diff --git a/.changeset/10448-designer-invalid-not-published-flags.md b/.changeset/10448-designer-invalid-not-published-flags.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..ff7495e18c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/10448-designer-invalid-not-published-flags.md
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+---
+'@object-ui/app-shell': patch
+---
+
+fix(app-shell): two more designer unknown-value flags read in the designer's locale
+
+Two designer pickers still wrote their unknown-value flag as an English template
+literal, so a zh-CN author read untranslated English on an otherwise Chinese
+inspector: the approver membership-tier select flagged a stored tier outside its
+vocabulary `(invalid)`, and the Hook inspector's object picker flagged a selected
+object the live catalog does not list `(not published)`.
+
+Both flags now come from the designer's string catalogue through the same
+`engine.form.flaggedValue` template the other unknown-value flags use. Two rows
+sit beside `engine.form.notFound` and `engine.form.deprecated`:
+`engine.form.invalid` and `engine.form.notPublished`, each in en and zh. zh shows
+the value followed directly by its full-width-bracketed flag. The en-US text is
+unchanged.
+
+The membership-tier select has no `locale` prop, so it follows the designer's
+active language through `useMetadataLocale()`. The Hook inspector uses the
+`locale` it already receives.
diff --git a/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/i18n.ts b/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/i18n.ts
index 09a3e76b70..b8eb668426 100644
--- a/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/i18n.ts
+++ b/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/i18n.ts
@@ -1010,6 +1010,10 @@ const ENGINE_STRINGS_EN: Record<string, string> = {
   // full-width bracket its flags open with.
   'engine.form.notFound': '(not found)',
   'engine.form.deprecated': '(deprecated)',
+  // objectui#10448: a stored tier outside the org-membership-level enum, and a
+  // hook's selected object that the live catalog does not list.
+  'engine.form.invalid': '(invalid)',
+  'engine.form.notPublished': '(not published)',
   'engine.form.flaggedValue': '{value} {flag}',
   'engine.form.searchIcons': 'Search icons…',
   'engine.form.chooseIcon': 'Choose an icon',
@@ -2988,6 +2992,8 @@ const ENGINE_STRINGS_ZH: Record<string, string> = {
   // `flaggedValue`: every flag opens with a full-width bracket.
   'engine.form.notFound': '（未找到）',
   'engine.form.deprecated': '（已弃用）',
+  'engine.form.invalid': '（无效）',
+  'engine.form.notPublished': '（未发布）',
   'engine.form.flaggedValue': '{value}{flag}',
   'engine.form.searchIcons': '搜索图标…',
   'engine.form.chooseIcon': '选择图标',
diff --git a/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/FlowReferenceField.flag.i18n-10448.test.tsx b/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/FlowReferenceField.flag.i18n-10448.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..3f228a5a33
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/FlowReferenceField.flag.i18n-10448.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 ObjectStack. Licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.
+
+/**
+ * objectui#10448 — the flag the org-membership-tier select puts on a STORED
+ * tier outside its vocabulary reads in the designer's locale.
+ *
+ * The strict select keeps a legacy out-of-enum tier on screen, flagged, so an
+ * old row is never silently blanked. That flag was a hard-coded English
+ * template literal, so a zh-CN author read `VALUE (invalid)` on an otherwise
+ * Chinese inspector. It now goes through `flagUnknownValue` with the
+ * catalogue's `engine.form.invalid`, the device objectui#9652 landed for the
+ * designer's other unknown-value flags.
+ *
+ * `ReferenceCombobox` (the control `FlowReferenceField` wraps) has no `locale`
+ * prop, so it reads `useMetadataLocale()`: each case mounts an `I18nProvider`
+ * in the language under test and reads the RENDERED trigger text.
+ *
+ * - zh: the value followed directly by the catalogue's zh flag, no space. The
+ *   flag is read from the catalogue rather than retyped, and the guard below
+ *   proves it is a real zh row, so the case cannot pass on a missing key.
+ * - en: the pre-fix wording, byte for byte, as a literal.
+ */
+
+import * as React from 'react';
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { render, screen, cleanup } from '@testing-library/react';
+import { I18nProvider } from '@object-ui/i18n';
+
+const state = vi.hoisted(() => {
+  const metaList = vi.fn(async () => [] as unknown[]);
+  return {
+    // STABLE identity, like the real memoized client — a fresh `{ list }` per
+    // render would setState → re-render → setState forever and hang the run.
+    metadataClient: { list: metaList },
+  };
+});
+
+vi.mock('@object-ui/react', async (importOriginal) => ({
+  ...(await importOriginal<Record<string, unknown>>()),
+  useAdapter: () => null,
+  // @object-ui/components wires this at module scope (related-count-store).
