"),
     ("theme.system", "跟随系统"),
+    ("select.placeholder", "请选择…"),
+    ("input.clear", "清除"),
+    ("completion.empty", "没有建议"),
+    ("builder.remove", "移除"),
+    ("tabs.unpin", "取消固定"),
+    ("theme.size.reset", "恢复默认大小"),
+    (
+        "theme.size.sample",
+        "天地玄黄，宇宙洪荒。The quick brown fox.",
+    ),
 ];
 
 /// Ely's message for `key`; English if unshipped, fails if unknown.
diff --git a/src/i18n/tests/mod.rs b/src/i18n/tests/mod.rs
index 7cbf938..a59f247 100644
--- a/src/i18n/tests/mod.rs
+++ b/src/i18n/tests/mod.rs
@@ -2,8 +2,9 @@ use jiff::{Timestamp, tz::TimeZone};
 
 use super::{Direction, I18n, LOCALES, Locale, fill};
 
-#[cfg(feature = "test-support")]
 mod a11y;
+#[cfg(feature = "test-support")]
+mod shipped;
 
 fn i18n() -> I18n {
     I18n::new("en-US")
diff --git a/src/i18n/tests/shipped.rs b/src/i18n/tests/shipped.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..81d40f0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/i18n/tests/shipped.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+//! Components Ely ships say nothing in fixed English.
+
+/// Sources of components the Ely apps draw.
+const SHIPPED: &[(&str, &str)] = &[
+    ("editor/find.rs", include_str!("../../editor/find.rs")),
+    ("editor/hints.rs", include_str!("../../editor/hints.rs")),
+    ("forms/input.rs", include_str!("../../forms/input.rs")),
+    ("forms/select.rs", include_str!("../../forms/select.rs")),
+    (
+        "tables/builders.rs",
+        include_str!("../../tables/builders.rs"),
+    ),
+    (
+        "navigation/editor_tabs.rs",
+        include_str!("../../navigation/editor_tabs.rs"),
+    ),
+    (
+        "settings/appearance.rs",
+        include_str!("../../settings/appearance.rs"),
+    ),
+];
+
+#[test]
+fn shipped_components_show_no_fixed_english() {
+    let shown = [".tooltip(\"", ".child(\"", "SharedString::from(\""];
+    let mut found = Vec::new();
+    for (path, source) in SHIPPED {
+        let code = source.split("#[cfg(test)]").next().unwrap_or(source);
+        for (no, line) in code.lines().enumerate() {
+            for call in shown {
+                let Some(at) = line.find(call) else { continue };
+                let rest = &line[at + call.len()..];
+                if rest.starts_with(|ch: char| ch.is_ascii_alphabetic()) {
+                    found.push(format!("{path}:{}: {}", no + 1, line.trim()));
+                }
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    assert!(
+        found.is_empty(),
+        "English outside the catalog:\n{}",
+        found.join("\n")
+    );
+}
diff --git a/src/navigation/editor_tabs.rs b/src/navigation/editor_tabs.rs
index b064c67..13b7b4a 100644
--- a/src/navigation/editor_tabs.rs
+++ b/src/navigation/editor_tabs.rs
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ impl RenderOnce for EditorTabs {
                     IconButton::new(("pin", ix), IconName::Pin)
                         .size(ControlSize::Sm)
                         .variant(ButtonVariant::Ghost)
-                        .tooltip("Unpin")
+                        .tooltip(i18n::text(cx, "tabs.unpin", &[]))
                         .on_click(move |_, window, cx| {
                             cx.stop_propagation();
                             run(&pin, "unpin", &slot_id, window, cx);
diff --git a/src/settings/appearance.rs b/src/settings/appearance.rs
index f7b74b9..518b8df 100644
--- a/src/settings/appearance.rs
+++ b/src/settings/appearance.rs
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ impl RenderOnce for FontSizeControl {
                     )
                     .child(
                         IconButton::new((self.id, "reset"), IconName::RotateCcw)
-                            .tooltip("Back to the default size")
+                            .tooltip(i18n::text(cx, "theme.size.reset", &[]))
                             .disabled(self.size == default)
                             .on_click(move |_, window, cx| {
                                 reset(default, window, cx);
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ impl RenderOnce for FontSizeControl {
                         .min_w_0()
                         .text_size(Pixels::from(self.size))
                         .text_color(theme.colors.fg)
-                        .child("The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."),
+                        .child(i18n::text(cx, "theme.size.sample", &[])),
                 ),
             )
     }
diff --git a/src/tables/builders.rs b/src/tables/builders.rs
index 2bddf54..3e7a0d2 100644
--- a/src/tables/builders.rs
+++ b/src/tables/builders.rs
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ use gpui::{
 };
 
 use super::{FilterRule, SortKey, Test};
+use crate::i18n;
 use crate::{
     buttons::{Button, ButtonVariant, IconButton, SegmentedControl},
     forms::{Choice, Input, InputEvent, Select, TextInput},
@@ -205,7 +206,7 @@ impl RenderOnce for FilterBuilder {
                         IconButton::new((id.clone(), format!("remove-{ix}")), IconName::X)
                             .variant(ButtonVariant::Ghost)
                             .size(ControlSize::Sm)
-                            .tooltip("Remove")
+                            .tooltip(i18n::text(cx, "builder.remove", &[]))
                             .on_click(move |_, window, cx| {
                                 let mut next = for_remove.clone();
                                 next.remove(ix);
@@ -377,7 +378,7 @@ impl RenderOnce for SortBuilder {
                             IconButton::new((id.clone(), format!("sort-remove-{ix}")), IconName::X)
                                 .variant(ButtonVariant::Ghost)
                                 .size(ControlSize::Sm)
-                                .tooltip("Remove")
+                                .tooltip(i18n::text(cx, "builder.remove", &[]))
                                 .on_click(move |_, window, cx| {
                                     let mut next = for_remove.clone();
                                     next.remove(ix);