Translating English To Chinese: 5 Smart Tips
Chinese is a common language in Asia countries such as China, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan. It is also one of the most translated languages. Chinese is not a language that you can easily pick up, not to mention translating your native language into Chinese. It is not an easy job translating English to Chinese.
Translating English into Chinese is challenging, but that should not be a reason not to translate it. It is important for those who are doing business or who want to explore the Chinese market to translate their documents into Chinese. The Chinese market can be huge.
A basic understanding of the Chinese language is important when translating from English to Chinese. If you are thinking of translating yourself, here are some tips that may help you translate your documents from English to Chinese.
Translating English To Chinese Tips #1 – Traditional Chinese Or Simplified Chinese
It can be confusing between these two terms, especially for those who don’t know much or don’t even know Chinese. Both are recognized but used in different countries. When deciding on which one to use, you need to understand whether the person who is reading it uses Traditional Chinese or Simplified Chinese.
In Malaysia, Simplified Chinese are commonly used. But most people are able to read Traditional Chinese. It is better to opt for Simplified Chinese if you are translating for the local people to read. Other countries that use Simplified Chinese include Singapore and Mainland China. For countries who use Traditional Chinese include Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Do take note of who are you translating for. Although both are Chinese characters, not everyone knows how to read both. Use the Chinese characters that are commonly used for that country, it allows the reader to read the documents or books in ease. It is important to understand your target audience.
Translating English To Chinese Tips #2 – Grammar And Sentence Structure
Grammar is one factor you should consider when translating English to Chinese. The grammar of English and Chinese is totally different. The meaning can be totally different by putting one word in the wrong order.
When writing in English, you usually will rely on word order and tense to understand the meaning of the sentence. But for Chinese, it usually uses tones and characters to express the meaning. It is two different ways of writing a sentence. You can’t translate directly from English to Chinese, or the sentence will look awkward.
Understand the difference in grammar and sentence structure between the two languages before starting. Ensure that the sentence you write expresses the meaning of the original text, so arrange the sentence according to Chinese grammar. You wouldn’t want any misunderstanding between you and the person who is reading the translated document or book.
Translating English To Chinese Tips #3 – Cultural Difference
There are some cultural differences, and you will need to understand them to translate the document more accurately. Although countries like Malaysia, Taiwan, and China use Chinese, there are certain things they call differently. For example, in Malaysia, we call straw in Chinese “水草” (shui cao), but in Taiwan and China, they call it “吸管” (xi guan). You need to understand which region you are targeting.
Names are another common thing that has differences. For example, one of your Chinese friend’s name is “王晓丽” (literally translated to Wang Xiaoli). Wang is her family name, while Xiaoli is her given name. Unlike in Western countries, their given name is on the front, while their family name is on the back. However, for politicians like Mr. Deng Xiaoping, the media will still refer to him as Deng Xiaoping.
Idioms are another one that may be tricky to translate. There are some similar idioms, such as “kill two birds with one stone”. But there are some idioms that may not be able to translate directly. You may need to find one with a similar meaning.
Translating English To Chinese Tips #4 – Formatting Challenge
It can be challenging when it comes to format in Chinese. It is not easy to break a sentence in Chinese. Breaking at the wrong place may cause misunderstanding in the meaning. To avoid misunderstanding, the writer will use bold, underlining, or other effects.
Formatting of book titles is another challenge when translating English to Chinese. Italics, quotation marks, commas, and colons are commonly used in English book titles to separate the elements. But for Chinese book titles, italics and quotation marks are not used.
For example：
English Book Titles – “Alice In Wonderland”
Chinese Book Titles –《西游记》
It is important to know the format used when translating documents into Chinese. Non-native speakers may not realize the difference, but native speakers will know the format. You will want to leave a good impression on your customers.
Translating English To Chinese Tips #5 – Tone & Style
One thing to bear in mind when translating English to Chinese is tone and style. It is important to translate the document as closely as possible to the original. This helps avoid accidentally translating the documents into a different tone.
Although, it is important to retain the tone & style of the original document. Sometimes, modifying the tone and style is unavoidable. This depends on the culture and the market you are targeting to enter or the person who is reading the translated documents. You may need to modify it to let the person reading it understand the documents.
Tone and style are a way to express your brand to others. It is important not to go too far from the tone and style needed when translating the documents.
Wrap Up
It’s never easy to translate from one language to another language. Here are some tips to consider when translating your documents, books or even website from English to Chinese. If not, why don’t you get someone to do the translation for you.
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