Asia and the Middle East
Chinese translation and interpreting services
Certified Chinese translation in Simplified or Traditional characters for government agencies, courts, hospitals, schools, and employers, matched to the readers you need to reach. For spoken interpreting, see our Mandarin and Cantonese pages.
Chinese, in its own words
中文
Zhōngwén, in Hanyu Pinyin
人人生而自由,在尊严和权利上一律平等。
“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.”
One word, two character sets
Simplified characters cut the number of strokes, and in places one Simplified character replaced two or more Traditional ones. That is why converting Simplified text to Traditional is not a mechanical swap: 发 becomes 發 when it means “issue” but 髮 when it means “hair.”
| Simplified | Traditional | English |
|---|---|---|
| 书 | 書 | book, letter, document |
| 医 | 醫 | medicine; doctor |
| 证 | 證 | proof, evidence |
| 国 | 國 | country, nation |
| 发 | 發 · 髮 | issue, send out · hair |
| 后 | 后 · 後 | queen · behind, after |
Many common characters, such as 人 and 中, are the same in both sets. Every pair and meaning above is from the Unicode Han Database, which maps 发 to two Traditional characters and 后 to two.
Chinese translation services
Our Chinese translators work into and out of English and other languages, following an ISO 17100 process: translation by a qualified linguist, then revision by a second linguist before delivery. Certified translations include a signed statement of accuracy, and files move through our encrypted client portal.
What we translate in Chinese
- Birth, marriage, and death certificates
- Diplomas, transcripts, and immigration documents
- Contracts, court filings, and legal evidence
- Medical records and patient materials
- Technical manuals and safety documents
- Websites, software, and training content
What good Chinese translation takes
zh-Hanszh-Hant
Choose the character set by reader
Simplified serves readers educated in mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia. Traditional serves readers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, and many long-established U.S. communities. When one notice must reach both groups, publish both versions instead of guessing.
发發髮
Conversion is not translation
Software that swaps Simplified for Traditional characters cannot always tell which Traditional form a word needs, and vocabulary differs between mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore. Translate into the target set directly, or have converted text reviewed by a linguist who reads that set natively.
普通話粵語福州話
One written language, many spoken ones
Speakers of Mandarin, Cantonese, and Fuzhounese all use standard written Chinese for formal documents. A document translated once can serve them all; an interpreter cannot, because the spoken languages are not mutually intelligible.
SCTCHK
Fonts that match the reader
Unicode encodes Simplified and Traditional characters alike, but type families such as Noto ship separate fonts for Simplified, for Taiwan, and for Hong Kong. Set the file in the font built for your reader, and proof the final layout so no character drops out or appears in the wrong regional form.
Chinese in the United States
1 in 2 U.S. residents who speak Chinese at home speak English less than “very well.”[1] source
- Speakers at home
- 3.7 million people age 5 and older speak Chinese at home (3,734,956 in 2024), the most after Spanish. The Census Bureau reports Mandarin, Cantonese, and other Chinese languages as this one figure[1] source
- Limited English
- 1,895,001 of them, 51 percent, speak English less than “very well”[1] source
- Largest communities
- California (1,334,399 speakers) and New York (646,302), then Texas (204,912); the largest metro areas are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Jose[1] source
- Chinese immigrants
- Slightly more than 2.4 million in 2023, counting mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau; 56 percent speak English less than “very well”[4] source
- Simplified characters
- The standard in mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia[2] source
- Traditional characters
- Official in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau, and long prevalent in U.S. Chinatowns and Chinese-language newspapers[3] source
Chinese in Colorado
Our headquarters is in Aurora, in the Denver metro area. We translate Chinese documents in Simplified and Traditional characters for Colorado agencies, courts, hospitals, schools, and employers, and schedule on-site Mandarin and Cantonese interpreters across Colorado and nationwide.
- Colorado
- About 26,000 Coloradans speak Chinese at home (26,417 in 2024), one of the most-spoken languages in the state after Spanish. The Census Bureau counts Mandarin and Cantonese together[9] source
- Denver metro
- About 19,000 of them live in the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area[9] source
- Limited English
- Roughly 4 in 10 Colorado Chinese speakers speak English less than “very well”[9] source
Who relies on our Chinese linguists
Healthcare
Consent forms, discharge instructions, and patient education in the character set your patients read.
Courts and legal
Certified translation of contracts, evidence, and court filings, with names and terms kept consistent across the record.
Schools
Enrollment packets, report cards, and special-education documents for Chinese-reading parents.
Government agencies
Language access notices and benefit forms, in Simplified, Traditional, or both, for the communities you serve.
