Translating WhatsApp and WeChat Messages: Why Accuracy and Sensitivity Matter
- Ka Yee Meck
- Jul 21
- 3 min read
When you think of WhatsApp or WeChat messages, you might imagine casual chats between friends or family. But in my work as a translator, I’ve seen just how important these messages can become – especially when they’re used as evidence in serious, often emotionally charged situations.
Why Translate Messages at All?
These types of translations are increasingly being requested for:
Personnel complaints and whistleblower reports
Court cases involving family disputes, divorce, custody battles, and more
In these contexts, a message that might seem informal or throwaway can actually carry significant weight (Note to self: be careful what you write on these platforms!). It’s often part of a wider narrative that helps lawyers, HR teams, or judges piece together what happened – and when.
Because of their sensitive nature, these translations must be handled with the utmost care and professionalism. They frequently require a Statement of Truth, which is a formal declaration by the translator that the translation is a true and accurate rendering of the original message.
Why These Translations Are So Challenging
Informal messages come with their own unique set of obstacles. Here are some of the top challenges I've encountered when translating such messages.
Slang, Abbreviations, and Text-Speak
In one WeChat conversation I translated, a message simply said: “素!”
Uhh... Is that "vegetarian"? Except that it makes no sense whatsoever!
After a bit of digging, I discovered it was being used as shorthand for “是”, meaning “yes", an internet "slang word" (网络用语) that was coined fairly recently.
These kinds of expressions are incredibly common in messaging apps but aren’t easy to decode without cultural and contextual knowledge.
Deciphering Written Cantonese (口語)
Another challenge lies in translating a form of written Cantonese known as 口語, or spoken-style writing.
I’ve written more about this in a previous blog post, but in short – it’s not standardised.
Example: the word for "to give" can be written as 俾, 畀 or 比!
Even as a native Hong Kong Cantonese speaker, I sometimes come across expressions or "spellings" I’ve never seen before.
Unlike formal written Chinese, which follows clear conventions, 口語 varies wildly between speakers and contexts, making it particularly difficult to translate accurately into English.
Grammatically Incomplete or Ambiguous Sentences
Chinese is a language that often omits subjects and objects. That’s usually fine in day-to-day conversation – but it makes things tricky when translating into English. A Cantonese sentence like “聽日嚟攞” could mean "I'm coming to pick it up" or "You come to pick it up tomorrow" – and sometimes it simply isn't clear from the context, in which case a translator's note may be needed.
Without a careful and experienced translator, key nuances can easily get lost or misunderstood.
Images, Screenshots, and Mixed Formats
Another added layer of complexity comes from images and screenshots, which often part of WeChat and Whatsapp messages. These need to be formatted clearly and consistently in the final translation, with all visual elements properly accounted for. It’s not just about translating text; it’s about presenting everything in a way that a reader (often a legal professional) can follow easily.
Translating Messages: A "Final Frontier" of Sorts
While translating personal messages seems easy and straightforward at first glance, my experience has taught me that it is, in fact, a niche that requires a high level of skills and competence. Beyond linguistic competence, a translator must be able to understand tone, intention, context, and culture – and doing so with a high level of care, accuracy, and professionalism.
In fact, this is one of the few areas where machine translation and AI tools are simply not suitable – a "final frontier", if you will.
Not only are there serious data privacy concerns, but the informal nature of the messages – full of slang, grammatical ambiguities and even outright mistakes – makes them impossible to translate reliably using automated tools.
When accuracy matters, especially in high-stakes or sensitive situations, human expertise is still 100% essential!
Comments