Transcribe Chinese Audio to Text? Learn the Most Accurate & Affordable Way in 2024

Recently updated on February 21st, 2024 at 07:55 pm

With the fastening pace of globalization and the fact that Mandarin has the most speakers in the world, it’s crucial for companies to transcribe Chinese audio to text to provide multilingual support for their products and services.

What’s Transcription?

Transcription means listening to an audio clip or watching a video and then typing out what’s said in the audio or video clip. Occasionally, time codes of the transcribed speeches may be required.

Why Is It Important to Transcribe Chinese Audio to Text?

What Are the Challenges to Transcribe Chinese Audio to Text?

Challenges are a part of professional Chinese transcription services. But with a team of expert transcribers on board, it becomes easier to deal with them. Having said that, it’s not an easy task to transcribe Chinese audio to text due to following reasons:

#1 Dialects and Accents

#2 Quality of the Recording

The next level of complications comes from the various elements of audio. These elements can be the background noise, the number of speakers, clarity of audio, speed of conversation, etc.

Can You Use Machine Transcription for Mandarin Audio?

The answer depends on a few factors, the quality of your audio, speakers accent, the machine transcription software you use.

Suppose you’re using a powerful machine transcription tool, then whether machine transcription tool can help or not depends on the audio quality and whether the speakers speak in standard Mandarin.

When Should You Choose Human Transcription Over Machine Transcription?

As we mentioned above, if your audio is poorly recorded with accents, dialects, speaking talking over each other, etc., we suggest using human transcription.

Depending on the recording quality, some audios are completely inaudible, even professional transcription team with decades of experience can’t help, let alone machine translation that relies on speech recognition technology.

In addition, some people choose human transcription for

Confidentiality

💡 If keeping the recording information strictly confidential is your top priority, you wouldn’t want to use unknown transcription software or upload your recordings to platforms that you don’t know whether they would sell your information later.

In this case, the best way out is to hire a professional service provider to transcribe Chinese audio to text and sign a non-disclosure agreement.

This is especially important for audios involving

Family affairs, attorney-client communications, corporate meetings, research interviews, etc.

Transcribe Chinese Audio to Text with Chinese Copywriter

If you’re seeking high-quality Chinese dialect transcription services, look no further than Chinese Copywriter. As a transcription company that specializes in the Chinese languages, our experienced project managers and linguist teams can work with several different Chinese dialects such as Mandarin, Cantonese, Hokkien, Wu and produce extremely precise, professionally formatted transcripts.

We work with podcasters, medical and healthcare providers, students and lecturers, law firms, and video game developers to transcribe Chinese audio to text each month. Our highly precise transcripts can be used for research, business, education, or anything else.

Formats of Audio/Video We Accept

Below is the list of popular audio formats we support for translation.

Audio

AAC, AIF, AIFC, AIFF, AMR, AU, CAF, DSS, FLAC, GSD, GSM, M2V, M4A, MP2, MP3, MPGA, MTS, MUS, OGA, OGG, OGV, OGX, RM, SWF, TS, WAV, WEBM, WMA, WMV, XSPF

Video

3GP, AVI, FLV, M4V, MK3D, MOOV, MOV, MP4, MPA, MPE, MPEG, MPG, MXF, QT, VOB, WEBA

Chinese-English Transcription Style Guide by Chinese Copywriter

# Speaker Identification

• Do not use a speaker identification if there is only one speaker.
• If the speaker’s name is known, use the speaker’s full name as identification. Exceptions: If a speaker is identified by a title throughout, then use the title and last name. Examples: Professor Wang, Dr. Ma.
• For focus group recordings, identify the focus group leader as “Moderator” or “Facilitator”. Participants can be identified by name if their names are provided. Otherwise, use “Man” and “Woman” for identification. If there are several women and men, then number the speakers as “Man 1”, “Man 2”, “Woman 1”, “Woman 2”, or “Male 1”, “Male 2”, “Female 1”, and “Female 2”.

# Inaudible Speech

When there is a word or phrase in the recording you cannot hear or understand, insert [inaudible hh:mm:ss] in place of the unknown word or phrase. Replace the “hh:mm:ss” with the timestamp of where the inaudible speech begins. Example: [inaudible 01:20:15]

# Interruptions and Incomplete Sentences

Use periods plus spaces when there is a change of thought in the middle of a sentence, or the speaker doesn’t complete a sentence. Example: Female Speaker 2: I might not accept his invitation … well, maybe I’m just …

# Spelling

• Be consistent in the spelling of words throughout the transcript.
• Use Grammarly for spell check.
• Do not emphasize a word using all capital letters except to indicate screaming.
• Use client instructions, the internet, dictionaries, glossaries, style guides, etc. to verify the spelling of words, places, and technical terms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Whether you’re a journalist, a podcast owner, or a freelancer, Chinese Copywriter’s state of the art transcription services get you covered. Send us an inquiry now and receive an instant quotation.

7 Types of Public Sector Translation Services to Enhance Efficiency and Effectiveness

7 Chinese Copywriting Tips to Take Your Sales Pitch from Good to Great

4 Effective Types of Food and Beverage Translation Service That Will Grow Your Business Exponentially