Websites and software
Chinese versions of public websites and applications, with zh-Hans and zh-Hant content kept separate and fonts that render every character.
Immigration documents
Certified translations of household registers, birth and marriage certificates, and diplomas for USCIS filings.
More Chinese services
Certified translation of Chinese civil records
Household registers, birth and marriage certificates, diplomas, and transcripts for USCIS, courts, and schools, with names kept exactly as written and a signed statement of accuracy.
Chinese website localization
Separate zh-Hans and zh-Hant versions of your site, set in fonts built for each reader and proofed on the live pages.
Chinese software and product localization
Interfaces, packaging, and manuals in the character set of each market, with layouts checked so no character drops out.
Chinese interpreters
Our Chinese interpreters work in person, by phone, and by video, in consecutive and simultaneous modes. We match each assignment to the setting, with court-certified or credentialed interpreters where the work requires them, send briefing materials ahead so interpreters arrive prepared, and assign a team for long or simultaneous sessions. Every Chinese interpreter is background-checked and bound by a confidentiality agreement.
Our Chinese work
Selected Chinese projects for our clients.
- University of ColoradoChinese translation for Boulder Student Services.
- Colorado Heights UniversityChinese translation of student policies.
- NomoGaiaChinese translation of human rights documents.
- RE/MAXChinese translation services.
- Courtyard MarriottChinese interpreters for employee performance reviews and feedback sessions.
- Federal agenciesChinese interpreting.
Why agencies choose us for Chinese
Our Chinese team carries the credentials courts, hospitals, and agencies ask for.
Court-certified interpreters
Mandarin and Cantonese interpreters certified by the Colorado Judicial Branch, for hearings, depositions, and attorney–client meetings.
CCHI-certified medical interpreters
Medical interpreters nationally certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters, which offers a language-specific credential in Mandarin.
ATA-certified translators
Translators certified by the American Translators Association for English into Chinese.
Chinese translation and interpreting FAQs
Should our Chinese translation use Simplified or Traditional characters?
Match the reader. People educated in mainland China, Singapore, or Malaysia read Simplified; people from Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Macau, and many long-settled U.S. families, read Traditional. If your audience includes both, publish both. Tell us who will read it and we recommend the set.
Can you convert our existing Simplified Chinese materials to Traditional?
Yes, with a linguist in the loop. Some Simplified characters stand for more than one Traditional character, and word choices differ by region, so we convert and then have a reviewer who reads Traditional natively correct the result before delivery.
Is Chinese translation the same as Mandarin or Cantonese?
Not quite. Chinese, on this page, means the written language that Mandarin, Cantonese, and other Chinese speakers read. Mandarin and Cantonese are spoken languages; for interpreters, see our Mandarin and Cantonese pages.
How do you handle Chinese names on certified translations?
We keep the characters exactly as written on the source document and use the romanized spelling from the person's passport or earlier U.S. records when you provide it, so every filing matches.
Do you provide certified Chinese translation?
Yes. Certified Chinese translations include a signed statement that the translation is complete and accurate, the format courts, schools, and immigration authorities such as USCIS require.
How much does Chinese translation cost?
Price depends on the word count, subject matter, deadline, and whether you need certification. Send your files for a fixed quote and delivery date, with no obligation.
Sources
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year, Table B16001: Language spoken at home by ability to speak English (national, state, and metro) (opens in a new tab)
- Simplified Chinese characters (opens in a new tab)
- Traditional Chinese characters (use by region, North America, typefaces) (opens in a new tab)
- Migration Policy Institute, Chinese Immigrants in the United States (January 15, 2025) (opens in a new tab)
- Unicode Consortium, Unicode Han Database (Unihan): variants, readings, and definitions (opens in a new tab)
- Standard Chinese (local variation in mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore) (opens in a new tab)
- Written Cantonese (standard written Chinese in formal writing) (opens in a new tab)
- OHCHR, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Chinese translation (opens in a new tab)
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year, Table B16001: Colorado and the Denver-Aurora-Centennial metro area (opens in a new tab)
- W3C Internationalization, Language tags in HTML and XML (zh-Hans and zh-Hant) (opens in a new tab)
- Noto CJK fonts (separate SC, TC, and HK fonts) (opens in a new tab)
- Cantonese (粵語) (opens in a new tab)
- Fuzhou dialect (福州話) (opens in a new tab)
Tell us what’s at stake. We’ll show you how we’d handle it.
Send your files or describe your event. A language specialist replies with a fixed quote and a delivery date, with no obligation.
Prefer to call? 720-325-0459