We work hard at CTS to ensure our service will exceed your expectations.
We strive to provide you with high quality and hassle-free translation and interpreting services.
OUR RANGE OF SERVICES
We offer a wide range of language services to support your business. We aim to exceed your expectations on all of our services, on every occasion.
Interpretation
Mandarin & Cantonese interpreters for your meetings, appointments, and conferences.
Translation
Chinese translations of your documents, websites, software, apps, games, and videos.
Subtitle
Professional subtitles for TV & movies, e-learning courses, and corporate videos.
CTS IN NUMBERS
We completed our first translation project in 1998. Since then, we have provided translations to over 18,000 companies and private individuals worldwide.
337M
Words translated since 1998
2.3M
Minutes transcribed since 2011
1.1M
Minutes subtitled since 2014
98.7K
Projects completed since 1998
CHINESE TRANSLATION COMPANY
As a leading Chinese translation company, we are perfectly positioned to support your business communications in Mandarin and Cantonese. Our mission is to help American and Chinese companies succeed in each other’s markets.
LOCALIZATION & BRANDING
We’ll help you engage with Chinese-speaking customers in their own language and culture.
GLOBAL OFFICES
Our office in New York is supported by our teams in Shanghai, Hong Kong, London, and Sydney.
OUR CSR PROGRAM
We donate to panda conservation projects in China, supporting a wide variety of initiatives.
QUALITY ASSURANCE
We use industry-leading software and tools to boost translation quality and eliminate errors.
TWO DECADES OF EXPERIENCE
We have two decades of experience providing clients with Chinese translation services.
USCIS CERTIFIED
Our certified translations meet the requirements and specifications set by USCIS.
CHINESE TRANSLATION SERVICES
CTS provides Chinese translation services in Mandarin and Cantonese to multinational corporations and global brands. We deliver linguistically-accurate and culturally-authentic translations for a wide range of industries.
CHINESE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
Here, we share our knowledge and insights on the Chinese language and culture and a few translation tips to ensure your project is successful.
Proofread Documents for Typos
The spell-check function in Microsoft Word is one of its most widely used features. However, it is not available in the Chinese language. In fact, out of the 93 languages that Microsoft currently supports, only Chinese and Japanese do not have spell-check functionality. If you are interested in understanding why spell checkers do not work for these two languages, including the steps we take to eliminate typos in our translations, reach out to us, and we’ll explain everything to you in detail.
Text Expansion and Contraction
When a document in English is translated into Chinese, it contracts up to 33% in volume. This is something to keep in mind if the translated material is a website, book, or magazine. It is helpful to work with a translation company that offers desktop publishing services, as they can assist with the layout and presentation of your documents post-translation.
Avoid Machine Translation
Machine translations should only be used when a rough understanding of the material is sufficient or for entertainment purposes. We do not recommend using it on work-related documents due to the high risk of mistranslation.
Localization is the process of adapting translated text so that it is linguistically and culturally appropriate for its target market.
Localizing Culture
Localization takes into account cultural preferences in colors, symbols, numbers, and societal norms and beliefs. For example, while red represents danger in Western societies, it also represents luck in Chinese culture. An excellent example is the stock symbol (ticker) often used by stock traders, where red represents falling stock prices in the USA but indicates increasing stock prices in China.
Localizing Numbers
Large numbers in Chinese are counted in units of ten thousand called Wàn (Maan6 in Cantonese). For example, one hundred thousand is localized as ten Wàn (ten sets of ten thousand). From our experience, incorrect localization of numbers is one of the most common Chinese translation errors.
Localizing Dates and Currency
The official formatting of dates in Mainland China is YYYY/MM/DD, and the official currency is the Renminbi (RMB) or Chinese Yuan (CNY). In Hong Kong, the official formatting of dates is DD/MM/YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY, and the official currency is the Hong Kong Dollar (HKD).
When clients reach out to us, we often hear “Mandarin” and “Cantonese” used instead of “Simplified Chinese” and “Traditional Chinese.” Here, we’ll give a brief overview of when they should be used.
Mandarin and Cantonese are spoken languages. Mandarin is spoken in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore, whereas Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong and Macau.
Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese, on the other hand, are written languages. Chinese natives in Mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia read and write in Simplified Chinese, and locals in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau read and write using Traditional Chinese. Generally speaking, readers of Traditional Chinese may be able to read Simplified Chinese, but not the other way around.
In the context of our services, Mandarin and Cantonese (spoken languages) are the correct words to use when referring to interpreting services. On the other hand, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese (written languages) should be used when referring to document translations.
You may be surprised to learn that Chinese is not a single language but a group of languages spoken by 56 ethnic groups in China. It is not exactly clear how many Chinese languages there are, with the latest estimates at approximately 300 variations and sub-dialects.
Officially, there are ten main groups of the Chinese language. Mandarin is the official language of China, and it is spoken by more than 800 million people. The nine remaining varieties include Yue (84 million), Wu (77 million), Min (60 million), Jin (45 million), Xiang (36 million), Hakka (34 million), Gan (31 million), Hui (3.2 million), and Ping (2 million).