+  subscribeDataChanges: () => () => {},
+}));
+vi.mock('@object-ui/fields', async (importOriginal) => ({
+  ...(await importOriginal<typeof import('@object-ui/fields')>()),
+  LookupField: () => <div data-testid="record-lookup" />,
+}));
+vi.mock('../useMetadata', () => ({
+  useMetadataClient: () => state.metadataClient,
+}));
+vi.mock('../previews/useObjectFields', () => ({
+  useObjectFields: () => ({ fields: [] }),
+}));
+
+import { t } from '../i18n';
+import { FlowReferenceField } from './FlowReferenceField';
+
+afterEach(cleanup);
+
+describe('engine.form.invalid is a real row in both locales (non-vacuity guard)', () => {
+  it('is translated, not echoed and not English', () => {
+    const zh = t('engine.form.invalid', 'zh-CN');
+    expect(zh, 'a missing zh row echoes the key back').not.toBe('engine.form.invalid');
+    expect(zh, 'the zh row must not be the English one').not.toBe(t('engine.form.invalid', 'en-US'));
+    expect(zh.startsWith('（'), 'the zh flag opens with a full-width bracket').toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('FlowReferenceField — a stored membership tier outside the enum', () => {
+  function mount(language: 'en' | 'zh') {
+    render(
+      <I18nProvider config={{ defaultLanguage: language, detectBrowserLanguage: false }}>
+        <FlowReferenceField
+          field={{ label: 'Tier', ref: { kind: 'org-membership-level' } }}
+          value="sales_manager"
+          onCommit={vi.fn()}
+        />
+      </I18nProvider>,
+    );
+    return screen.getByRole('combobox');
+  }
+
+  it('zh: the flag is the catalogue\'s "invalid", after the value, unspaced', () => {
+    expect(mount('zh').textContent).toBe(`sales_manager${t('engine.form.invalid', 'zh-CN')}`);
+  });
+
+  it('en: the wording is unchanged', () => {
+    expect(mount('en').textContent).toBe('sales_manager (invalid)');
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/FlowReferenceField.tsx b/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/FlowReferenceField.tsx
index e4eef20cb2..0eeaa2af59 100644
--- a/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/FlowReferenceField.tsx
+++ b/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/FlowReferenceField.tsx
@@ -46,6 +46,8 @@ import { LookupField } from '@object-ui/fields';
 import type { FlowReferenceSpec, ReferenceKind, RefValueSource } from './flow-node-config.js';
 import { useMetadataClient } from '../useMetadata.js';
 import { useObjectFields } from '../previews/useObjectFields.js';
+import { t, useMetadataLocale } from '../i18n.js';
+import { flagUnknownValue } from './_shared.js';
 
 /** Context the reference picker needs to resolve dynamic option sources. */
 export interface FlowReferenceContext {
@@ -613,6 +615,9 @@ export interface ReferenceComboboxProps {
  */
 export function ReferenceCombobox({ resolved, value, onCommit, onBlur, onSelect, disabled, placeholder, context, showHint = true }: ReferenceComboboxProps) {
   const listId = React.useId();
+  // No `locale` prop here: the out-of-enum tier flag reads the designer's
+  // locale itself, as the sibling `FlowObjectListField` does (objectui#10448).
+  const locale = useMetadataLocale();
   const ctx: FlowReferenceContext = context ?? { draft: {}, node: null };
   const kind = resolved?.kind;
   // Picker-style commits have no blur event; default to commit-then-flush.
@@ -700,7 +705,7 @@ export function ReferenceCombobox({ resolved, value, onCommit, onBlur, onSelect,
     const current = value != null ? String(value) : '';
     const tiers = membershipLevelOptions(resolved?.source);
     const shown = current && !tiers.some((o) => o.value === current)
-      ? [...tiers, { value: current, label: `${current} (invalid)` }]
+      ? [...tiers, { value: current, label: flagUnknownValue(current, t('engine.form.invalid', locale), locale) }]
       : tiers;
     return (
       <Select value={current || undefined} onValueChange={commitSelection} disabled={disabled}>
diff --git a/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/HookDefaultInspector.flag.i18n-10448.test.tsx b/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/HookDefaultInspector.flag.i18n-10448.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..400d84ad60
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/HookDefaultInspector.flag.i18n-10448.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,80 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 ObjectStack. Licensed under the Apache-2.0 license.
+
+/**
+ * objectui#10448 — the flag the Hook inspector's object picker puts on a
+ * SELECTED object the live catalog does not list reads in the designer's
+ * locale.
+ *
+ * The picker keeps such an object on screen, flagged, so a draft-only or
+ * cross-package selection is never silently dropped. That flag was a
+ * hard-coded English template literal, so a zh-CN author read
+ * `VALUE (not published)` on an otherwise Chinese inspector. It now goes
+ * through `flagUnknownValue` with the catalogue's `engine.form.notPublished`,
+ * the device objectui#9652 landed for the designer's other unknown-value flags.
