Recently updated on February 21st, 2024 at 07:45 pm
Imagine if you are a direct client that wants to translate a website from English to Chinese, but you barely know anything about the Chinese language, how do you go about assessing the quality of an English to Chinese translation?
To get the best quality translation, a translation process should go through a double and triple quality check. Once the first round of translation is over, it should be sent to another experienced linguist for editing. The editor then compares the translated piece with the source text and ensures an error-free translation.
This is the most recommended way to assess the quality of an English to Chinese translation. However, it can be costly. In some cases, you might want to have a rough idea about the translation quality with some free tools.
So, why not use some free Chinese grammar checkers for proofreading and editing?
The Benefits of Using a Chinese Grammar Checker
If you’re a translator who needs to translate Chinese text on the fly or a client who needs to verify the quality of the Chinese business translation, a grammar checker is great to have on hand to avoid letting a grammatical mistake slip.
Moreover, similar to translation memory, the errors on the grammar checker are recognized and rectified instantly. Some of these tools also check for plagiarism and help in successfully identifying the different errors made.
Adding a grammar checker to your Mandarin translation tools is a wise choice to make.
It’s great for
- Students learning Chinese
- Translation and proofreading
- Essay writing
💡 To help you verify whether the English to Chinese translation has error-free grammar, we’ve put together a list of Chinese grammar checkers available online.
2 Chinese Grammar Checker for Perfect English to Chinese Translation
1. Xie Zuo Mao 写作猫
写作猫 (writing cat) is a Chinese online writing platform, more exactly, the Chinese version of Grammarly. To use it, you have to register an account with a Chinese phone number or log in with WeChat QR code.
How to Use Xie Zuo Mao?
Step 1: Go to https://xiezuocat.com/, and click “create a document” or “upload a document”
Step 2: Use WeChat “scan code” function or mobile verification method to log in
Step 3: Create a new document, paste the Chinese translation into the title and the body text fields
Step 4: Click the “Edit” menu, it will list all the grammatical errors and give suggestions on how to edit them. It’s pretty similar to Grammarly.
Step 5: Click the suggested edits and replace the errors. Similar to Grammarly, it also offers premium edit services, which is not free (you can upgrade the package by clicking the button “立即升级”).
💡 It’s quite a handy tool to help with language study, writing, and accessing whether the Chinese translation has any grammatical error.
2. Cuo Bie Zi 错别字
Just as the name sounds, cuo bie zi, which means mispronounced or misused characters in Chinese, is dedicated to detecting mispronounced, or misused Chinese characters in a sentence or paragraph.
The free version without log in has a quota of 10,000 Chinese characters per day per account. It doesn’t support Chinese traditional, ancient Chinese, or Chinese poetry.
How to Use Cuo Bie Zi?
Step 1: Go to www.cuobiezi.net, click “开始注册”
Step 2: Fill the registration form and submit
Step 3: Check your email for the activation link, and activate your account by clicking “激活 Active JCJC”
Step 4: Go to https://cuobiezi.net/public_index, paste the Chinese translation into the main body field, check “strict mode”, “check for sensitive words”, and “check for punctuation marks”
Step 5: It will list all the errors on the right side, however, if your account is not a premium level paid account, you can’t see the edit suggestions.
💡 One of the major perks about 错别字 is it can also check the contextual consistency of the paragraph, whether there’re any politically sensitive words, or words that are forbidden to use for advertising purposes, adult content, etc.
Unlike grammar APPs that can support multiple languages, these grammar checkers above are built exclusively on the Chinese language and they’re more professional for Chinese-related content. The downfall of these Chinese grammar checkers is the interface is in Chinese and you need good language skills to use it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Chinese grammar checker?
A Chinese grammar checker is a tool to verify the correctness of Chinese grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choice, style, etc.
Can Grammarly check Chinese?
No, currently Grammarly only supports corrections for English.
Can a Chinese grammar checker detect errors in tone?
Yes, some Chinese grammar checkers are able to detect errors in tone. However, not all Chinese grammar checkers are able to detect errors in tone, and even those that do may not be 100% accurate.
How accurate is a Chinese grammar checker?
The accuracy of a Chinese grammar checker varies depending on the tool you are using and how it has been programmed. Some Chinese grammar checkers are more accurate than others, and it is always a good idea to do some research beforehand.
Can a Chinese grammar checker detect errors in character choice?
Yes, some Chinese grammar checkers are able to detect errors in character choice and help ensure that the correct characters are used in the text.
Translation Manager
Eva has 6 years of experience working as a News Editor and 5 years as a freelance copywriter. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies and a master’s degree in applied Linguistics from the University of Melbourne.