- With more than 1.3 billion speakers, Chinese is the most widely spoken language in the world.
- Chinese is one of the oldest languages in the world. Oracle bone inscriptions dated to 1250 BC are the earliest records of written Chinese.
- Chinese became an official language of the United Nations in 1946. It is one of the six official languages, along with Arabic, English, French, Russian and Spanish.
Below are some of the most commonly searched phrases in English and their Chinese translations.
| English | Simplified Chinese Translation | Pinyin (Romanized Spelling) |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | 你好 | Nǐ hǎo |
| Thank you | 谢谢 | Xièxiè |
| Goodbye | 再见 | Zàijiàn |
| Good morning | 早上好 | Zǎoshang hǎo |
| I love you | 我爱你 | Wǒ ài nǐ |
| I miss you | 我想你 | Wǒ xiǎng nǐ |
| Good luck | 祝你好运 | Zhù nǐ hǎo yùn |
| Happy New Year | 新年快乐 | Xīnnián kuàilè |
| Happy birthday | 生日快乐 | Shēngrì kuàilè |
Guānxi (Relationships)
Guanxi refers to an individual’s connections and involves mutually beneficial personal and business relationships. Strong guanxi in China can benefit you on many levels, for example, winning a contract with a client or getting priority for surgery. It is a core aspect of Chinese culture and, therefore, critical to doing business in China.
Political landscape
While it is acceptable for Americans to challenge or criticize their government publicly, the Chinese do not feel comfortable doing the same. Off-limits topics generally include China’s territorial borders, Tiananmen Square, Taiwan, Chairman Mao, the Cultural Revolution, Tibet, the Dalai Lama, and Xinjiang.
Miànzi (Face)
Face is a sociological concept observed in many cultures. In China, Mianzi plays a vital role in society. The Chinese will go to great lengths to give and save face, and misunderstanding can have serious consequences for an individual or a business. Fundamentally, giving face is an act that shows respect, and conversely, not giving face can be seen as showing disrespect.
LANGUAGES WE TRANSLATE
We started as specialists in Chinese translations but now offer all the major languages. Click "Learn More" for the full list of languages we translate.
ACCREDITED AND CERTIFIED BY
CTS is accredited and certified by professional translation associations in the USA, UK, EU, and China. Our membership in these organizations is recognized at government and international levels.
TESTIMONIALS
Our clients praise us for our accurate translations, personable service, and on-time delivery.
Here are some of the amazing things they have said about working with us.
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Mackenzie Otto
What a great experience I had with CTS! Rui was especially helpful and very prompt. Highly recommend.
9/11/2023 Paul Varnsverry
CTS Chinese Translation Services provided a very quick turnaround on translation into English of four official documents. Their fee for this service represented exceptional value for money. Their communication, from... read more
4/11/2023 mayi xiao
Prompt service with a reasonable price. Recommend 100%.
8/24/2022 - Rebecca Lee
Great and easy service, received my translation in 2 days!
8/18/2022 Borges the cat
Fast service, accurate translation and professional!
8/15/2022 Du Li
I have had 2 academic certificates translated. Service good and efficient. will come back to them should there be any translation needs in the future.
8/10/2022 - Titania Law
Very profession and fast response. Good quality and good price. I will recommend my friends to use CTS.
2/25/2022 LI QIAN
We had an urgent request, and CTS provided a quality translation with fast turnaround. We are very impressed and will definitely use them again.
2/17/2022 ************
Fast service, good value. Highly Recommended.
1/31/2022
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
CTS stands for Chinese Translation Services. We have two decades of experience providing Mandarin and Cantonese translations to a wide variety of clients ranging from large corporates to private individuals.
Yes! We started as specialists in Chinese, but we now provide translations for all the major languages. Some of the languages we offer include Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Russian, and Arabic. Please get in touch for the full list of the languages we can translate.
We charge on a per-word or per-page basis because it is the fairest and most accurate way to calculate fees. We are fully transparent about our pricing, and there are no hidden charges when you work with us. To get a quote, simply send us the document by email or via our quotation form, and we will be in touch within 24 hours.
Simplified Chinese is used in Mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia, whereas Traditional Chinese is used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. There are slight differences in terminology between all the countries and regions mentioned above, so please let us know your target market when you place an order with us.
Understanding Chinese culture is essential to building successful relationships in China. For example, Mianzi (giving/showing face) is a core aspect of Chinese business culture and understanding how it works can significantly boost your chance of success. Guanxi is a crucial component of Chinese business culture that, when done correctly, can open doors for you and your business.
Due to the high risk of mistranslation, we do not recommend using machine translations unless you only require a rough understanding of the document or when the translation is for entertainment purposes, anything that is not mission-critical.
An English translation is required if you submit a foreign language document to USCIS. Furthermore, the translator must sign a certification that they are competent to translate the foreign language document into English and that the translation is complete and accurate.
If you are ordering a certified translation, please ensure that all the details on the original document are correct. We are required to translate the documents exactly as it is, even if the original text is “wrong.”