+ *
+ * `HookDefaultInspector` takes its locale as a prop, so each case passes
+ * `locale` and mounts no provider. The catalog ANSWERS here with one object
+ * that is not the selected one, and each case waits for that answer before
+ * reading the flagged row.
+ *
+ * - zh: the value followed directly by the catalogue's zh flag, no space. The
+ *   flag is read from the catalogue rather than retyped, and the guard below
+ *   proves it is a real zh row, so the case cannot pass on a missing key.
+ * - en: the pre-fix wording, byte for byte, as a literal.
+ */
+
+import { describe, it, expect, vi, afterEach } from 'vitest';
+import { render, screen, cleanup } from '@testing-library/react';
+
+const state = vi.hoisted(() => ({
+  metadataClient: {
+    get: vi.fn(async () => undefined),
+    list: vi.fn(async () => [{ name: 'account', label: 'Account' }] as unknown[]),
+  },
+}));
+vi.mock('../useMetadata', () => ({
+  useMetadataClient: () => state.metadataClient,
+}));
+
+import { t } from '../i18n';
+import { HookDefaultInspector } from './HookDefaultInspector';
+
+afterEach(cleanup);
+
+describe('engine.form.notPublished is a real row in both locales (non-vacuity guard)', () => {
+  it('is translated, not echoed and not English', () => {
+    const zh = t('engine.form.notPublished', 'zh-CN');
+    expect(zh, 'a missing zh row echoes the key back').not.toBe('engine.form.notPublished');
+    expect(zh, 'the zh row must not be the English one').not.toBe(t('engine.form.notPublished', 'en-US'));
+    expect(zh.startsWith('（'), 'the zh flag opens with a full-width bracket').toBe(true);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('HookDefaultInspector — a selected object missing from the live catalog', () => {
+  async function mount(locale: 'en-US' | 'zh-CN') {
+    render(
+      <HookDefaultInspector
+        type="hook"
+        name="audit_hook"
+        draft={{ name: 'audit_hook', object: 'ghost_object', events: ['beforeInsert'] }}
+        onPatch={vi.fn()}
+        readOnly={false}
+        locale={locale}
+      />,
+    );
+    // The catalog answered: the published object is on screen.
+    await screen.findByRole('checkbox', { name: 'Account (account)' });
+  }
+
+  it('zh-CN: the flag is the catalogue\'s "not published", after the value, unspaced', async () => {
+    await mount('zh-CN');
+    const flagged = `ghost_object${t('engine.form.notPublished', 'zh-CN')}`;
+    expect(screen.getByRole('checkbox', { name: flagged })).toBeTruthy();
+    expect(screen.queryByText('ghost_object (not published)')).toBeNull();
+  });
+
+  it('en-US: the wording is unchanged', async () => {
+    await mount('en-US');
+    expect(screen.getByRole('checkbox', { name: 'ghost_object (not published)' })).toBeTruthy();
+  });
+});
diff --git a/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/HookDefaultInspector.tsx b/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/HookDefaultInspector.tsx
index 2b64c04082..f2c158277e 100644
--- a/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/HookDefaultInspector.tsx
+++ b/packages/app-shell/src/views/metadata-admin/inspectors/HookDefaultInspector.tsx
@@ -34,6 +34,7 @@ import {
   InspectorSelectField,
   InspectorNumberField,
   InspectorCheckboxField,
+  flagUnknownValue,
 } from './_shared.js';
 import { useObjectOptions } from '../previews/useObjectOptions.js';
 import { ConditionBuilder, RECORD_CONDITION_SUBJECTS } from './ConditionBuilder.js';
@@ -126,14 +127,16 @@ export function HookDefaultInspector({
 
   const { options: objectOptions } = useObjectOptions();
   // Preserve any selected object missing from the live catalog (draft-only /
-  // cross-package) so it is never dropped from the picker.
+  // cross-package) so it is never dropped from the picker. Its flag reads in
+  // the designer's locale (objectui#10448).
   const pickerOptions = React.useMemo(() => {
     const known = new Set(objectOptions.map((o) => o.value));
+    const notPublished = t('engine.form.notPublished', locale);
     const extra = objectNames
       .filter((n) => !known.has(n))
-      .map((n) => ({ value: n, label: `${n} (not published)` }));
+      .map((n) => ({ value: n, label: flagUnknownValue(n, notPublished, locale) }));
     return [...extra, ...objectOptions];
-  }, [objectOptions, objectNames]);
+  }, [objectOptions, objectNames, locale]);
 
   const patchBody = (p: Record<string, unknown>) => onPatch({ body: { ...body, ...p } });