Free Chinese English Translation Guide - How to Save Money on Your Chinese Language TranslationReduce your Chinese language translation costs and get a good Chinese English translation for less money by using the tips on this page. At the bottom, you’ll find links to more translation advice, including information about typical translator rates. (Looking for a free English to Chinese translation software?) How to reduce your Chinese language translation costsLooking for the best possible Chinese English translation at the lowest possible price? Here are some tips for getting the most out of your translation budget. Price comparison It's a good idea to shop around before settling on a Chinese translation partner. This gives you options and greater negotiating power. Resist the temptation to go automatically for the lowest offer. Translation agencies that offer "bargain" prices are likely offering a lower-quality service. To keep their costs down, they may work with less professional translators and skimp on quality control. A low-quality translation can end up costing you more in the end if you have to pay to get it fixed. One way to save money is to skip the agencies altogether and hire a freelance Chinese translator directly. If you hire an agency, they will probably outsource your project to a freelancer anyway, then mark up the price. By going straight to the freelancer, you can sometimes cut your costs almost in half. (This option is more practical if your translation is to a single language -- a translation to multiple languages may be too complicated for you to coordinate yourself). Click here for advice on selecting a freelance English to Chinese or Chinese to English translator. Once you have found an agency or translator you think is right for the job, you can try to negotiate a lower price for your Chinese language translation. Agencies are often willing to give discounts for large translations, while a freelancer might agree to a discount in return for fast payment. Reducing quantity instead of quality The obvious way to reduce your Chinese language translation costs is to reduce the size of your Chinese English translation. Take a second look at the document before sending it to the translator, and see if there are any parts that can be left out or condensed. If you are translating a website to Chinese, you may not need to include every article and press release. If you are translating a report, the introduction and acknowledgments might be expendable. If it is an instructions manual that will be translated to a number of languages, it might be worth replacing some of the texts with diagrams and illustrations understandable in every country. Also, be sure that you provide clear instructions about which parts of the original document should be included in the translation (and in the translation price). If the document includes any content that the translator should leave alone (for example: code, instructions, quotations, lists of numbers, etc.), indicate that clearly ahead of time to prevent a potentially expensive misunderstanding. On the surface, a free Chinese English translation tool may seem like a good cost-saving option, but experimenting with free online translators can end up costing you dearly if a bad translation loses you a client or damages your professional reputation. Machine translators just cannot be relied upon for accuracy. For example, here is part of a Chinese Wikipedia article about Justin Timberlake that has been translated to English using a (reputable) free language translator: "Was left over is looks for the rich force heavy bass throat's person, therefore Garstin telephoned to give him before Memphis's vocal music training, coach told them to go to look in Mississippi's Lance Bass. Therefore these five people have formed the orchestra, starts the super boy (Nsync) road of the specialized singer. After careful training, they already prepared the wanderer entertainment world, to obtain the phonograph record contract and establish the singer fan group, they decide the first goal in Germany." Avoiding extra charges When organizing your Chinese language translation, here are some potential "hidden" charges to watch out for:
See examples of typical English to Chinese translator rates. See a list of all pages about Chinese English translation.
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