Introduction
To right-align text in an Android TextView, set android:gravity="right" (or end for RTL support) in XML, or call setGravity(Gravity.END) in code. The gravity attribute controls the alignment of content within the view's bounds, while layout_gravity controls the view's position within its parent. For proper right-to-left (RTL) language support, prefer end over right — end adapts automatically based on the layout direction.
XML: gravity Attribute
1<!-- Right-align text within the TextView -->
2<TextView
3 android:layout_width="match_parent"
4 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
5 android:gravity="right"
6 android:text="Right aligned text" />
7
8<!-- RTL-aware: use "end" instead of "right" -->
9<TextView
10 android:layout_width="match_parent"
11 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
12 android:gravity="end"
13 android:text="Right aligned text" />
14
15<!-- Vertical and horizontal alignment -->
16<TextView
17 android:layout_width="match_parent"
18 android:layout_height="100dp"
19 android:gravity="end|center_vertical"
20 android:text="Right and vertically centered" />
The TextView must have enough width for alignment to be visible. With wrap_content width, the view is only as wide as the text, so alignment has no visible effect.
Programmatic: setGravity()
1// Kotlin
2val textView = findViewById<TextView>(R.id.myTextView)
3textView.gravity = Gravity.END // RTL-aware right alignment
4
5// Right + vertically centered
6textView.gravity = Gravity.END or Gravity.CENTER_VERTICAL
1// Java
2TextView textView = findViewById(R.id.myTextView);
3textView.setGravity(Gravity.END);
4
5// Right + vertically centered
6textView.setGravity(Gravity.END | Gravity.CENTER_VERTICAL);
gravity vs layout_gravity
These two attributes serve different purposes:
1<!-- gravity: aligns CONTENT inside the view -->
2<TextView
3 android:layout_width="match_parent"
4 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
5 android:gravity="end"
6 android:text="Text is right-aligned inside the full-width view" />
7
8<!-- layout_gravity: positions the VIEW inside its parent -->
9<TextView
10 android:layout_width="wrap_content"
11 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
12 android:layout_gravity="end"
13 android:text="View itself is positioned at the right of parent" />
For text alignment within the TextView, use gravity. For positioning the TextView within a FrameLayout or LinearLayout, use layout_gravity.
textAlignment Attribute (API 17+)
textAlignment provides finer control and is specifically for text alignment:
1<TextView
2 android:layout_width="match_parent"
3 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
4 android:textAlignment="viewEnd"
5 android:text="Aligned to view end" />
Available values:
1<!-- Inherit from parent -->
2android:textAlignment="inherit"
3
4<!-- Align to gravity (default) -->
5android:textAlignment="gravity"
6
7<!-- Align to start/end of text direction -->
8android:textAlignment="textStart"
9android:textAlignment="textEnd"
10
11<!-- Align to start/end of view -->
12android:textAlignment="viewStart"
13android:textAlignment="viewEnd"
14
15<!-- Center -->
16android:textAlignment="center"
textAlignment takes priority over gravity when both are set (API 17+).
Right-to-Left (RTL) Support
1<!-- Enable RTL support in AndroidManifest.xml -->
2<application
3 android:supportsRtl="true"
4 ... >
5
6<!-- Use "start" and "end" instead of "left" and "right" -->
7<TextView
8 android:layout_width="match_parent"
9 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
10 android:gravity="end"
11 android:paddingStart="16dp"
12 android:paddingEnd="16dp"
13 android:text="Adapts to LTR and RTL layouts" />
In an LTR locale (English), end = right. In an RTL locale (Arabic, Hebrew), end = left.
In ConstraintLayout
1<androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout
2 android:layout_width="match_parent"
3 android:layout_height="wrap_content">
4
5 <!-- Constrain to end of parent for right alignment -->
6 <TextView
7 android:layout_width="wrap_content"
8 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
9 android:text="Right aligned"
10 app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
11 app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />
12
13 <!-- Full width with gravity -->
14 <TextView
15 android:layout_width="0dp"
16 android:layout_height="wrap_content"
17 android:gravity="end"
18 android:text="Right aligned text"
19 app:layout_constraintStart_toStartOf="parent"
20 app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent"
21 app:layout_constraintTop_toTopOf="parent" />
22
23</androidx.constraintlayout.widget.ConstraintLayout>
Jetpack Compose
1// Right-align text in Compose
2Text(
3 text = "Right aligned",
4 modifier = Modifier.fillMaxWidth(),
5 textAlign = TextAlign.End
6)
7
8// Inside a Row
9Row(
10 modifier = Modifier.fillMaxWidth(),
11 horizontalArrangement = Arrangement.End
12) {
13 Text("Right aligned")
14}
15
16// In a Column
17Column(
18 modifier = Modifier.fillMaxWidth(),
19 horizontalAlignment = Alignment.End
20) {
21 Text("Right aligned")
22}
Common Pitfalls
Using gravity on a wrap_content width TextView: If the TextView width is wrap_content, it is exactly as wide as the text. There is no extra space for alignment. Set width to match_parent or a fixed value for gravity to have a visible effect.
Confusing gravity with layout_gravity: gravity aligns content inside the view. layout_gravity positions the view inside its parent. Using layout_gravity="right" on a full-width TextView does nothing because the view already fills the parent.
Using right instead of end for RTL support: android:gravity="right" is hardcoded to the right side regardless of locale. For RTL languages (Arabic, Hebrew), use android:gravity="end" which flips automatically. Enable android:supportsRtl="true" in the manifest.
textAlignment overriding gravity: On API 17+, textAlignment takes precedence over gravity. If you set both to conflicting values, textAlignment wins. Either use one consistently or set textAlignment="gravity" to defer to the gravity attribute.
Right alignment in RecyclerView items: When a TextView inside a RecyclerView item has wrap_content width, right alignment requires setting the parent layout's gravity or constraints instead. Use ConstraintLayout with app:layout_constraintEnd_toEndOf="parent" on the TextView.
Summary
Use android:gravity="end" to right-align text content inside a TextView (RTL-aware)
Use textAlignment="viewEnd" for explicit text alignment (API 17+, overrides gravity)
The TextView width must be wider than the text for alignment to be visible — use match_parent
Prefer start/end over left/right for proper RTL language support
In Jetpack Compose, use textAlign = TextAlign.End with Modifier.fillMaxWidth()
