Translate the message, not the sentences
Readers notice translated copy. It reads like it was written for someone else, because it was.
Transcreation keeps the facts and intent but rewrites the examples, emphasis and tone for the audience. An English article for Singapore professionals might lead with efficiency; the Chinese version for Malaysian SME owners might lead with cost and family-business succession. Same product, different reason to care.
- Keep facts, figures, names and legal statements identical.
- Adapt examples, idioms and calls to action.
- Check that headlines work as search queries in each language, people search differently in Chinese.
Simplified or Traditional?
- Malaysia: Simplified Chinese is the norm in mainstream Chinese-language media.
- Singapore: Simplified Chinese.
- Hong Kong: Traditional Chinese, with Cantonese expressions in informal copy.
- Taiwan: Traditional Chinese, with Taiwan-specific vocabulary that differs from Hong Kong usage.
Converting Simplified to Traditional automatically is not enough for Taiwan or Hong Kong. Vocabulary differs, not just characters, have a local reviewer check it.
Names: decide once, use everywhere
Inconsistent names confuse readers, journalists and AI systems alike.
Pick the official Chinese name for your company, products and key people. Publish it on your About page next to the English name, include it in every press-release boilerplate, and give it to every publisher. When coverage uses the same pairing everywhere, search engines and AI assistants can link English and Chinese mentions to the same entity.
What to do in the next 30 days
Create a one-page name sheet, company, products, founders, locations, in English and Chinese. Share it with every writer, translator and publisher you work with.
Technical setup for bilingual sites
- Give each language its own URL (for example /en/ and /zh/, or separate pages), not a toggle that swaps text on the same URL.
- Add hreflang tags linking the versions, e.g. en-MY, zh-MY, zh-SG, zh-HK, zh-TW as appropriate.
- Set the lang attribute on the page so browsers and screen readers handle the script correctly.
- Translate titles, meta descriptions and image alt text, they're often forgotten.
A simple review workflow
- Brief: audience, goal and key facts for each language before writing.
- Write or transcreate each version with a native writer.
- Fact check: names, figures and links identical across versions.
- Native review for tone and local vocabulary.
- Client approval of every version before publishing.
Frequently asked questions
Is a bilingual article (English and Chinese on one page) a good idea?
For press releases and some community-focused content, yes, readers see both at once and the facts stay aligned. For SEO-focused pages, separate language versions usually perform better because each can target its own search queries.
Should we use machine translation?
It's fine for a first draft. Never publish it without a native review: tone, idioms and local vocabulary are exactly where machine translation fails, and readers notice.
Do Chinese-language backlinks help an English site?
They can, especially when the topic is relevant and the publisher is trusted. They also help AI assistants connect your Chinese-language reputation to your brand.
What languages does Sojuva publish in?
Articles and press releases can be written in English, Chinese or as a bilingual version. The marketing site is also available in Bahasa Malaysia.
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