Separate product facts from flexible copy when translating for China. Brief Chinese headlines, specifications and product claims with clear review decisions.
View the file review example ↓Split the product page before briefing the work
Chinese product copy often needs two kinds of work on the same page: close translation of product facts and a different expression of the selling message. Mark which passages allow rewriting before anyone starts.
A material specification, a compatibility limit and a care instruction should not acquire new meaning to make the copy more attractive. A headline may have more room to change, but its product claim still needs support from the source and the product owner.
A fluent headline can still change the promise
Suppose a fictional source calls a jacket made for changing weather. A Chinese headline promising all-weather waterproofing introduces a much more specific waterproof claim. It may read well, but the writer needs evidence and approval before making that promise. This is an editorial example, not a statement about a real customer product.
Give the writer the intended benefit, target reader, channel and length limit. Also identify claims that must stay within approved wording. If the source is deliberately broad, explain why; otherwise an editor may mistake the ambiguity for a problem to solve.
From reading to a project
Separate a Chinese headline from its product facts
Product-copy brief · fictional page
- Flexible field
- Headline: “made for changing weather” — intent and permitted changes to confirm
- Controlled fields
- Material / care instruction / compatibility / authorized claims
- Review question
- Does proposed Chinese copy add a waterproof claim not supported by the source?
- Approval
- Chinese-language review plus product-owner decision, both pending
Review status: questions to confirm
Protect the facts
Keep specifications and authorized claims visible during Chinese copy review.
Brief the flexible fields
Explain intent, reader and space limits where rewriting is permitted.
Review the actual page
Check the Chinese in layout and have the product owner approve any changed promise.
Related published experience
DecathlonFrench → Chinese
French-to-Chinese translation of website product content for the China market.
Decathlon supports French-to-Chinese translation of website product content for the China market. The published record does not establish use of this example, a specific claim-review process or campaign performance.
For a Chinese product-page inquiry, send the source copy with its CMS fields or layout. Mark facts and approved claims, identify flexible copy, and name the people who approve Chinese wording and product claims.
Review the copy in the place it will appear
Send the page layout or CMS field list, not only a column of disconnected sentences. A short title, a specification label and a help message serve different jobs. The Chinese reviewer needs to know whether a phrase will become a navigation label, a product benefit or an instruction beside a diagram.
Keep the approved product name, SKU and specifications visible during review. Ask for a short explanation where the Chinese departs from the source. A back-translation can help a non-Chinese-speaking owner understand a proposal, but it does not replace checking the actual Chinese or the underlying product facts.
Give approval to the right person
The language reviewer checks meaning, readability and consistency. The product or brand owner decides whether the proposed message and claims are authorized. Name both roles in the brief, especially when a distributor will publish the Chinese content.
For a site with many products, try one representative page and one awkward page before scaling the work. Agree how approved wording will enter the product data or CMS, which fields remain unchanged and how later source edits will be identified. The website product-content guide covers that handover. The Genmark Automation case shows the scope of a recorded English-to-Chinese website-content project, including product and software-solution descriptions.